How about an installation disc that installs Windows along with the latest service pack? It will save time and free you from the burden of installing the service pack whenever you reinstall Windows. With the recent release of the latest service packs for Windows XP and Windows Vista, it's the right time to keep an installation disc with the service pack integrated into it handy at all times-you never know when your system will crash!

This tutorial will step you through the process of integrating the service pack into an existing Windows installation. It might sound complicated but it requires only six steps to accomplish the task. All you need is a licensed Windows installation disc and the CHIP Power Update Kit (which has the latest service packs and slipstreaming utilities for both Windows XP and Vista).

Before proceeding to the mini tutorial, copy the entire contents of the Windows disc into a folder on your hard driveensure the hard drive partition you're copying the installation to, has enough free space. Also copy the service pack for your version of Windows from the CHIP Power Update DVD into a different folder. Lastly, install the tool called nLite (for Windows XP) or vLite (for Windows Vista) from the CHIP Power Update Kit
NOTE: Remember to slipstream service pack 3 into the Windows XP installation only under Windows XP. Slipstreaming with nLite under Windows Vista results in an erroneous installation that doesn't accepts any valid serial key.

Name: Service pack.jpg Views: 44 Size: 14.4 KB

STEP 1: On running vLite you will be prompted to select the folder where you copied the Windows installation. Click on the 'Browse' button and point to the appropriate folder. Next, select the version of Windows Vista you wish to configure, and click the 'OK' button.

STEP 2: With vLite you can slipstream service packs, integrate device drivers, add or remove Windows components, and do more. In the 'Task selection' tab only check the options 'Service Pack Slipstream' and 'Bootable ISO'. Click 'Next' to proceed.

STEP 3: You can even automate the Windows installation by providing details such as product serial key, computer name, regional settings, and so on,
in advance. To do so, also check the unattended option in the 'Task selection' tab in the previous step.

STEP 4: During the slipstreaming process, vLite decompresses the service pack into a temporary folder. If your drive doesn't have enough free space you can set the temporary folder on some other partition. Select 'Options' from the menu bar.

STEP S: Before you start the slipstreaming process, disable any resident antivirus programs. Enable them after the process is complete. Once the process is complete, you will notice the new changes in the version of the operating system.

STEP 6: vLite finally brings up the ISO tab once everything is done. Here, you can either burn the new installation directly onto the optical media or create an ISO file if you want to burn it later