Automating the Installation of Windows 2000/XP: Part 2: Slipstreaming Hotfixes

The Project

After spending time building a bootable Windows CD with the latest service pack slipstreamed into it (See Part 1) I wanted to dive into integrating Windows’ critical updates into the install. The first article in this series is extremely important and I will refer to it throughout this document so please read Part 1 before continuing with this article. I will also be working from the directories I had already created from the previous article.

Requirements:

Ø      Completion of Part 1 from December Techtrax

Ø      Blank CD’s (You may go through a couple cycles)

Ø      Critical Updates listed below (Available from www.microsoft.com)

Gathering the Hotfixes

After building the Windows CD with the slipstreamed service pack from the article provided in the December issue of Techtrax we are going to want to add the critical updates to it. In order to do that, we will need to determine the critical updates that need to be installed. Fortunately, this was already done, but if you were to do this on your own the easiest way would be to go to Microsoft’s Windows Update page after installing Windows from the CD you had created in the previous article. To date, the current list of critical updates you will need is as follows:

Knowledge base article 330994
Knowledge base article 814078
Knowledge base article 816093
Knowledge base article 817787
Knowledge base article 819696
Knowledge base article 823182
Knowledge base article 824105
Knowledge base article 824141
Knowledge base article 825119
Knowledge base article 826939
Knowledge base article 828026
Knowledge base article 828028
Knowledge base article 828035
Knowledge base article 832483
Knowledge base article 832894
Knowledge base article 282784 (Qchain.exe)

Create a directory on your drive to download the critical update to. I created a folder WinXP_Updates as seen in the image below, but you can use your own naming convention.

Download the critical updates to the directory you created and note the naming conventions. The downloaded files have a number of naming conventions as seen in the image below.

I advise when downloading the critical updates to rename the files then. Use the QXXXXXX.exe format where the XXXXXX is the Knowledgebase article number. After completing the downloads and renaming the files, the directory should look like the following image (I named the qchain.exe download Q282784_Qchain.exe).

Slipstream the Update Rollout 1 (KB826939) into the Windows XP installation

First the Update Rollout 1 must be slipstreamed into the installation of Windows XP. This update contains 23 critical updates and integrates them into the installation of Windows XP. For more information on the Update Rollout 1, please visit the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=826939.

Double click the Q826939.exe file and it will extract the files to a temp directory that it will create using random numbers and letters like in the following image.

Once the extraction is complete, a Welcome to the Windows XP KB826939 Setup Wizard will appear. Leave this window open and browse to the directory the extraction created, they are created at the root of the drive. Copy the sp2 folder to the WinXP_Updates created.

Note: If the extraction is done on any other platform except Windows XP, you will receive an error message like the following image. If this window is closed before copying the sp2 directory, the temp folder will be removed.

Once the sp2 directory is copied you can exit the setup or ok the error window that appeared. Now comes the complicated part.

Delete the following files from the i386 directory of your Windows installation directory (This is the directory used for creating the Windows CD).

1. accwiz.ex_
2. crypt32.dl_
3. cryptsvc.dl_
4. hh.ex_
5. hhctrl.oc_
6. hhsetup.dl_
7. html32.cn_
8. itircl.dl_
9. itss.dl_
10. locator.ex_
11. magnify.ex_
12. migwiz.ex_
13. mrxsmb.sy_
14. msconv97.dl_
15. narrator.ex_
16. newdev.dl_
17. ntdll.dll
18. ntkrnlmp.ex_
19. ntoskrnl.ex_
20. ole32.dl_
21. osk.ex_
22. pchshell.dl_
23. raspptp.sy_
24. rpcrt4.dl_
25. rpcss.dl_
26. shdocvw.dl_
27. shell32.dl_
28. shmedia.dl_
29. srrstr.dl_
30. srv.sy_
31. sysmain.sd_
32. urlmon.dl_
33. user32.dl_
34. win32k.sy_
35. winsrv.dl_
36. zipfldr.dl_
37. SVCPACK.IN_

Next, copy all the files from the sp2 directory into the i386 directory you deleted from. This will create an Update folder in the i386 directory.

Next, open the DOSNET.inf file located in the i386 directory. Add the following to the file (see the image below for a visual).

[OptionalSrcDirs]
update

Then, add the following entries under [ForceCopyDriverCabFiles] in the DOSNET.inf. Do not delete the files already listed—just add these after the last one.

1. accwiz.exe
2. crypt32.dll
3. cryptsvc.dll
4. hh.exe
5. hhctrl.ocx
6. hhsetup.dll
7. html32.cnv
8. itircl.dll
9. itss.dll
10. locator.exe
11. magnify.exe
12. migwiz.exe
13. mrxsmb.sys
14. msconv97.dll
15. narrator.exe
16. newdev.dll
17. ntdll.dll
18. ntkrnlmp.exe
19. ntkrnlpa.exe
20. ntkrpamp.exe
21. ole32.dll
22. osk.exe
23. pchshell.dll
24. raspptp.sys
25. rpcrt4.dll
26. rpcss.dll
27. shdocvw.dll
28. shell32.dll
29. shmedia.dll
30. srrstr.dll
31. srv.sys
32. sysmain.sdb
33. urlmon.dll
34. user32.dll
35. win32k.sys
36. winsrv.dll
37. zipfldr.dll

The SVCPACK.inf File

Download the following file AutomateWin2KInstall_Part2.zip [1k]. Inside you'll find the following file: SVCPACK.inf. Save this file into the i386 directory. This file does two things.

1. If you open the file you can see the section [ProductCatalogsToInstall]. This installs the Update Rollout 1.
   
2. The next section is [SetupHotfixesToRun]. Listed here is update.exe –q –n, which gives the command line switches to install the Update Rollout 1. The remaining are the critical updates that we are going to slipstream into the installation. And qchain.exe allows for all the critical updates to get installed.

The Critical Update Files

Finish up the project by copying all the critical updates downloaded to the Update directory in the i386 directory as in the image below. Finally, extract the Q282784_Qchain.exe by double clicking the file. Copy qchain.exe to the same directory with the critical updates and the project will be complete.

Burn Baby Burn!

Using the same settings for writing the CD from the December article, burn the CD. Once you are done you should have a working bootable Windows XP CD with Service Pack 1a and the critical updates integrated into the installation.

Final Notes

Ø      Two critical updates were not installed articles Q832414 and Q817787. I am currently looking into adding this to next month’s article.

Ø      I am working on the same directions for Windows 2000 with all the critical updates. Hopefully next month I will have some directions to complete this.

See you next month with more automation.