(de)Slipstreaming Windows 98

calvinb

I'm trying to prepare a Windows 98 installer I can plop onto my 486, so I don't have to do any of that after install - tasks like modularizing components and putting the 95 shell back in. (98 kernel improvements with 95 speed is what I need.) Unfortunately, 98lite doesn't work the way I thought it did - it operates on the existing Windows install. I thought it'd be more like nLite, where I could prepare the image. How can I do this effectively?

SomeGuy

You can automate many options with an msbatch.inf. There is an example with most of the Windows 95 options here: viewtopic.php?t=8280
If something is available in the Windows component section of Add/Remove programs it should be selectable in the msbatch.inf, but you may have to scrounge around for the right 98 option names.

You might be able to slipstream some of the resulting 98Lite INF files and select options that way, but as I recall it does do some programmatic manipulations, especially with the shell, that can not be easily automated.

Although, if it is just for one computer, you might just install manually, customize everything, and then make a full backup that you can restore as needed.

1607

iirc 98lite does work on install media - you can run it from DOS on the setup files and then it kicks you into a slightly modified installer. I remember trying to bypass the CD key check with it a while back (to no joy) before I realized the key was online.