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Introduction
What you'll need
Build your Windows XP disc
Build your Windows 2000 disc
Build your Win98/Me disc
More help and links
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save time downloading Windows updates

We all know the importance of keeping your system up to date, but when you reinstall Windows from scratch you’re forced to download all those updates that post-date your installation files, which can lead to hours of downloading and reinstalling.
   AutoPatcher solves this problem for Windows 2000 and XP - the initial download is large (206MB for Win2000; 165MB for XP), but once done you have all the updates you need to bring your PC up to date without having to go through Windows Update first.
   AutoPatcher is updated monthly, but to save having to download the whole package again, keep an eye on its forums for special packages that enable you to get the new updates without having to download the entire program again.
   After reinstalling Windows, run AutoPatcher. It’s simple to use - once installed, run the program, check what updates it’s selected and then just click Update, sit back and let it update your PC. Once complete, restart your PC, delete the AutoPatcher folder, install your security software and then go online to download any post-AutoPatcher updates.
   To get hold of AutoPatcher, plus find out more about using it, go to www.autopatcher.com
 

Build your Windows XP CD

It’s a slightly convoluted process you’re about to follow, so we recommend you take your time and don’t allow yourself to be distracted. The procedure we’re following is from Nu2 Productions, who have provided additional files that enable you to create and burn your new Windows CD.

Locate your installation files
When you install Windows from a recovery disc it usually copies the installation files to your hard drive. You’re looking for a folder called i386, but if you perform a basic file search for the folder you’ll find it pops up in more than one place.
   Thankfully, the simplest way to locate the i386 folder you need is to take a quick trip into the Registry. Click Start > Run, type regedit and press [Enter]. Now browse to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup.
Look in the right-hand window for a value called SourcePath. If it points to a location on your hard drive, that’s where you need to go to locate your i386 folder; if it points to your CD drive then the folder you need will be found on your recovery disc.

Files to download
You now need to visit Nu2 Productions’ Web site: www.nu2.nu/bootcd/wxp. This contains the extra files you need to transform your Windows installation files into a fully functional (and bootable) CD. First download the BCD Full Package (currently version 1.1.1), which is a Zip file and around 523K, to your desktop. Once downloaded, create a folder called BCD on the root of your C drive (so it’s C:\BCD) and extract the contents of bcd111.zip to it.
    Once done, go to Nero's Web site to download the Nero Aspi Library - this enables BCD to burn your Windows CD. Save the file - wnaspi32.dll - to the C:\BCD\bin directory.
Now return to www.nu2.nu/bootcd/wxp and download the wxp10.zip file to your desktop, unzipping its contents – including the sub-directories – to the C:\BCD folder.
EDIT: if the link to Nu2.nu doesn't appear to work, download BCD from here, and wxp10.zip from here.

Combining your files
Now locate your i386 folder again, and copy it to the following location: c:\bcd\cds\wxphome\files\ if you’re using Windows XP Home Edition and c:\bcd\cds\wxppro\files\ if you’re using XP Pro.
    You’ll need to integrate Service Pack 2 into your installation files if you want the latest version of your operating system on CD - check out the walkthrough below for details. Finally, browse to the files folder you copied your i386 folder to and place all the additional files you wish to include - drivers, patches, key applications and so on - in a separate folder alongside it. These aren’t installed along with Windows, but they’re easily accessible after installation without you having to swap discs.

Slipstream Service Pack 2 into your installation files

1 FIRST STEPS
Open My Computer and select Tools > Folder Options > View tab. Make sure Hide extensions for known file types is unticked and click OK. Locate your Service Pack 2 file (see What you'll need to obtain it) and copy it to the root of drive C, renaming it sp2.exe.

2 SLIPSTREAM COMMAND
Click Start > Run, type the following into the command box and click OK:
c:\sp2.exe -s:c:\bcd\cds\wxphome\files\ (Windows XP Home)
c:\sp2.exe -s:c:\bcd\cds\wxppro\files\ (Windows XP Pro)

3 SIT BACK AND WAIT
Service Pack 2 should automatically update your files on-screen. Click OK when complete. If it doesn’t work, make sure the BCD folder and sp2.exe file are both on the root of drive C.

  

Pull your CD together
All that’s left to do now is burn your CD. First, make sure a blank CD has been inserted into your CD writer. Next, click Start > Run, type cmd and press [Enter]. Assuming you’re in the C:\Documents and Settings\<your username> directory, type the following three commands to switch to the BCD directory, pressing [Enter] after each command:
cd ..
cd ..
cd bcd
If you have Windows XP Home Edition, type bcd wxphome and press [Enter]; if it’s the Professional Edition, type bcd wxppro instead to start the installation.
Everything should be automated from this stage on – if you run into any trouble, review your settings and check www.nu2.nu/bootcd/wxp for additional help. Once the CD has been burned, remove it and label it - your Windows XP CD is complete!

Burn to DVD
The above procedure is fine if you’re burning to CD. This only leaves around 150MB spare for other files like drivers, however - if you want to include larger files like AutoPatcher (see left) or Office Service Packs, for example, you’ll need to burn to DVD.
Sadly, BCD doesn’t support DVD writers at present, but there is a workaround. Repeat the procedure above, but after typing cd bcd and pressing [Enter], type bcd -b wxphome or bcd -b wxppro and press [Enter] instead. This will create an ISO image as opposed to writing a CD.
The ISO file - bcd.iso - can be found in your Documents and Settings\{User}\Local Settings\Temp folder (to see this folder, select Tools > Folder Options > View tab and select Show hidden files and folders before clicking OK). You can then burn this to DVD with a burning tool that supports ISO images - CD Burner XP Pro is one free example, and you’ll find it here.

Test your new CD
Does your new Windows XP CD or DVD work? If all you’ve copied across is the i386 folder then your disc won’t auto-play like normal Windows discs. However, it should boot into the installation process, so restart your PC to verify this.
You should see a message telling you to press any key to boot from CD when your PC restarts - if it doesn’t appear, you’ll need to enter your BIOS setup program by pressing [Del], [F2] or whatever key is displayed to make sure your PC is set to boot from CD first. Look for an option regarding boot priority, and make sure the CD is the first boot device.
If you do see the message asking you to press any key to boot from CD, do so, and the set-up process should begin. When you reach the first screen, remove the CD and press [F3] twice to reboot into Windows as normal - your CD works perfectly.