Microsoft promised a number of features for Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (SP1), but none of them seemed more promising than an install integration feature called slipstreaming, which would allow system administrators to meld the updated SP1 files into a Windows 2000 install share on a network, giving future installations of the OS the SP1 update without needing a separate install. The first peek at this slipstreaming feature came before Windows 2000 was even released commercially, with the High Encryption Pack (HEP), which Microsoft provides on a floppy disk with retail versions of Windows 2000 (you can also download this update from the Microsoft Web site and Windows Update). The HEP didn't come with any particular tools to facilitate slipstreaming the high encryption feature into a Windows 2000 install share, but since it was so small, it was fairly easy to get going. For SP1, however, Microsoft would need to create something far more automated.
With the release of Windows 2000 SP1 in August 2000, Microsoft truly delivered. As promised, SP1 can be easily integrated into a Windows 2000 install share using this slipstreaming feature and, best of all, it is completely automated. Here's how to make it work.
Preparing the install share
SP1 can be installed a number of ways, though it will typically be deployed using a standard "update" installation or an integrated slipstream installion as described here. First, you must prepare an installation share containing the i386 directory from a Windows 2000 Professional, Server, or Advanced Server CD-ROM. I prepared a folder named E:\Software\Operating Systems\Windows 2000\2195_SP1\Pro for this purpose, copying the contents of the Professional i386 directory and sharing it over my local network.
Next, you will need to obtain the Network Installation version of SP1, which is included on the SP1 CD-ROM and available for download from the Microsoft Web site (it's a hefty 87 MB). In my case, I grabbed the download version and extracted it to E:\Software\Operating Systems\Windows 2000\SP1\sp1network\. However you obtain the Network Installation, you'll need to make a note of its location, be it on a CD-ROM drive, a local hard drive, or a network share.
Now you're ready to integrate the updated SP1 files into the Windows 2000 install share, though I should mention that the following steps require you to be running Windows 2000.
