win2k sp3 is OUT!!!! Slipstream your Win2k Datacenter to SP3 !!! |

A SITE BY Steven Bink

Making a Bootable Windows 2000 CD with Service Pack Integrated

Service Packs in Windows 2000 have a new feature to integrate the service pack in the original installation folder (i386)

So when you install a Computer with a fresh copy of Windows 2000 it will be directly at the Service Pack level.

This feature is called slipstream. The Recovery Console isn't updated after installing SP1, (have to test with sp2) when installing the Recovery Console
from the slipstreamed i386 folder it will be updated.

Wow, that's great if you have an installation folder shared on the network, but what if you don't have a network?

Then you use a CD-R you made with the integrated i386 on it. One problem, it won't boot

Booting is a comfortable feature of the original Win2k CD, so you don't have to use the much slower multiple floppy boot process.

On this page are the instructions of making a bootable Win2k CD (Professional or server editions) with the integrated Service Pack and while your at it, you can add extra files, like drivers or Internet Explorer 6 setup files. With unattended scripts (winnt.sif) you could auto install this software.
see MS website

These instructions should work on every version of Windows 2000 and every language.

Datacenter was released after sp1 and so already has sp1 in it!

For SP2? Officially your are not able to use the update.exe to install or sliptream Datacenter to SP2 level.

MS restricted this cause applying a SP to a high end system like datacenter requires skills and can only be done by the engineers of the hardware vendor. So when you try you get the following error:

But Bink.nu is the first to publish a hacked version of update.exe, which ignores the win2k datacenter check.!

Get sp2 here and sp3 here

For sp3 hotfixes you need an patch version of hotfix.exe get that here

SP3 can be downloaded here (English version 124 MB)

For other languages go here

for the list of sp4 hotfixes see:

ftp://hotfix.microsoft.com/winnt/Windows_2000/sp4 (files are password protected! call MS support to get a hotfix password (no charge))

I'm still researching on how to slipstream hot-fixes in to the i386, maybe it as simple by extracting the hot-fixes and copy the updated files (.sys, .dll) to the i386, but I'm still testing. So keep on checking this site!
See MS KB about adding hotfixes using unattended scripts, which is not slipstreaming. New better article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-GB;q296723

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/TechNet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/support/spdeploy.asp

Here is a document with an example unatended bootCD !!!

Windows XP is out, some get it on CD, some download it from MSDN (subscribers only) and some get it in another way. When you get it not on a CD you also have a boot problem, you can interpret the instructions below and make your Whistler bootable!
For booting to work you need Identifier files (see win2k instructions below)
So use the right files.
Go direct to How to make XP bootable

more info on my windows XP page

The Instructions

• Though I've tested these instructions thoroughly, If you have a rewriter use rewriteable CD's to test this first! It can save you of wasting CD-r's
  
• Because NERO os the most popular CD writing tool these instructions are now mad e for NERO.
  Get the latest NERO version from www.nero.com
• The NERO reg file is not neccesairy anymore in latest version
• Download the boot files here  
  Scroll down to see how to extract the boot image yourself using a util
  
• Create a folder "CD" on a drive with enough space (680 MB)    D:\CD-root
  
  
• Copy the the entire original Win2k CD to this folder, or at least the i386 folder, depending how much else you want to add to the CD.
  
• Make sure you downloaded the correct language SP for your Windows 2000!!!
• Extract the downloaded service pack to a folder (D:\sp3) using the command "w2ksp3.exe -x",
  or you can use the SP3 CD if you have that. The SP3 CD contains updated deployment tools, supporttools and documentation,
  In sp1 Advanced Terminal Server Client was added, this can be downloaded here
  
  
• Now slipstream SP3 in to the original i386 folder by using the command "D:\win2kSP3\i386\UPDATE\UPDATE.EXE -S:D:\CD-root"
  You need to do this procedure on a Win2k computer, otherwise slipstreaming will generate errors.
  Note: I heard you can do these last 2 steps in 1 command! "d:\win2ksp3.exe -s:d:\cd-root"
  Note that you don't point it to D:\CD-root\i386!
  Note2: You can only execute this command on a win2k/xp/.net system!
  Note3: The install files need to be in a folder called i386
  
  
  

slipstream is in progress, wait till:

Slipstreaming sp4 hotfixes?

Now it is possible:
See details here from MS on how to do that.

Another source on slipsteraming anything

• Bootfiles: 
  Extract the downloaded bootfiles.zip to a temporary folder:
  

  w2kboot.bin	CD bootsector
  CDROM_NT.5	NT5 CD Identifier file
  CDROM_IP.5	Professional CD Identifier file
  CDROM_IS.5	Server CD Identifier file
  CDROM_IA.5	Advanced Server CD Identifier File
  CDROM_ID.5	Datacenter CD Identifier File
  CDROM_SP.TST	Service Pack1 CD Identifier File
  CDROMSP2.TST	Service Pack2 CD Identifier File
  CDROMSP3.TST	Service Pack3 CD Identifier File

  Depending of which edition af Win2k edition you want to burn you choose the CDROM-Ix.5 Identifier file
  Where x is the edition of Windows 2000 (See above table)
  On every CD you need the CDROM_NT.5 file and because the Service Pack is integrated in the i386 folder
  you also add a CDROMSP?.TST file. depending on your sp level

   (CDROM_SP.TST if you are making a SP1 CD!!!)
  This file may already be there after the slipstream process.
  All the identifier files need to be in the root of your CD, so copy it to D:\CD-root
   

  Note! Be sure only one "CDROM_Ix.5" file is in the root, otherwise booting will fail!!
  Check this step! I get a lot of people mailing me because about the CD asking "put the SPx CD into drive A:"
  This is because they forgot to put a CDROMSPx.TST file in the root.
  
  

• Now it's the time to add extra files like drivers and setupfiles of IE6, Media Payer 7.1. This way you fill up your CD with the software you want!
  I put in in a folder named Extra, but you can name it anything you want.
  To add more to the CD you can remove some folders which were copied from original CD, just make sure the i386 folder stays intact, though you can delete the contents of the "LANG" folder in the i386 if you dont use chinese, korean or arabic languages, saves 65 MB ! Leave the folder there, just empty it!
  
  The extra software won't install by it self you need to use unattended scripts (winnt.sif) to auto install this software.
  This is rather complicated but links will follow later
  see MS website for more info.
  
  
• I even copied the content of the service pack3 files to the i386 folder 
  so that I can use this CD to update existing win2k machines to Service Pack 3, just like an original sp3 CD that you can get from MS.
  Caution! don't overwrite files and folders in i386 folder.

• You can install SP2/sp3 using windows Installer or distribute it using Group Policies! In SP2/sp3 the MSI file is standard in the update folder, for SP1 you can download it here and extract the MSI file and place it in the folder D:\CD\i386\update.
  
• Get rid of the annoying product key prompt! Go to the your created i386 folder and find the setupp.ini file, remove the read-only attribute and open the file in notepad. Only use this if you have a licensed copy of Windows 2000.
  Mine looks like this:

[Pid]
ExtraData=646E77637A6F6D79626A1D94089595
Pid=51873000

Change the last 3 digits of the Pid number to 270
Now it looks like this:

[Pid]
ExtraData=646E77637A6F6D79626A1D94089595
Pid=51873270

Note: This works on my MSDN version of Win2k If you get an error during windows setup about the product ID try using the exactly the same setupp.ini as mine and use my Volume label (later on this page).

Some visitors mailed me that this trick didn't work for them, so no guarantee!

Choose image file and browse to the w2kboot.bin file where you extracted it from the bootfiles.zip (in browse window set filter to all file (*.*)

Check "Enable expert settings

Set to "No Emulation"

Leave Boot message

Leave "load segment

SET "Number of loaded sectors" to 4 !!!
 

don't forget this last setting otherwise booting will fail!!!

Now go to TAB ISO:

 Set everything as in the picture.

Important to set the "Do not add the ';1' ISO file version extension" !!!!
Otherwise booting will fail

Now goto TAB "Label"

Set Volume Label as you wish.
You also may  leave it the same as your original CD.
My MSDN win2k CD's have these labels:

Professional           W2PFPP_EN
Server                     W2SFPP_EN
Advanced Server    W2AFPP_EN
DataCenter               W2DFPP_EN

The rest may be ignored

Now press the "New" button

Go with the file browser to d:\cd-root and select all the folders and files in it. Now drag them to the other window "ISO1"

When done press the Burn button

Set theses settings

click write!

Burn baby burn !!!

You're done !  Now try it out !

If booting fails make sure your BIOS is set to boot from CD first, if the booting gives an error, try booting at lower speed.

Good luck ! when succesfull please VOTE for my site:

Tip from www.nu2.nu

When trying to create a bootable copy of an OS from the MSDN cd's, you'll get an error during install: End User License Agreement (EULA) Not Found. The solution for this is to edit the file i386/txtsetup.sif section [SetupData], and change the setup source path, it should read: SetupSourcePath = "\". (because on the MSDN CD the setup root is not the root directory of the CD).

(C)2000, 2001, 2002 Steven Bink

These instructions are based on instructions made by Doug Kahler on his website during the NT5 beta period in 1999.
John Savill also posted instructions about this subject on NTFAQ may 2000.
I think all the credits must go to Joseph R. Worrall, he was the first posting instructions in newsgroups which were used to create mentioned websites.

Another great BOOT CD instructions Website by Bart Lagerweij

Get all win2k versions on 1 CD !!!!! See instructions on this site Twinkie's How-to Website

Product-key tip by www.thetechguide.com

How to extract the win2k boot-image (new Tool!)

There is a new util that can get the any bootsector from bootable CD's!

Get it here, free! http://www.nu2.nu/bbie/

 ISObuster, WinISO are GUI tools that also can do this

NT4: To Boot or not to Boot

Want to make custom NT4 boot CD, get the NT4 bootsector-file, get identifier files from original NT4 CD-rom. 
Or better use the win2kboot file and when you boot your NT4 CD you get the choice to boot or not!

You need a extra Win2k file in your NT4 i386 folder to get this trick to work! Get the bootfix.bin from the i386 folder on the Win2k CD.
 

This is cool cause everyone has experiences rebooting an NT4 box with the NT4 CD still in the drive, few minutes later you'll find you NT4 box in setup. This is more inconvenient if you remotely rebooted your NT4 box!

Extra TIP! after installing your servers change the BIOS settings of the server only to boot from the hard drive and not floppy or CD-rom. Then you won't have the surprise of remotely rebooting a machine from your home to solve a problem  and discover it won't come up, after driving to the office on your free Sunday you find a floppy in the drive.....

NT 4 Enterprise Edition is a double CD, but you can make it one by creating your custom boot enterprise CD:
Remove the install files of the CPU type you'll never use, in most cases just leave the install files of i386.
Now you have space to fill with the second CD and an unpacked Service Pack6!

Can't help you on this one, but now I have all the Logo's ;-)

Soon:

Last updated 09-08-2002 18:39:15 +0200

I'm still experimenting with unattended scripts and include extra drivers and sp3 hot fixes. I'll update this page when that works correctly.

Comments, questions, suggestions? Contact me
I'm also on MSN messenger, you can find me by the same email address.

Steven Bink
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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