How To Create a Windows Slipstream CD in Linux

Note (11/08/05): There were some problems with the 'mkisofs' command in the instructions below, which caused Windows installations to crash after the first stage / reboot of the install. The 'mkisofs' command has been changed below to fix the problem. Sorry if this caused problems for anybody. Please email me at rawc(at)hotmail.com if you have any comments regarding the instructions.

Most tutorials on slipstreaming only show you how to burn your slipstream CD in Windows with software like Nero or Roxio which cost money. The instructions below show you how to do the same thing in Linux for free. You'll have a fully bootable Windows slipstream CD without having to pay for any software.

This will be easy if you have a Windows/Linux dual-boot system or if you have a Linux live-cd from your favorite distribution.

Slipstream Your Copy of Windows to the Latest Service Pack

There are tutorials all over the internet that show you how to do this. Paul Thurrott's is one of them.

Add the CD Boot Image to the Slipstream Directory

In order to create a CD that will be bootable, download the boot image for the CD or extract it from your original Windows CD with IsoBuster, a free program with no time limit. Once you've got the boot image, copy it into the root of your slipstream directory. For example, if you slipstreamed the latest service pack into 'c:\xp', that is the directory you need to copy the boot image into.

Create the ISO image in Linux

1. Reboot into Linux, switch to root, and mount your windows partition containing the slipstream files. I use /dev/hda1, but your Windows partition may be different.

# mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows

2. Run 'mkisofs' from the command line to create the ISO image. I have verified that this works for a Windows XP SP2 slipstream CD, and it should work for other service packs as well.

# mkisofs -D -N -d -l -relaxed-filenames -no-iso-translate -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -b xpboot.img -hide xpboot.img -hide boot.catalog -J -hide-joliet xpboot.img -hide-joliet boot.catalog -V VRMPFPP_EN -publisher "MICROSOFT CORPORATION" -p "MICROSOFT CORPORATION" -o /destination_dir/slipstream.iso /mnt/windows/slipstream_dir/

Items highlighted in green are required to make a basic ISO9660 image.

-D -N -d -l -relaxed-filenames -no-iso-translate -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 - These are essential. Refer to the mkisofs man page for details.
-b xpboot.img - If needed, change this to match the file name of your CD boot image, the one you copied into the root of your slipstream directory.
-hide xpboot.img -hide boot.catalog - These options hide the boot files that are placed in the root directory of the CD. Make sure the name of the boot image you want to hide matches the one you specified with the '-b' option.

Items highlighted in orange are optional. Add any of them you want to the required options above.

-J -hide-joliet xpboot.img -hide-joliet boot.catalog - '-J' adds a joliet filesystem to the CD in addition to the ISO9660 filesytem. When specifying '-J' as an option, you also need to add the '-hide-joliet' options (Joliet) in addition to the '-hide' options (ISO9660).
-V VRMPFPP_EN - Change this to the appropriate CD volume label. Not sure what volume label you need to use? Here are lists of Windows XP sp1a, sp2, and Windows Server 2003 sp1 CD volume labels.
-publisher "MICROSOFT CORPORATION" - Adds a publisher name/id to the CD.
-p "MICROSOFT CORPORATION" - Adds a preparer name/id to the CD.

3. If you want test the ISO image before you burn it, mount it with a command similar to the following:

# mount -o loop -t iso9660 slipstream.iso /mnt/whatever

Burn the ISO Image

You can burn the ISO image with any software that you want in Linux or Windows, but the easiest way if you have a recent version of Gnome is to right click on the ISO image in Nautilus and choose 'Write to disc...'.