nLite (Windows Installation Utility)

dynamik

This is a great little utility that allows you to modify Windows Installation media. You can add and remove Windows Drivers and other components (i.e. media player) then create and burn an .iso. You can also integrate SPs, hot fixes, create an unattended installation, and do various other modifications. It works with pretty much every (recent, at least) version of Windows.

I just integrated some raid drivers in Server 2003 R2 x64, and it detected my devices without any intervention on my part. Pretty slick.

This might be useful if you do a clean install every few months, and don't want to deal with downloading service packs and having to find various drivers, etc.

I just wanted to pass this along in case some of you aren't familiar with it. Here is the URL: http://www.nliteos.com/

KGhaleon

I've been playing around with it as well. Do you know how to integrate hot fixes? That's the only thing I haven't done when slipstreaming.

dynamik

I haven't done it personally, but I found a link that goes over it: http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/nlite.html

It looks like it's a pretty straight-forward process.

TechJunky

Yah, I have used that same guide 2 years back. Great site.

KGhaleon

Using the program and applying the hotfixes is one thing, but how do you download hotfixes? I followed an FAQ and it just says to go to
http://www.update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/

and there should be an option to download them, but there isn't.

I found another website that suggests this catalog site:
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Home.aspx

I'm going through here and it appears I can search for hotfixes. Any idea how this works?

:EDIT:

I think I understand now. So do you go to the windows update site and take note of the hotfix numbers, and then punch them into the second site to add them to the download basket, which you can then download to a folder on your machine? Is that the common method?

dynamik

I think you can also use WSUS, but you need a Windows Server machine to do that.

KGhaleon

^I don't think it works on anything BUT windows servers. Then again, does it automatically download the hotfixes and updates for you? I just figure it's used for distributing the updates.

dynamik

KGhaleon wrote:

^I don't think it works on anything BUT windows servers.

That's why you need one

You can configure what it downloads. It can't distribute the updates without downloading them itself.