Why Does Windows Have to Hate?

[sechs]

Over the last month or so, I've been trying to build a custom Windows XP install disk with service pack one integrated and an answer file. However, every disk that I've made barfed during installation -- sometimes in text mode, but always before finishing GUI mode install. Most of the time the issue was a file which could not be copied from the CD or missing or bad file on the harddisk. In one case, however, the installer froze while copying files, and managed to zap every partition on the array.

While I found that a couple of the builds and burns were bad, the major culprit in these failures appears to be to where I was installing Windows. I had been attempting to install to a spare partition on my RAID 5 array. When I installed to an empty space on an ATA drive, there were no issues (although very slow).

I've tried going back to my original Windows XP disk and using both the included and latest drivers for the LSI MegaRAID card, and it makes no difference. For good measure, I broke out my copy of Windows SBS 2003, and it does the same routine.

What could be the issue here, and how could I fix it?

 

[Mercutio]

Storage drivers for the RAID card?

 

[sechs]

Windows XP comes with the older AMI drivers, and, as I said, I forced it to use the latest LSI drivers, and it always poops out somewhere.

I've also tried goofing around with the array settings, and it doesn't make a difference.

It works perfectly if I image an existing installation to the array... I just can't install to it.

 

[sechs]

This is still happening. And when I try to Ghost a fresh install to an array, it barfs on first boot, usually with a driver error.

Any ideas?

 

[Will Rickards]

Tried that nlite app recently mentioned in the toolbox forum?

 

[sechs]

Actually, that little nlite app caused by hours of pain because it jacked the SP2 CD that I had created. No more of that.

 

[sechs]

What seems to be happening is that I'm getting lots of file system errors, causing corrupt files, and then the crashing, etc.

I've also noticed that Ghost is slower than molasses in January when imaging to or from an array. Approximate half as fast as a single disk on a regular SCSI controller.

It seems like this ought to be a software issue, but I can't put my finger on the source.

 

[Groltz]

I made a slipstream of XP-Pro + SP2 + RyanVM's Windows XP Post-SP2 Hotfix Pack v1.05 using nLite v0.99.7.

Installed it onto a reformatted drive on my home machine yesterday.

Flawless. :mrgrn:

There were only two incidents and they were of my doing. Not even eventful:

1) Upon booting to the desktop for the first time, Windows complained vigorously that it needed the XP install CD since it couldn't find the drivers for my printer... This was expected since I configured nLite to omit the native XP printer drivers on my slipstream disk. Installing the newly downloaded printer drivers from the manufacturer's web site cleared that annoyance right up.

2) ATI Catalyst Control Center will not function unless .NET Framework 1.1 is installed. It only took a few minutes to hunt this solution down via google.

 

[Handruin]

Nice info. I'll have to give it a go to see if i can create a slipstream copy.

 

[Groltz]

Just be cautious when it comes to the part of omitting services and drivers.

It is really easy to fabricate a slipstream that won't work if you leave needed items out of it. There's no safety net.

 

[sechs]

PS: I've given in to just straight-up service pack slipstreaming -- not even an answer file. All this monkeying around is too much of a headache....

 

[Handruin]

For now I'll probably go the same route. I would be content with having just the service packs. If it didn't take much work to add drivers, I might look into it as a bonus.

 

[Mercutio]

Sysprep is the best of all worlds. Build the machine. Throw in Acrobat and Firefox. Download all the windows updates, all the drivers you need, then dash it off to a CD or DVD.

It's a little bit of a hassle when you run into something that's vastly different from your base (Via vs. Intel/SiS vs. nVidia), but once those images are made, system software install times drop to under 10 minutes.

 

[Handruin]

I've used sysprep a little bit for VMware, nothing extensive yet. We'll be using it to deploy clones of a single OS, so I used sysprep to ready the images. Sysprep is a bit different from a slipstream, isn't it? From what I've done so far, sysprep comes after a clean install where as a slipstream allows you to install anywhere.

Do you image your sysprep'ed machine with ghost, or something similar?