Slipstreaming Vista Upgrade on top of XP

Is it possible to slipstream a Window Vista operating system that was previously upgraded from Windows XP? I only have the Vista Upgrade cd with the full Windows XP installation disk, and I wanna know if this is actually possible. Any help would be really appreciated.

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RobertKaucher

What are you trying to achieve? Do you just need the Vista install bits? And for what?

hiddenknight821

RobertKaucher wrote: »

What are you trying to achieve? Do you just need the Vista install bits? And for what?

I thought I was very clear in my first post. You know how some people are able to slipstream their original Windows SP2 operating system with all the latest updates added to it from Windows Update (especially SP3). So that when they reinstall, they do not have to update all over again from SP2. They can start from the slipstreamed SP3 and download whatever needed to be patched.

In similar fashion, I wanted to know if it is possible for me to slipstream from Vista. The Vista DVD isn't a full installation but an upgrade installation only. I upgraded my XP to Vista with the DVD. I just want to know if this still can be done. Am I being clear this time?

Asif Dasl

They got rid of slipstreaming from Vista onwards. Now you have to download the latest DVD with the service pack included. The fact you have an upgrade DVD means you probably won't be able to download a DVD with the latest service pack. So you'll have to install it and then install the latest service pack seperately through Windows Update. Additionaly you wouldn't be able to slipstream DVDs between different OS versions.

hiddenknight821

Asif Dasl wrote: »

They got rid of slipstreaming from Vista onwards. Now you have to download the latest DVD with the service pack included. The fact you have an upgrade DVD means you probably won't be able to download a DVD with the latest service pack. So you'll have to install it and then install the latest service pack seperately through Windows Update. Additionaly you wouldn't be able to slipstream DVDs between different OS versions.

Thanks for clearly answering my question. Guess that leaves me to one possible solution. I believe I can still create a byte-by-byte copy of my disk image with Clonezilla or other utilities, which of course will includes the latest updates and all my installed programs. I haven't actually accomplish this yet, but did some researches and it could be done, but I couldn't find a straight-forward step-to-step guide on this. My goal is to create a recovery partition for free without too much hassle (please no trial utilities. Acronis isn't exactly what I expect). I want something similar to Symantec Ghost recovery tool.

RobertKaucher

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Thanks for clearly answering my question. Guess that leaves me to one possible solution. I believe I can still create a byte-by-byte copy of my disk image with Clonezilla or other utilities, which of course will includes the latest updates and all my installed programs. I haven't actually accomplish this yet, but did some researches and it could be done, but I couldn't find a straight-forward step-to-step guide on this. My goal is to create a recovery partition for free without too much hassle (please no trial utilities. Acronis isn't exactly what I expect). I want something similar to Symantec Ghost recovery tool.

I was not sure if you were trying to create a backup image of your disk or attempting to create some sort of install media. Have you looked at the new aspects of the Windows backup and Windows deployment tools (WAIK) like ImageX and DISM? The Windows backup utility is now image based. Using the WAIK you can even mount the WIM backup file and extract files, etc.

While you cannot slipstream anymore you can apply updates and SPs to custom install WIMs - even adding driver and application updates. Besides, I don't believe Windows ever supported slipstream to a new OS version.

hiddenknight821

RobertKaucher wrote: »

I was not sure if you were trying to create a backup image of your disk or attempting to create some sort of install media. Have you looked at the new aspects of the Windows backup and Windows deployment tools (WAIK) like ImageX and DISM? The Windows backup utility is now image based. Using the WAIK you can even mount the WIM backup file and extract files, etc.

While you cannot slipstream anymore you can apply updates and SPs to custom install WIMs - even adding driver and application updates. Besides, I don't believe Windows ever supported slipstream to a new OS version.

I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet, but is it what I am looking for? Let me give you guys a better idea what I am trying to accomplish here.

Here's my dream machine:

- Contains only 1 500 GB Hard Drive Disk
- No RAID configuration

On the HDD:

I want at least two partitions on it. Partition A contains the current Windows Vista OS with the latest updates and service pack. I have customized desktops and other several programs installed; (7-Zip, JRE, Flash, Reader, Office 2007, and etc.). Partition B contains the latest byte-by-byte image of Partition A, but Partition B is always less than or equal to the size of Partition A. Partition B may be a month-old image of the Partition A.

When I boot up my machine after the POST, I expect to see some sort of linux bootloader similar to GRUB. The bootloader lists two options. First option (which is the default) takes me straight to the main OS (Windows Vista). The second option labeled "Restore Main OS" or whatever you like to call it, and it prompts me if I am sure that I want to reformat Partition A and replace it with the exact image contained in Partition B. After finishing, it reboots, and my main OS should now have a month-old configuration and won't have the work that I saved on my desktop a few days ago.

And... yes this is akin to the factory recovery partition that was shipped with most brand-name computers. I know there is something that can help me accomplish this out there for free, but it seems like I can't find the ideal one like the one I wanted. If anyone knows what I am talking about then please reply to my post or PM me. Thanks.

crrussell3

If you use Windows Backup to create an image copy, you can then boot into the recovery console and restore the image that way.

Backup and Restore - Windows 7 features - Microsoft Windows

hiddenknight821

crrussell3 wrote: »

If you use Windows Backup to create an image copy, you can then boot into the recovery console and restore the image that way.

Backup and Restore - Windows 7 features - Microsoft Windows

Alright, but does it works for Vista too? And also, I'm not interested in using external resources to restore the OS. I want to be able to sit at a machine and have it restore itself without carrying any tools. Let's not assume everyone has Windows 7. I want to do this so that when I do PC repairs, I want my clients including myself to be happy.

crrussell3

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Alright, but does it works for Vista too? And also, I'm not interested in using external resources to restore the OS. I want to be able to sit at a machine and have it restore itself without carrying any tools. Let's not assume everyone has Windows 7. I want to do this so that when I do PC repairs, I want my clients including myself to be happy.

Did you even look at the site I linked? Did you even do any research based on what Robert and I said?

Windows Backup and Restore ships with both Vista and 7 (not all versions, look it up). The only "tool" you will need is the system cd to boot into the recovery console I believe. Been so long since I have done it I don't remember.

Besides, if you are doing this for customers and you don't bring along any "tools" I doubt they will be very happy. I know everyone I take care of wouldn't be. IT is more about "Next, next, next finish" to do the job right. Sometimes it takes a little effort on your part and gratitude when others help you out.

hiddenknight821

crrussell3 wrote: »

Did you even look at the site I linked? Did you even do any research based on what Robert and I said?

Windows Backup and Restore ships with both Vista and 7 (not all versions, look it up). The only "tool" you will need is the system cd to boot into the recovery console I believe. Been so long since I have done it I don't remember.

Besides, if you are doing this for customers and you don't bring along any "tools" I doubt they will be very happy. I know everyone I take care of wouldn't be. IT is more about "Next, next, next finish" to do the job right. Sometimes it takes a little effort on your part and gratitude when others help you out.

To be honest to you, no I have not really check it out THROUGHLY probably just as you guys did not read my questions throughly. It was not exactly what I was looking for. You are giving me the best last-resort solution to my problem. I was trying to keep my question simple and sweet by asking anyone if they KNOW EXACTLY what I was looking for. If you honestly know that you are not giving me THE answer, then you might as well say you tried your best, but merely offering me an alternative solution. If I was able to find exactly what I was looking for, then I can also apply this solution to XP and Linux, which your solution would not work for. I know I specifically asked for Vista, but my version of Vista is really an upgrade from Windows XP, and I am not sure if that will be a problem. Sorry about not being grateful or considerate, but I would really appreciate if people do not get offended if they did not give me what I wanted. Thanks for your efforts in answering my post.

But again...Why can't I create a convenience restoration system on the hard disk for customers like the manufacturers did with their hidden factory recovery partition? I should be able to do that. I do not want CD, DVD, or external HD, because I would have to make one personalized for each customers unless when it is necessary. Who knows if their hard drive spaces take up more than 10 DVDs. And... yes, I am aware that if hard drive failure results, then they are screwed.

RobertKaucher

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

But again...Why can't I create a convenience restoration system on the hard disk for customers like the manufacturers did with their hidden factory recovery partition? I should be able to do that. I do not want CD, DVD, or external HD, because I would have to make one personalized for each customers unless when it is necessary. Who knows if their hard drive spaces take up more than 10 DVDs. And... yes, I am aware that if hard drive failure results, then they are screwed.

Creating a highly customized restore utility is probably going to mean paying some money. But you should realize that your intial posts were not very complete which was why I was asking you what exactly you wanted to do.

You did not mention a recovery partition until your 3rd post. You could do something like this with the WAIK but you would probably need the user to boot to a CD or the recovery console and run a script. Not really my area, though.

If you like Ghost have you seen FOG? I have no idea if it might be able to do what you are looking for.

FOG - A Free Cloning Solution | Download FOG - A Free Cloning Solution software for free at SourceForge.net

If you do find something please let us know. This would be super useful.

xenodamus

I used to work for a shop where we built and sold new PCs. We did exactly what you are describing minus the boot loader. We gave each customer a "Restore CD" instead.

Each PC had 2 partitions, A and B.

Partition A contained the OS and user data.

Partition B contained a ghost image (in .gho/.ghs) format of Partition A.

The "Recovery CD" was just a copy of ghost with a custom batch file that asked users:

Press 1 to backup all data and settings.
Press 2 to erase all files and restore from backup.

Each option ran the ghost command line syntax to create an image from partition or restore a partition from image, depending on the choice. This was fairly primitive and I only saw it work through Windows XP. I'm not sure how ghost interacts with Vista or 7.

hiddenknight821

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Creating a highly customized restore utility is probably going to mean paying some money. But you should realize that your intial posts were not very complete which was why I was asking you what exactly you wanted to do.

I apologize about the confusion here. My original intention was to see if it is possible that I can slipstream the upgraded Vista version since I haven't attempt any of that yet. Until Asif pointed out that it's no longer available, rather than creating a new thread, I figured I can ask you guys if you have any idea where I can find what I was looking for. As a token of appreciation for participating in this discussion, I have upped yours and crussell's reputation.

I figured it would cost a lot of time and money to find something like that. I found something earlier, but wasn't sure if it was legitimate or something exactly what I wanted yet.

Some guys named AnarethoS created this

I found this before I decided to come here to ask around.

RobertKaucher wrote: »

If you like Ghost have you seen FOG? I have no idea if it might be able to do what you are looking for.

I wanted Ghost, but it costs money. One of the labs at my school uses it, but they really should use Deep Freeze though like the rest of the other labs since there are different classes using the computers in that lab everyday. I wonder why FOG never came up in the search, but thanks! I am gonna check it out later. I'm exhausted from trying to find a shortcut. Maybe life's easier without shortcut. I will let you know if I find something far more awesome than what we found.... only if I remember to revisit this thread since I am starting to give up researching. I have better things that I need to get to.

RobertKaucher

xenodamus wrote: »

I used to work for a shop where we built and sold new PCs. We did exactly what you are describing minus the boot loader. We gave each customer a "Restore CD" instead.

Each PC had 2 partitions, A and B.

Partition A contained the OS and user data.

Partition B contained a ghost image (in .gho/.ghs) format of Partition A.

The "Recovery CD" was just a copy of ghost with a custom batch file that asked users:

Press 1 to backup all data and settings.
Press 2 to erase all files and restore from backup.

Each option ran the ghost command line syntax to create an image from partition or restore a partition from image, depending on the choice. This was fairly primitive and I only saw it work through Windows XP. I'm not sure how ghost interacts with Vista or 7.

This same thing could totally be done with the WAIK for free. +rep.

hiddenknight821

xenodamus wrote: »

I used to work for a shop where we built and sold new PCs. We did exactly what you are describing minus the boot loader. We gave each customer a "Restore CD" instead.

Each PC had 2 partitions, A and B.

Partition A contained the OS and user data.

Partition B contained a ghost image (in .gho/.ghs) format of Partition A.

The "Recovery CD" was just a copy of ghost with a custom batch file that asked users:

Press 1 to backup all data and settings.
Press 2 to erase all files and restore from backup.

Each option ran the ghost command line syntax to create an image from partition or restore a partition from image, depending on the choice. This was fairly primitive and I only saw it work through Windows XP. I'm not sure how ghost interacts with Vista or 7.

I just caught your post. Yeah, I just mentioned that in my previous post that I am familiar with Ghost. Ghost would be perfect if it works for any OS and that it's free. Thanks for posting

RobertKaucher

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

I figured it would cost a lot of time and money to find something like that. I found something earlier, but wasn't sure if it was legitimate or something exactly what I wanted yet.

Some guys named AnarethoS created this

I found this before I decided to come here to ask around.

That looks like it is a customized PE install that was done via the WAIK.

hiddenknight821

RobertKaucher wrote: »

That looks like it is a customized PE install that was done via the WAIK.

Yeah. I figured it's a useless piece of crap if we already got a hassle-free one.

xenodamus

RobertKaucher wrote: »

This same thing could totally be done with the WAIK for free. +rep.

Lol...I don't know why I didn't think of that. I'm the one studying/labbing Windows deployment right now. /facepalm

He's right, though. You should look into .wim image files and the imagex.exe command line tool. (DISM will inject updates and service packs offline as mentioned also)

crrussell3

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

To be honest to you, no I have not really check it out THROUGHLY probably just as you guys did not read my questions throughly. It was not exactly what I was looking for. You are giving me the best last-resort solution to my problem. I was trying to keep my question simple and sweet by asking anyone if they KNOW EXACTLY what I was looking for. If you honestly know that you are not giving me THE answer, then you might as well say you tried your best, but merely offering me an alternative solution. If I was able to find exactly what I was looking for, then I can also apply this solution to XP and Linux, which your solution would not work for. I know I specifically asked for Vista, but my version of Vista is really an upgrade from Windows XP, and I am not sure if that will be a problem. Sorry about not being grateful or considerate, but I would really appreciate if people do not get offended if they did not give me what I wanted. Thanks for your efforts in answering my post.

But again...Why can't I create a convenience restoration system on the hard disk for customers like the manufacturers did with their hidden factory recovery partition? I should be able to do that. I do not want CD, DVD, or external HD, because I would have to make one personalized for each customers unless when it is necessary. Who knows if their hard drive spaces take up more than 10 DVDs. And... yes, I am aware that if hard drive failure results, then they are screwed.

I believe we answered all your questions perfectly:

1. Can you slipstream Vista? No.
2. You wanted to create a recovery partition without too much hassle. Windows Backup and Restore is simple enough you can train an end user how to use it in 10 minutes. Plus it is 100% free and built into the Vista/7 OS, no trials. Heck, I just taught my wife how to do this with the mini and external hdd. It's that easy!
3. You wanted a bootloader where you could select the backup to restore. With a few simple clicks you can boot into the recovery and diagnostics tools to access the Windows Backup and Restore. The process is very simple and built into Windows. Granted its not a "Grub bootloader" specifically, but its as close you are going to probably get with your criteria. You can even initiate the backup and restore process without having to reboot windows through the backup and restore console if you wanted to.

This process is free, 100% easy, no trials, and does exactly what you wanted.

Also has Robert stated, while you might think your initial question was very clear and to the point, it wasn't. Everyone does this. In our mind, what we have asked is clear and to the point, but to an outsider trying to decipher the information, we always find it lacking.

But what you are asking for with the information you keep supplying isn't going to be free or without too much hassle as you asked it to be. If I can teach a non-technical person in 10 minutes how to fully backup and restore their system using a built-in function of Windows Vista/7, how much more free and hassle free do you want?

hiddenknight821

crrussell3 wrote: »

I believe we answered all your questions perfectly:

1. Can you slipstream Vista? No.
2. You wanted to create a recovery partition without too much hassle. Windows Backup and Restore is simple enough you can train an end user how to use it in 10 minutes. Plus it is 100% free and built into the Vista/7 OS, no trials. Heck, I just taught my wife how to do this with the mini and external hdd. It's that easy!
3. You wanted a bootloader where you could select the backup to restore. With a few simple clicks you can boot into the recovery and diagnostics tools to access the Windows Backup and Restore. The process is very simple and built into Windows. Granted its not a "Grub bootloader" specifically, but its as close you are going to probably get with your criteria. You can even initiate the backup and restore process without having to reboot windows through the backup and restore console if you wanted to.

This process is free, 100% easy, no trials, and does exactly what you wanted.

Also has Robert stated, while you might think your initial question was very clear and to the point, it wasn't. Everyone does this. In our mind, what we have asked is clear and to the point, but to an outsider trying to decipher the information, we always find it lacking.

But what you are asking for with the information you keep supplying isn't going to be free or without too much hassle as you asked it to be. If I can teach a non-technical person in 10 minutes how to fully backup and restore their system using a built-in function of Windows Vista/7, how much more free and hassle free do you want?

After actually doing a reinstallation on my brother's PC, I just found out that Vista Home Premium edition wouldn't allow me to perform a full System Image Backup, so I would appreciate it if you stop suggesting that you were right. I am sorry if I was confusing you in the earlier posts, but I didn't appreciate the fact that you made assumptions that your advice would always work for someone. Now you see why I have to ask again before I actually do what you would say, so you would double-check your own advice before you can make a claim. Just so you know, I believe most customers have the home premium edition, not professional or ultimate. So I would probably still get angry customers anyways. Thanks a lot

RobertKaucher

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

After actually doing a reinstallation on my brother's PC, I just found out that Vista Home Premium edition wouldn't allow me to perform a full System Image Backup, so I would appreciate it if you stop suggesting that you were right. I am sorry if I was confusing you in the earlier posts, but I didn't appreciate the fact that you made assumptions that your advice would always work for someone. Now you see why I have to ask again before I actually do what you would say, so you would double-check your own advice before you can make a claim. Just so you know, I believe most customers have the home premium edition, not professional or ultimate. So I would probably still get angry customers anyways. Thanks a lot

Do you know why it wouldn't allow you to perform a full backup? Usually this is because you don't have DAS of enough capacity, in my experience.