Slipstreaming Service Pack 3, Windows Media Player 11 and SATA Drivers into your Windows XP Reinstallation Media

This guide is obsolete and has been replaced with a new guide here:

Notes

This guide is useful if you need to make an XP disc e.g. if you have lost your own and want to make a new one from a copy of your friends. Or if you want a more up to date disc or need to slipstream SATA drivers. Its also useful if you have a netbook and need to install XP from a Bootable USB.

Do not attempt to slipstream the service pack 3 or any updates into the Media Center Edition as it will break the installation.

Your Original Windows XP Reinstallation CD/DVD

The Dell Windows XP Reinstallation CD should have been included with your system if it came preinstalled with Windows XP and will look like one of the three below.

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A retail CD on the other hand should look something similar to below and should have come in a box alongside documentation and the product key:

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xp3

Copying the Reinstallation CD/DVD to a .iso

You will need to install the following:

For ImgBurn installation don’t opt to install any unwanted software.

Launch ImgBurn and select Create Image from Disc.

Select the DVD Drive and then click on the folder destination of the .iso.

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Name the .iso appropriately and select Save.

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Press the CD/DVD to .iso button.

4

You will be informed that the .iso is created successfully.

Slipstreaming Updates and SATA Drivers with nLite

Note nLite will only work properly with Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Media Centre is a kind of modified version of Windows XP professional with Service Pack 2. Slipstream of the Service Pack and Windows XP Updates will break the Media Centre functionality of the Windows XP Media Centre Edition DVD.

You may skip this step if your Reinstallation CD/DVD is Media Centre or is already up to date.

Install nlite and install the Windows Media Player 11 slipstreamer. Ensure that the install location for the Media Player slipstreamer is in the nlite directory; most likely “C:\Program Files\nLite”:

Download the standalone service packs and save these on your desktop; if your disc includes these Service Packs (it will generally save if it has a service pack on the CD) you don't need to download them:

There is an unofficial Service Pack 4 Service Pack which includes all post updates up until April the 8th 2014. I have attempted slipstream with nLite but it breaks the BIOS Embedded SLP key on the Dell OEM Reinstallation CD/DVD.

Download the following to your desktop:

Note if you cannot get the Intel SATA Drivers than search for Intel Matrix Storage Manager on the Intel Download Centre and select Windows XP as the OS. This will cover most Dell systems (which have an Intel Chipset). If you get stuck on this ask in the Disk Drive Forums for best advice.

Right click your .iso on the Windows Desktop and select Extract to

xp1

Go to the start menu and load nLite. If you are using a Windows Vista or later computer to do this accept the UAC prompt.

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In the locating Windows Installation select your “XP” folder. Then click next and next again.

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Select the service pack then click next.

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Slipstream the SP2 and then the SP3 if not already present. Click next and if it says "do you want to start the process" select yes and then select finish.

Open nlite again, select your Windows XP installation again.

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This time select "Hotfixes, Add-ons and Update Packs" and "Drivers" (if you want to slipstream SATA drivers). Also select "Tweaks".

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Select insert and select the Windows Media Player 11 file. Then select insert again and select the ProgramAddons Internet Explorer 8.0 file.

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Click next (if you selected drivers you will get this)

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At this stage you may slipstream the likes of SATA drivers.

The Intel SATA drivers will be downloaded in a .zip format, these should be extracted with 7zip. Right click the folder and select 7zip > extract to "f6flpy-x86".

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Right click the file with 7zip and click Extract to 'folder'. The contents of the extracted folder should look like this.

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Note if there is a similar folder with an x64 i.e. in this case f6flpy-x64 these are the 64 bit drivers. You don't need the 64 bit drivers, delete this folder. Once you have this extracted folder click Insert

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Select Multiple Driver folder.

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Select All and then select OK

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Again select All

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To do this select the top one and hold down [shift] then select the bottom one so that all are highlighted, then press okay.

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I would reserve the driver slipstream only for the SATA drivers. Other drivers may be slipstreamed but sometimes their associated application will be lost. (The Intel Rapid Storage Technology Application is installed after Windows for instance).

Select next and you will get to the tweaks.

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As you see there are a great many. Be careful with these, note changing too many may end up making the computer slow. For example I once enabled everything under My Computer but it made Windows Explorer very slow.

Generally I select "Disable Windows Tour popup" under "Taskbar" and change the following settings; "Reduce popup delay" and select "My Computer", "My Documents", "My Music", "My Network Places", "My Pictures", "Printers and Faxes" each to "Display as a link" in "Start Menu". I leave all else be but as you see there are a variety of options.

Once selected what you want click next and if it says "do you want to start the process" select yes and then select finish.

At this stage open nlite again, you may then mess around with the other settings, "Components", "Unattended" and "Options" but personally I don't change these and recommend you leave them be also.

To create a bootable CD/DVD open nlite again, select your Windows XP installation again. This time select "Bootable .iso"

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Select next.

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Click make ISO save it in an appropriate place.

Burning the .iso to CD/DVD

Open ImgBurn and select "Write Image File to Disc"

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Browse for your .iso file and then finally click the burn file to disc button. Wait for it to burn.

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Use this new disc to install Windows XP.

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Create an image from the disc and then insert a blank CD/DVD and write the image to it.

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Creating a Bootable USB

You may also use Rufus to create a bootable USB:

Rufus does not need to be installed and can be run directly by double clicking on the application

1

Use the drop down arrow to select your device.

Press the disc button and browse for the Windows XP .iso and select open

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The partition scheme and target system type set as MBR partition Scheme for BIOS or UEFI Computers by default and this can be used in most cases.

Select Start.

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Select OK:

It will begin  creating the bootable USB.
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The status will say done and the progress bar will be full when complete, you can now close down the program.

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