Comments on: How To Create An Unattended Windows XP Disk

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:55:42 +0000

I haven't tried it myself, but according to a post in the msfn forum, vLite supports Windows 7.

By: Itransition

Itransition — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:15:42 +0000

Can you advice me how to create An Unattended Windows 7 Disk? It should be similar to this tutorial but i faced some troubles. I’ll be glad to see one more your article about Windows 7 software system.

By: How To Create A Bootable USB Drive From Your Windows CD | Beyond Tech - Technology Ahead Of Your Imagination

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:34:41 +0000

[...] How To Create An Unattended Windows XP Disk (40) [...]

By: Rose

Rose — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:30:43 +0000

Thanks... how to update theme in unnatended Aceh Barat

By: b0r1s

b0r1s — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:53:06 +0000

In Unattended window of nLite, click on empty space beneath Administrator to deselect any user and you will bee asked for user name. If Administrator was selected, then nLite would automaticaly create it.

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:22:24 +0000

Ya. As usual after asking a question, I managed to get it working again by using the old unattended disk and updating that. Not exactly what I wanted, cause that’s got IE7 integrated, while I wanted to have one that skipped IE7 completely.

But this will have to do, can’t afford to waste more time on this.

it’s a shame IE8 can’t be integrated. not that I use it, but for security it has to be installed.

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:50:40 +0000

All those options appear on different tabs in the Unattended section of the setup of the disc. Perhaps things have changed in newer versions of nLite, I’m not sure. It has been some time since I’ve used it.

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:22:47 +0000

you know, I’ve gotten myself a problem and I can’t figure out how to fix it. Previously I’d created an unattended updated disc, that asked for username, organization, network name, and after the automatic resizing of the resolution, it proceeded to the setup screen about automatic updates and how it’s connected to the internet.
After those screens, the option to add users came.
Now when I make a new disc, it goes straight to the Administrator logon. wtf is going on?

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:52:27 +0000

If you were able to use the hard drive without issue in one computer and then had problems with your mother-in-law’s, I would suspect something is indeed wrong with the hardware on her machine. There may be some sort of issue with the hard drive controller or perhaps the memory. If you have a memory test utility, you could try that, or set up the BIOS to perform a full memory check on boot.

You may need to either replace the memory or the motherboard. Depending on how old the machine is, you may need to replace both.

By: Andre

Andre — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:10:16 +0000

Hello Jorge my problem is i tried to do a re-install windows xp on my mother inlaws computer, eventually she started getting a virus on it, i used the same xp disk on my desk top a week ago i did a clean install no problem. Now with hers i tried to install and it cant get pass the booting up page it would go from boot to cd page then it goes to the page that states safe mode, safe networking com. prompt, and then it goes back to boot to cd page again. A friend to me to remove the hard drive and reinstall in my computer which i did and it booted up no problem but as soon as i put it back in my in laws system it was the same problem another friend told me its possible that the mother might not be a connection to the system i dont know but greatly appreciated not really computer savy. lol

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:17:55 +0000

Yes, there are addons out there for other programs as well. You will have to hunt around for them, but they are out there. There are also directions on the nLite site for building your own addons: http://www.nliteos.com/addons/index.html

By: Alessandro

Alessandro — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:08:28 +0000

For example if want to include gimp, ccleaner, avira … etc, I can use the add-on?

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:13:43 +0000

You can use it to install hotfixes, add-ons, and updates. However, you will need to download them separately. You will have to either download them directly from Microsoft, or use a tool such as Windows Update Downloader.

By: Alessandro

Alessandro — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:58:18 +0000

hello!
You can add a software inside “hotfixes, add-on …” ?
or must use a utility such as add-on maker?

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:09:27 +0000

Just follow the directions in the article, and you will have an unattended disk.

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:07:01 +0000

Por favor, isso seria maravilhoso

By: Fábio Rosalvo Urnau

Fábio Rosalvo Urnau — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:27:05 +0000

Jorge! Can I translate your article to portuguese and publish with credits in my blog?

By: b0r1s

b0r1s — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:34:31 +0000

Windows XP with SP3 (Retail) can be installed without entering a Product Key. How to do this in unattended?

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:00:45 +0000

Download the drivers from your manufacturer, and extract the contents. It’s likely that even if it is an .exe file, it is a self extracting archive that you can unzip with 7-zip. When you get to the Task Selection, enable the addition to Drivers. When you get to the drivers section, be sure to add the drivers for your RAID.

By: Railven

Railven — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:32:13 +0000

Well, I finally decided to give this a go, I tried a while back before via text files and what not.

Anyways, how would I go about having my RAID drivers installed without using the F6 option during the initial setup (blue screen?) I don’t have a Floppy disc drive installed on my current setup and I’d rather not have to go through all the trouble of installing one just to get the RAID drivers installed.

Thanks in advance.

By: How to Autoinstall Required Software after a Windows Reinstall | MakeUseOf.com

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:29:21 +0000

[...] Posts How To Make Your Own Windows Live CDHow To Reinstall Windows Without Losing Your DataHow To Create An Unattended Windows XP DiskHow to Prepare Yourself for System Restore From ScratchKeep Windows on Top & Minimize To Tray [...]

By: PapaGeek

PapaGeek — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:42:02 +0000

Thanks Jeff, thanks Jorge.
This is a pretty sweet guide!

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:33:07 +0000

Check out Jeff’s comment below. You should be able to use the recovery disk without any problem.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:30:08 +0000

Just pop the cd in the tray, close the autorun. When you launch nlite it will tell you to choose your location of files. Choose your cd drive and then a place to hold the copy as you go through the rest of the wizard.

By: PapaGeek

PapaGeek — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:18:39 +0000

I do have a recovery disk with XP SP1, and yes there’s an i386 folder.
Should I use the entire content of the recovery disk? Are there specific folder I need and I can just ditch the rest?

Here’s the CD content:
$OEM$
DOCS
DOTNETFX
I386
SUPPORT
VALUEADD

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:22:34 +0000

The recovery DVD might have the Windows XP installation files on it, but it is unlikely. If you can find a directory with the name i386 somewhere on the DVD, then you’re in luck. Otherwise, yes, you will need an XP installation disk.

The good thing is that recovery DVDs often perform the reinstallation with minimal user intervention. So in essence, it may already be somewhat of an unattended installation disk. The bad thing is that if it is an old computer/recovery disk, you will still need to download and install SP3 as well as the subsequent updates.

By: gordon

gordon — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:02:29 +0000

Jorge,
Thanks for the tutorial.
I have a desktop windows XP home Compaq SR1550NX.
But they did not give me a
“Windows XP installation disk”.
I do have a “recovery DVD” that I created.
Do I need the “Windows XP installation disk”?
thx

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:00:04 +0000

Yep. I have to install multiple machines and they all have different keys. So leaving the field blank will allow me to input the key and keep going.

Thanks for the help

By: Jorge Sierra

Jorge Sierra — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:55:42 +0000

Ahhh… Sorry for the misunderstanding. It sounds to me as though you are installing Windows on identical hardware, perhaps in a computer lab or a similar environment. When you create the install disk, you should leave the key blank and the computer name blank as well.

The workgroup/domain should be the same as well as the full name/organization. If my assumption is correct and you are setting up multiple machines in the same location/organization, more than likely you will be on a domain and you should not have to worry about individual machine accounts. As long as each individual machine name is set up on the domain, you will be handling your accounts at the domain level rather than individual machines.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:47:55 +0000

I got what your saying but let me ask it this way just to be sure. If I use the same cd that i create for multiple installs with different keys for each machine. Can i choose to just leave the cd key field blank and enter it during install?