We need a bootable CD image file in order to create a bootable CD from our newly modified Windows XP files. Fortunately, the Windows XP CD (or the Windows 2000 CD, 2003, etc.) already has a perfectly usable boot file; we just need to get at it. For the purposes of this article, we'll use the freeware program 'Isobuster' available here.

First, download and install IsoBuster. Now Insert your original WinXP CD into the drive and open up Isobuster. Navigate to the 'bootable CD' directory. In the right hand pane, highlight 'microsoft corporation.img'. Right click it and select 'extract Microsoft corporation.img'. Extract the file to your 'bootcd' directory.

Now its time to assemble all our files together and create a bootable XP CD with the aid of the boot image we just extracted. We'll use Nero 6 to do this.

Start up Nero and select 'CD-Rom (boot)' as the type of disk you wish to make.

From the 'boot' tab, change the image file to the 'Microsoft corporation.img' file that you extracted from the XP CD in the last step. Note that you will have to change the 'files of type' box from .IMA files to 'all files' in order to locate your file in its directory.

Check 'enable expert settings.' In this section, you will need to change the 'kind of emulation' dropdown box to 'no emulation' and the 'number of loaded sectors' value to 4.

Now change to the 'ISO' tab. Change the 'file name length' dropdown box to 'max. of 31 chars (ISO level 2)' all boxes on the screen should be checked. It's essential that the version of Nero you are using supports the 'do not add the ";1" ISO file version extension' option, or the CD you create will not boot properly. If you have an older version of Nero, you will need to upgrade to at least version 5.5 or newer.

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Page 1: Beginners Guides: Unattended Windows 2000/XP Installations
Page 2: Step 1: Copying the source files to your hard drive
Page 3: Step 2 Con't: Installing the service packs
Page 4: Step 3. Windows Setup Manager
Page 5: Step 4: Adding RAID/SATA text-mode drivers
Page 6: Step 4B: Modifying Winnt.sif for driver installation
Page 7: Modifying txtsetup.sif - Part 2
Page 8: Modifying txtsetup.sif - Part 3
Page 9: Step 5: Adding plug-and-play drivers to the CD
Page 11: Burning a bootable CD con't
Page 12: Troubleshooting the customized Windows XP unattended install CD