Windows Tip Sheet
Slip Into Something More Streamy
Create slipstreamed Windows installation discs with service packs, patches and tweaks with these free tools.
My new favorite freeware tool is
AutoStreamer,
a tool that slipstreams service packs into a Windows installation source. Just
give it your Windows CD, or point it to a file share where a copy of the Windows
CD exists, and you’re finished. Sure, that’s something any service
pack can do using command-line options, but AutoStreamer goes one step further
by creating a finished ISO image for you, which you can then burn to a CD to
create a service pack-slipstreamed installation CD (which is bootable) for future
use. Awesome. You’ll find a walkthrough
here,
but you may not even need it, as the tool is so easy to use.
You can also try the free AutoPatcher,
which is a collection of patches, registry tweaks, and so forth that you can
install all in one pass on a new server, helping quickly bring it up-to-date.
It’s sort of a first-run substitute for Windows Update, including many
of the most important patches and stuff, to kick start your system and save
download times.
About the Author
Don Jones is a multiple-year recipient of Microsoft’s MVP Award, and is Curriculum Director for IT Pro Content for video training company Pluralsight. Don is also a co-founder and President of PowerShell.org, a community dedicated to Microsoft’s Windows PowerShell technology. Don has more than two decades of experience in the IT industry, and specializes in the Microsoft business technology platform. He’s the author of more than 50 technology books, an accomplished IT journalist, and a sought-after speaker and instructor at conferences worldwide. Reach Don on Twitter at @concentratedDon, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ConcentratedDon.