Installing Windows has always been a dull task requiring the user to be glued to the PC for around an hour doing nothing but staring at the screen waiting for user input at various stages. It takes another half an hour tweaking the settings and installing various device drivers. Finally, you'll have to spend a couple of hours downloading and installing Windows updates.
How about an installation disc from which you can install Windows along with the necessary drivers and updates, and that too without requiring your presence? That means no need to manually accept EULA, select the version of Windows, input serial number, select time zone, and so on. It would be a blessing! Not only will you break free from boredom and save time, but more importantly you'll have a rock solid installation at the end. Creating such an unattended Windows installation disc doesn't need any wizardry. You need an original Windows Vista DVD, a blank DVD, Internet connection, and some patience! Ready to begin? Begin with copying the entire contents of the Windows Vista DVD into a folder on your hard drive.

STEP 1: Now download Windows Updates Downloader from wud.jcarle.com-it's merely 350 KB and does miracles! Install it and click on the link Update Lists (ULs) on the same website. From the list of files, select the one that corresponds to the version of Vista you have (x86 or x64).

STEP 2: On running Windows Updates Downloader now. you should see a list of updates available for Windows Vista. Select all the critical updates and others which you would like to integrate into the new installation, and download them into a folder.

STEP 3: The fun starts now! Launch vLite from the Start menu and specify the folder where you copied the DVD contents.

STEP 4 & 5: From the list of Windows Vista versions that pops up, select the one that you have and click on the OK button which will take you to the next section called Tasks. Here, select all the options except the last one called 'Enable Jefore apply' and click Next. This is to tell •.. Lite that you wish to integrate the drivers 3nd updates, apply tweaks, automate
the installation and create a bootable ISO image.

STEP 6: The Integration section has two important tabs-Hotfixes and Drivers. Enable hotfixes by checking the 'Enable' box and then specify each hotfix and update that you downloaded using Windows Updates Downloader.

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STEP 7: Next, go to the Drivers tab and specify the device drivers you wish to integrate. We suggest you select all the features. Click OK to move on to selecting the components that you wish to remove.

STEP 8: Expand each category and check the unwanted components. If you're unsure about drivers for devices such as graphics card, printer, sound card, chipset, and network card will save you the hassle of installing them after setting up Windows. You can find the drivers either on the installation disc that came bundled with the hardware, or download the latest versions from the Internet. To integrate Nvidia or ATI graphics drivers, run the setup for Nvidia Forceware or ATI Catalyst, but do not proceed with the installation of the drivers-click the Cancel button when you're prompted to install the drivers. You will find the drivers in the folders called Nvidia or ATI in the drive where Windows is installed (Local Disk any component, moving the mouse pointer over it shows its description on the right. Some of the components that you can safely remove are speech support, Welcome Center, Games, Media Center, SideShow C.Click Next to move on to the Components section.

STEP 9: This section allows you to remove unwanted components that Windows Vista doesn't allow while customizing installation or through the Programs and features section in the Control Panel. The components are grouped under nine categories including Accessories, Games, Multimedia, and so on. Before selecting the components you first need to confirm the features that you will be using from the Compatibility dialog box that pops up. support, Tablet PC support, and unwanted languages. You will save at gain a few gigabyte of free space. Make sure you don't delete any component that you will be using in the future. Move on to the Tweaks section when you're done.

STEP 10 & 11: The Tweaks allow you to enable or disable certain options so that they take effect as soon as Windows is installed. For instance, you may disable User Account Control (UAC) if you find pop ups annoying each time you perform tasks such as installing drivers or software, which require administrative rights. If you have a laptop you can set the default power scheme to Power saving for prolonged battery life. Under the Explorer section, you can enable or disable showing hidden files and folders, and change the Control Panel view to the Classic type.

STEP 12 8& 13: Finally, using the unattended
section you can automate the installation to a significant extent. Under the General tab, you can specify the product key, and configure the installation to automatically select the version of Windows Vista, accept EU LA, and fill in the fields such as 'Full name', 'Organization' and 'Computer name' which require user input during installation. Under the Regional tab you can set the UI language, time and currency format, keyboard layout, and time zone.

STEP 14-16: After you're finally done, click on the 'Apply' button and select the option 'Just apply the changes' from the Apply method dialog box that pops up. You will then be presented with an option to delete the versions of Windows Vista other than the one you have from the installation.
Keeping the [Ctrll button pressed select the other versions and click on the Continue button to proceed. vLite will now start processing the installation and bring up the final section called ISO.

STEP 17: Here you can either create an ISO image of the modified installation which you can burn later or directly burn the image to a DVD from vLite's interface. It takes around five minutes to do this.

STEP 18: To burn the ISO image using Nero Burning ROM, go to 'Recorder I Burn image' in Nero's main interface and point to the ISO image that you created using vLite. Insert a blank DVD into your DVD writer and click on the Burn button to create the installation disc.