A few questions about slipstreaming, or PE type setup

[dtrud0h]

I've been interested in creating a custom image of my system,(well, not the current one...more like the Ideal one).
and I have a need for some input.   I'm not sure if  should use a program like BartPE, or if I can slipstream what I want into a bootable setup disk, or if I should start a new partition and set it up according to my wants and then just save it as an image to explode to disk.  Some things I want to include are some can't live withouts, eliminated items pre-eliminated(such as xplite setup) and also a pile of archives I find myself always going back to for specific things.  Any recomendations, suggestions that you wish you'd  had , precautions, advice, or comments would be appreciated.  I hope to use DVD-rom as the media for the endeavor so if anyone has experience with a good program that will build a self installing image to store on DVD that would be a good start.

    Thanks ahead and behind,
  Dtrud0h

[alexp]

Personally I would do a fresh install of windows and set it up the way you want then create an image of it. The only problem with this method is if you change your mobo  or any major peice of hardware then the image will not work correctly.

AFAIK bartPE is only a rescue disk type thing, you can't actually use it for much. It's always a good thing to have around though (which reminds me I must try and make one sometime).

You can create a disk image which will install almost anything, there is an excellent guide to it which can be found here http://unattended.msfn.org and also try looking in the forums here

[mouser]

something like vmware would really make this easy to experiment with
because you could build a setup in your vmware and also test it without risking any damage.

[Carol Haynes]

Slipstreaming is the way to go for a generic setup disc. If you look around there are loads of good websites that will help you compile a stipstreamed CD with all your srivers and some standard software applications ready to install.

For day to day system building (on your current hardware) imaging is the way to go. You install everything the way you want it, image the hard disc (Norton Ghost, Acronis Ture Image etc) and when you want to reinstall you just restore the image. This also has the advantage with Windows XP in that you activate windows before makng the initial image and then you never have to activate again when you reinstall. Trouble is when you change hardware the image probably won't work well, although it really depends what hardware you change ...

For slipstreaming checkout this search page for lots of links.

Here are a couple I have found useful in the past:

http://www.winsupers...p_sp2_slipstream.asp
http://www.helpwithw...inxp-sp2-bootcd.html


This one looks helpful for your needs (at least as a starter) but I haven't used this one:

http://www.short-med...com/review.php?r=284

[dtrud0h]

Thanks all, one of the questions about slipstreaming that I would like more info on is the types of things that can be slipstreamed.  It seems like the sites I have searched mainly focus on Service Packs and drivers.  Is it possible to slipstream applications pre-installed into the "program Files" directory,start menu and registry as though they were part of the operating system themselves...ie; like putting firefox in place of msie and having the os just accept it as the webbrowser that is available.
  Another thing that I can't seem to get away with is removing msie using XPlite.  There is always something that won't work correctly if it's not there. 
 I am working with a laptop with a PIII-800 and 512mb. ram I an kind of leary to install VMware onto it because it just seems as though it would be really slow and tedious to work with, on that note it may be worth it if VMware could make an image that would install onto a partition and not think it was still a VMware system.
  I will check out the links and info suggested and see what I find

[Carol Haynes]

It is possible to include some applications and get Windows to run the installer automatically, but I'm not sure it is possible to have preconfigured applications installed.

There is also a limit to how much you can fit on the installation CD.

This is the sort of thing thatis ideally approached via disk imaging.

One method you could try is to use a utility like TotalUninstall to take a snapshot of your system immediately after you complete windows fresh install, and then again after you have installed the required applications. You could then copy all the files and registry modifications to a backup disc and simply copy them, and reapply the registry changes after using your slipstream disc. Shouldn't be too hard to acheive.

Personally I don't really want to take the approach that Windows installs all sorts of extras. Once you have created your "slipstream extra" disc, and get it all working perfectly, by the next time you want to use it you will have changed your needs, and half of the software/drivers on the disc will need updating anyway.

My preferred approach is to make a slipstream of the most recent service pack for clean installs, and then on a fresh install do regular incremental image backups, that way you can roll back if you have issues. If you install your core applications first you can restore the image at any time, and at any key point int he set up process. Burn those backups to DVD and you have a multiple possiblilty install system that will get you up and running in minutes without user intervention.

The only disadvantage of image restoration is that you are fixed in the drive label you can use for windows from that image. eg. If you backup up a Windows installation on Drive C then it can only be restored to Drive C. If you want a multiboot system then you can image and restore the drives separately.

[dtrud0h]

Thanks Carol,
  I've been looking at some Imaging software,   it seems like a good category to have added to the list of requested reviews here at DC.  If I could figure out mousers "preconfigured level 1 template", I might compile som stuff for it.  I found a site I think it's Drive-backup.com ( but don't quote me on it) that has quite a comparison available.  The site recomends Acronis,  but the ability to back up to dvd is a feature I really need along with a self executing image install.  I think I'm going to try out Paragon and take it from there.  One other question I have is that if I use the Imaging method will the image contain the necessary information to use system restore points that I have configured at the present?    Thank you for your input here it seems like we must be alot alike in the respect that we both change our software quite a bit, the biggest problem this presents for me is in the fragmentation department.  I never seem to defragment enough.   It's on the will do list before Imaging I can assure you.
  Thanks again.

[Carol Haynes]

See https://www.donation...ckUpGuide/index.html (but I'd guess you might have already).

WRT imaging to DVD, Acronis will break backups into chunks ready for burning, and Acronis Support have promised direct burning in the current version. I have used Norton Ghost before and PowerQuest Drive Image (these have been combined now and are called Ghost AIUI) which both burn direct and to be honest I don't think it is worth the hassle.

If you have enough disc space to set up a partition (don't let Acronis configure it's secure storage!!!) to store your backups temporarily then producing DVD size chunks is ideal. You can create the full backup (overnight - if your system is like mine the first backup takes a while) and then sit at the computer to burn your DVDs. The disadvantage of direct burn is that you have to keep coming back to the computer to feed it DVDs - and if you verify the image Ghost/DriveImage doesn't do this in a terribly logical way which means lots of disc swapping.

I really recommend having enough hard disc storage to store your backups - especially if you have large amounts of material to backup. By all means burn to DVD but if you want to recover a single file (or even a partition) nothing beats having it on hard disc!! USB/FireWire hard discs are a possibility, but make sure your system can find them in DOS mode!

To answer your question - Imaging copies the whol partition, that includes System Restore data. Personally I always do a disc clean up and defrag before a full backup, including getting rid of lots of system restore points.

With hard disc backups and incremental backup capability you could actually disable System Restore as a quick incremental backup is much more effective than SR.

By the way you can still defrag your system, but it will make the next incremental backup a bit bigger. Using Perfect Disc as your defrag program has the advantage thatit minimizes the repositioning of un modified files so incremental backup sizes will be smaller (and quicker) than with some defrag programs.

[kfitting]

This may be slightly different than what you are trying to do, but if you are trying to build a completely new install, nlite and AutoPatcher are two programs that are invaluble.  nlite lets you customize your installation disc: get rid of unnecssary drivers, add tweaks, add security patches, slipstream, etc.  Autopatcher gives all the current security patches, addons, and tweaks for easy setup after install.

nlite:
http://www.nliteos.com/

AutoPatcher:
http://www.autopatcher.com/

kevin

[Carol Haynes]

AutoPatcher looks really useful - and might just hit the spot.

Good find ...