nLite 1.4 Tutorial
This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating an unattended Windows installation CD with the latest hotfixes, drivers, DirectX, IE7, WMP11, Office 2007 and any other software that you would like to include on the CD. Remove useless components, apply tweaks and system hacks for the highest possible performance and productivity.
Don’t miss the video version of this tutorial where you can actually see the whole process of creating a fully customized, unattended installation CD and the result tested and running in VMware Machine.
Requirements:
- nLite 1.4
- Net Framework 2.0
- WinXP CD
1. Copy the entire content of your WinXP CD in some local folder.
2. Install .Net Framework 2.0 and nLite.
3. Choose your preferred language on the first screen.
4. Tell nLite where are your WinXP files. Select “Browse” and navigate to the local folder you created in step 1.
5. Choose what you want to do. You can choose only one operation, all of them, or any combination. For example, you can choose to create an ISO and skip the rest.
6. Service Pack: Slipstream a Service Pack into the installation. Just download SP2 for WinXP and nLite will do the rest. If you integrate SP2 you will not need SP1 because SP2 supersedes it.
7. Hotfixes, Addons and Update Packs: Add hotfixes and/or update packs to your installation. Any addons for nLite that you add here will be installed silently during Windows Setup also.
How to get all hotfixes after SP2:
- Use RyanVM Post SP2 Update Pack.
- Install WinXP. Run Windows Update and write down all the required hotfixes. Download them manually from www.microsoft.com.
- Windows Updates Downloader - let this program download all hotfixes for you.
- Information about the hotfix releases could be found here: MSFN, TheHotfixShare and SoftwarePatch
- Windows Media Player 11: Download WMP11 Integrator and the WMP11 installer. Use WMP11 Integrator to slipstream WMP11 into your WinXP CD before making any changes with nLite. Once WMP11 is slipstreamed you can proceed with nLite.
- Internet Explorer 7.0: Just download IE7 and slipstream the .exe with nLite.
- Office 2007: Work in progress!
- Addons: Download more than 330 addons for nLite from WinAddons. These .cab addons will be installed silently during Windows Setup.
Video tutorial: Slipstream Windows Media Player 11
Video tutorial: Slipstream Internet Explorer 7 with nLite
Video tutorial: Integrate addons with nLite
8. Drivers: Integrate drivers into the installation. Browse to some .inf files and nLite will do the rest. Thanks to http://driverpacks.net/ you can create an installation CD with drivers for almost any piece of hardware. During setup Windows will only use the drivers required and will ignore completely the others. Unused drivers won’t be copied on your hard drive.
Video tutorial: Integrate drivers with nLite
9. Components: Select the components you want to remove from the installation. Make sure to read the short info before removing components especially those in red. Check the Components Removal Example to get an idea about the most important components you should not remove.
By clicking on Advanced you will be given the opportunity to keep some specific files. For example you can remove “Command Line Tools” but you can preserve ping.exe, ipconfig.exe, etc. which are part of this component by adding them to the Keep Box:
Power users could ignore the Compatibility Wizard:
10. Unattended: Set personal settings in advance so you don’t have to during the installation like Users, CD-Key, Regional settings, etc. Here you can also add Windows themes.
Video tutorial: Unattended installation CD with nLite
Adding themes: you’re using some neat Windows theme and want it on your CD as well? Here is an example how to slipstream Luna Element 4 and set it as a default theme:
Video tutorial: Integrate themes with nLite
11. Options: You can pretty much ignore the General tab and go directly to Patches.
- Maximum unfinished simultaneous connections (TCP/IP patch): Set it to 100 or 1000 for max P2P performance.
- USB Port Polling Frequency (Hz): Increase for smoother USB mouse movement. Not for wireless mice or any other USB device, use with caution! Works on Logitech MX, MS IntelliMouse Explorer 3, Razer Viper and possibly others.
- Unsigned Themes Support (Uxtheme Patch): Set it to enable and you will be able to use a 3rd party themes (from DeviantArt for example).
- SFC (Windows File Protection): Set it to disable to stop the automatic recovery of replaced or deleted system files and folders. Although it might sounds like a useful feature, it’s highly recommended to disable it. The duration of your installation will be reduced drastically.
Video tutorial: Patch Windows with nLite
12. Tweaks: this is pretty much self-explanatory. Apply your favorite registry tweaks and configure Windows Services. Once Windows is installed all your tweaks will be applied, no need of post-install tuning.
It’s possible to configure the services as well.
Here you will find an excellent Windows Services Guide.
13. Bootable ISO: we’re almost ready. Once created just burn on CD the ISO or test it in a virtual machine. You can burn the ISO with nLite or your favorite CD/DVD burner like Nero for example. It’s recommended to use rewritable media (CD-RW or DVD-RW) to avoid media loss in case you’re not happy with your WinXP copy and want to create another one.
Video tutorial: Create a Bootable CD with nLite
Video tutorial: Burn ISO files with Nero
Video tutorial: Test ISO in VMware Machine 5.5 – shareware
Video tutorial: Test ISO in Virtual PC 2004 – freeware
Video tutorial: Test ISO in VirtualBox 1.5 – freeware
November 24th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
very helpful! thanX
January 10th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Thanks, Very good guide. Only clear one I could find for this vers of nLite. Thanks a bunch
March 27th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Great guide! It would be placed in their own website and made downloadable
April 28th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
dear
after the invention of Virtual pc, your software is the best discovery. let it be install any kind of softwares like office 2007 etc.
rgds
August 30th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
kudos do nlite!! i put an addon of office xp in the windows cd.. i used a software called INSTALLRITE.. available here.. http://www.epsilonsquared.com/installrite.htm
beautiful it works.. it installs office xp rite from the windows cd while installation.. gonna try on office 2007 n let u know soon..
September 15th, 2008 at 5:07 am
super…mind blowing tutorial…thankssssssss
September 18th, 2008 at 3:10 am
when are u going to finnish the office 2007 includer?
September 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Oh, I guess I totally forgot about that…
October 21st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
when are u going to finnish the office 2007 includer?
January 29th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Do you know if you can add other 3rd party software into the installation?…or does it only work with Windows apps for now? This product has made building a customized easy so far! Thanks
January 29th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Rog you can add pretty much everything. All programs on WinAddons are packed for nLite use and could be integrated into your Windows install CD.
February 11th, 2009 at 5:59 am
How and where can I put a theme in with nlite??
February 11th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Skyper, see step 10. Install the theme you want and add it from the Unattended section of nLite. That’s the easiest way.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Can someone show me how to use nlite in XP Pro X64 bit since it requires .net framework V2.0, and when I download and attempt to install that, it terminates with a message that .net framework V2.0 will not operate on 64 bit software????
Thanks.
February 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
For anyone who had the same problem. It turns out that MS has a 64 bit version of .net framework. That is the solution. Thanks.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I don’t understand this, Internet Explorer 7.0: Just download IE7 and slipstream the .exe with nLite. But how do you do it?
February 18th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
In case someone needs to know. The answer to my question is: there is a x64 bit conpatible version of .net framework V2.0. Download from MS.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Jerry, you can slipstream IE just the same way you integrate hotfixes with nLite.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Any progress with Office 2007?
April 18th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Any new with Office 2007 ???
May 12th, 2009 at 12:29 am
how can i download the hotfix from internet.
moreover i love your tutorial pal.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:32 am
can i create my own xp bootable cd using dvd-rom
May 13th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Sure, you can burn the ISO on DVD.
Just search in Google for the KB****** (number of the hotfix).
This link might help:
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=86450
May 21st, 2009 at 12:56 am
guys i have xpsp3 32bit ver(591mb). i have downloaded all hotfix form http://www.autopatcher.com/ and its cool. but i have some ques. if i remove some components from it and add all of the updates is there any problem? by the way i have added about 29mb of update and 55mb of drives (ati inf,samsung monitor inf,Intelchipset inf). Adding everything i click build and it start building them. My xp grows up in 896 mb and i can see its making archive and back to599 mb. is all the hotfix and drivers included in it? did i do anything wrong? plz help me
June 10th, 2009 at 9:25 am
I downloaded XP SP3.iso from microsoft.
“Windows XP Service Pack 3 - ISO-9660 CD Image File”
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2fcde6ce-b5fb-4488-8c50-fe22559d164e&displaylang=en
And extracted it using 7zip, but when I browsed for this folder in nlite, it said
“Make sure that selected folder or drive contains the “i386″ or “AMD64″ directory, blah blah blah”
But I checked the directory, it contained i386, and within this was another i386 that contained files and folder, so I cut the later one to paste directly into main directory of windows, and when I browsed this time, I got the same msg.
Please, Please
anyone help me.
What am I doing wrong?
What should I do?
June 10th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Why don’t you just download http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en
December 30th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
thanks for tutorial…
I can burn the ISO on DVD..tutorial please
February 20th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
very good guide.tnx. i have got every thing i need , thank u very much.
February 21st, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Hi thanks for such a wonderful software and tutorial.
I searched for offfice xp addon, but i was unable to get it and i am also searching how to make addons myself.
Ur help will be appreciable.
Thanks
Anand
February 11th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Can any body tell me that, how to integrate Windows Update into XP SP2 using nlite so that we dont need to install the Updates again and again from beginning….
March 17th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
None of my cabs themes, or wallpaper work I Intergraded the following
4 themes with patch turned on
Set first local theme to as default theme “aquanox”
Programs were
Windows live photo gallary
Windows Sidebar
Winrar
Foxit Reader
Windows Plus!
And
Rocket dock
When I Intergaded these they did nothing
Either the themes were not found
The Cabs Extracted and nothing showed up in the program files folder of the c drive
The Internet explore dosen’t update
nothing
I’m stop FUCKING with this shit and windows all together because this is SOME BULLSHIT