Create An Integrated Up To Date Windows 7 Install Disc
There’s little doubt that Microsoft has been busy over the last few years with the release of Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 about a year later. Since then Windows 8.1 itself has had 2 major updates which could traditionally be called Service Packs, and Microsoft are now working on Windows 10. Yet according to statistics, there remains a Windows operating system that has more users than all other operating systems in the world combined and is still supported by Microsoft.
That is of course Windows 7 which was released in 2009. Ridiculously Windows 7 has received only one Service Pack in over five years, and has had no updated install DVDs or ISOs since 2011. If you install Windows 7 these days and then run Windows Update, the list of hotfixes and patches is staggering, and well over 150 before you even get to extras like .NET Framework! If you’re continuing to use Windows 7, with the unending amount of updates to install, what’s the best option if you want to install Windows 7 in future?
A quick way to update Windows is by installing patches from an offline source such as a USB flash drive or hard drive, this is faster than Windows Update via the internet but still takes time. A better option is to integrate all the updates into the Windows media so they are installed as part of the original operating system. Windows XP has a popular tool called nLite to do this, Vista has its own version called vLite which doesn’t work too well with Windows 7 Service Pack 1. Here we’ll show you how to slipstream most of the post Service Pack 1 Windows 7 updates into a Windows install media, including newer Internet Explorer and .NET versions. This means minimal updates are required from the start and Windows doesn’t become bloated with hundreds of separate updates before you even start to use it. Although this may seem complicated, the process is quite easy once you’ve gone through it once or twice.
Downloading the Required Windows Updates
The first thing you need is obviously a copy of all the Windows updates that are needed to integrate into the install media. For this purpose we find the Windows Updates Downloader (WUD) tool is most useful because it’s easy to use and the update lists are periodically updated to reflect the latest patches. Here’s how to download the needed files.
1. Download Windows Updates Downloader and install the program.
2. Go to the Update Lists page on the same website and download the list you want for Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit). Once downloaded, double click the .ULZ file to add the list to the WUD program.
When you wish to created an updated Windows 7 media you can simply visit this page again and download an updated list and then download the required missing updates.
3a. Open the WUD program and make sure the Update list in the drop down is for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 x86 or x64. This next part is important because you don’t need all of the updates on offer, only those required to get Windows up to date in patches. In the main window tick the boxes for Security Updates, Non-Security Updates, .NET Framework 3.5.1 Updates and WMP12 Updates.
3b. Expand Optional Updates and tick the box for Internet Explorer 11. Additionally you can also select Silverlight, .NET Framework 4.5.2 and the Malicious Software Removal Tool from the “MS Security Products” category. Finally click Download to start downloading all the updates, there should be over 200 so it might take a while.
4a. You now need to download another update list which fills in the gaps because the standard list doesn’t download everything, Remote Desktop and some other patches are missing and will otherwise show in Windows update. We have created the ULZ file below to download the extras from Microsoft, download and double click it to import into WUD.
Download Windows 7 Extra Updates ULZ File 32-bit
Download Windows 7 Extra Updates ULZ File 64-bit
4b. Select the Extras list from the drop down and tick the Extra Security Updates and Extra Non-Security Updates boxes, additionally tick the .NET 4.5.2 Updates box if you plan to integrate the latest .NET Framework. Finally click Download to get these updates.
Alternative: There is also another program that you can use for downloading updates called Windows Hotfix Downloader although it downloads almost double the amount of updates, most of which are not required for general use. This not only increases the download times but also vastly increases the time it takes to integrate the updates into the Windows media.
Integrate The Updates Into The Windows Media
Now you have the updates ready, they can be integrated into the media. We’ve mentioned nLite and vLite above, and the good news is the same developer has created a new tool called NTLite that does similar but works on windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and even Windows 10. NTLite is still in beta but has been fine during testing and is also shareware so not all options are available, but the needed integration functions are available in the free version.
1. First and foremost you need a Windows 7 Service Pack 1 DVD or ISO image to hand. If you don’t have one you can download an official SP1 ISO which can be burned to DVD or written to USB later.
2. Copy the contents of the DVD to a folder on your hard drive, an ISO can be extracted with an archiver such as 7-Zip or mounted as a virtual drive and then everything copied to a folder.
3. Download NTLite Free and install it (a portable mode is available during install).
4. Launch it and click the Add button and browse to the folder you extracted/copied in step 2, click Select Folder. Windows 7 will then show in the Target list.
5. Right click the operating system in the list and select Load, the program will extract the Install.WIM to the Temp folder. The operating system will then show as Loaded with a green icon and a number of options will be available down the left side of the window.
6. Click the Updates option on the left, this is where all the updates are integrated but it’s incredibly easy to add them.
Click the arrow below the Add button and choose Folders and subfolders found packages, then browse to the folder you saved the downloaded patches from Windows Updates Downloader above, and click Select Folder. After a few seconds the list will be populated with all the updates to integrate. NTLite will add the updates in the best order automatically.
If you don’t want to install the extras of Silverlight, .NET Framework 4.5.2 and the Malicious Software Removal Tool etc, you can now begin the task of starting the integration process. If you do want to add them, go straight to the section on page 2 about adding optional extras although you can still integrate the updates first and add the extras later.
7. Click the Apply button, tick the Create ISO image box at the top and choose the save location and file name for the ISO image file. Press the Green Start button and wait for the process to finish.
The speed of the integration process depends a great deal on the speed of your system’s drives, a fast system with an SSD could finish in under half an hour, a low spec desktop or laptop could take a couple of hours or more.
Tip: The whole integration process can be sped up massively by using an SSD or even a RAM drive if you have tons of memory (16GB+). NTLite defaults to the Windows Temp folder which is usually on C, so if you have moved your temp files folder from your SSD drive it would be a good idea to go to File > Settings and change the “Temporary file directory” to a folder on an SSD or RAM drive. In short, put the folder on the fastest drive your system has with at least 7GB of free space.
8. Once completed, you will have an ISO image which can then be burned to DVD, written to USB flash drive or loaded in to virtual machine software such as VirtualBox or VMware Player for testing. Note that after installation is complete and you’re at the desktop a reboot is required before you can check for updates. This is due to some updates which NTLite decides cannot be integrated and are instead installed on first logon.
With a check of Windows Update you can see we only have a few updates left which can be included by reading the next section. Do be aware that you still might have drivers and any other updates which are region or language specific to download, but the vast majority are now already installed.
Read more of our integration guide on page 2.
Adding Windows Update Optional Extras
Even though you might have all the hotfixes, security patches and Internet Explorer 11 integrated, there are still other components offered by Windows Update such as .NET Framework 4.5 and the Malicious Software Removal Tool. As these are executable installers instead of Microsoft Update (MSU) files they can’t be integrated but are installed silently on first logon of the newly installed operating system. Here’s how to add them.
1. Assuming you have already downloaded the programs you want to add using Windows Updates Downloader, and gone through step 6 of the main guide to add all the patch files in the Updates window, press Post-Setup on the left and accept the warning after reading it.
2. Click the arrow below the Add button and select Add File. Browse to the Windows Updates Downloader folders and choose an add on from the Optional Updates or MS Security Products folders.
3. The setup installer will appear in the list, simply enter /q into its parameter box so the install will be silent and automatic.
If you’re adding .NET Framework 4.5 and all its patches, make sure to add the main installer first and then each update in turn from lowest KB to highest to avoid issues.
4. Once you have added what you want, proceed to step 7 of the integrate guide and continue with the integration (Apply, enable create ISO and then Start).
You can also include third party software installers in this section such as CCleaner, Paint .NET, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and etc, but we won’t go into that here as this article’s focus is on Windows updates. All you really need to know is the switches to make the install automatic, /q or /quiet works in a lot of cases.
During the Windows setup process the entries in the Post-Setup list will be installed at the “Windows is finalizing your settings” screen shown below, the computer could stay on this screen for several minutes depending on the number of programs and updates to install, so don’t panic as the system hasn’t hung or crashed.
Note: A few times while testing we encountered a problem after integration and installation that Internet Explorer keeps displaying the “meet your new Browser” welcome page and loads the tab every time you open the browser. To stop this happening you can add a command in the Post-Setup window. Click Add > Add Command and enter Reg in the left Item box, enter the following in the parameters box:
add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main"
/v DisableFirstRunCustomize /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Alternatively download the small batch file below and either add it to the Post-Setup window as a file or execute it after installation of Windows (run as admin) if you find you have the problem.
Download Disable IE welcome Batch File
Integration With a Multiple Version Windows 7 ISO or DVD
Many users will know that an official Windows 7 DVD or ISO image only allows installation of a single version of Windows, if you have a Home Premium disc you can’t install Professional or Ultimate with it. There is an easy way around this by deleting the ei.cfg file from the Sources folder to unlock all versions on the same disc.
When you perform an integration it is effective on the Windows version you have chosen only, to update all on a single disc you have to run the integration for each version you want to update one at a time. The major downside is this increases the time taken to create a fully updated install media by several times.
The procedure is slightly different when updating multiple Windows versions as opposed to a single version on the same disc.
1. After browsing for the copied/extracted Windows 7 files in NTLite, all the versions available will show up in the target list. Choose which one you want to work on first and go through steps 5 and 6 from the main integration guide to perform the updating.
2. Instead of following step 7, click the Apply button, do not tick “Create ISO image” but untick the Export image option. Press the Start button and wait for the process to finish.
3. After integration has completed and the image has been unloaded, click Target on the left, select and load the next version you want to update. The list of updates to integrate will have been remembered so when you go to the Updates or Post-Setup window the list will already be populated, all you have to do is apply the updates again. Your actions are also saved as a preset which can be loaded again at a later date.
4. After the last integration is finished right click on any version you’ve updated in the target list or the operating system entry and choose Create ISO.
During the install process you will still be given the choice to install any of the Windows 7 versions available on the media, the ones you have edited through NTLite will be fully up to date once installed. This method should also work if you have created an All-in-one install media with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, although you have to be extremely careful about not integrating the wrong architecture updates, i.e. not using 32-bit updates on a 64-bit version, and vice versa.
Adding Your Own updates to the Integration Process
If you find there are any updates for Windows missing and they haven’t been included in the download lists, you can add them manually if you know the KB number of the update.
1. Visit the Microsoft Download Center and type the KB******* into the search box, adding either x86 or x64 helps narrow things down. Click on the link for the update that looks like the correct one.
2. Check the details on the download page and if it’s correct press the Download button to download the update file.
3. Move the downloaded file to the Windows Updates Downloader folder. If it’s a Microsoft Update file (.MSU) or a CAB file it can be integrated from the Updates window in NTLite, if it’s a setup executable (.EXE) it can be added in the Post-Setup window of NTLite.
Note: Users who have previously been involved with slipstreaming using tools like nLite for XP will know there are many other functions you can perform within the software and NTLite is no different. You can also perform unattended installs so you’re not asked for interaction during install, adjust settings such as Windows Service states, integrate drivers and remove Windows features. The full removal feature set is only available in the paid version of NTLite which starts at a rather hefty $45.
Do be aware that using NTLite to remove any features and components from Windows could break the integration and cause any number of issues because you might be adding updates and the components or required files have been removed.
You might also like:
How to Slipstream Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Create a Bootable CD
How To Make a Windows XP Install Disc That Includes Drivers
4 Tools to Update Windows Offline and install Hotfixes from a Local Source
Download Offline Hotfixes and Patches with Windows Updates Downloader
Ketarin Automatically Keep Your Software Setup Installers Up-To-Date
Hi :) You’ve mentioned in a comment somewhere below that WUD was abandoned. Does this mean this method is no longer viable for obtaining updates? If so, is there a 2nd way to go about integrating updates into the Windows ISO
The WUD method will not get your computer up to date fully as the last pack update it had was March 2015. You can still use it to get your computer updated to that point, so it still works but leaves a couple of years of updates, better than nothing but certainly not ideal.
The Windows Update Rollup mentioned below will get you more recent security patches but it leaves out all the optional patches, so it’s good but not perfect either.
We are going to revisit this at some point soon and provide a more suitable method.
Thanks for your reply
Working to build this right so I can excise a Few limbs from this Orwellian beast.
Dave likes his liberty…. Maybe just a few more breaths of it before the AI Makes it’s presence felt, So Helpful So Friendly… Good tutorial good information…Thanks Again
Hello, I am curious if it is possible to get windows update, up to date and download all the current updates through windows update, Find the folder where they are stored, Remove the ones I don’t want and run it through NTLite to create a updated install
if not could I download the latest convenience rollup update and dissect or unpack it
selectively remove certain updates or patches and repack it or leave it unpacked and run it through NTLite…..I have a basic understanding excuse my ignorance if my questions seem outlandish…. I am using win7 Sp1 Thanks
Sadly, no, you can’t really add the updates from Windows Update because they are not the same as standard .MSU update patches. The files download to:
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
You can open them with 7Zip but it’ll be a lot of work identifying, sorting out and renaming them.
The issue with the rollup is dozens of patches have been merged together, trying to separate them again into individual patches would probably be impossible.
After the integration, will this all be able to burn on a 4 GB DVD ?
Thank you Hal+Raymond for such a good guide..
I would like to add on my previous comment that if you’re going to integrate just the new rollup update.
You will also need:
Windows6.1-KB3172605-x64.msu: microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53335
Windows6.1-KB3177467-x64.msu: microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53863
32-bit: Windows6.1-KB3177467-x86.msu
microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53857
3182605 is actually a newer rollup update.
July 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
support.microsoft.com/fi-fi/kb/3172605
You can download all that atleast with WHDownloader..
Google it,and you will find it. :)
I think you really shouldn’t download all that…
Just get the convenience rollup update..
## Convenience rollup update for Windows 7 SP1 ##
– KB3125574 is a comprehensive rollup update that contains almost all fixes released
after Windows 7 SP1’s release, up through April 2016
– To apply this update, you must first install servicing stack update KB3020369.
32-bit: download.microsoft.com/download/C/0/8/C0823F43-BFE9-4147-9B0A-35769CBBE6B0/Windows6.1-KB3020369-x86.msu
64-bit: download.microsoft.com/download/5/D/0/5D0821EB-A92D-4CA2-9020-EC41D56B074F/Windows6.1-KB3020369-x64.msu
and here’s KB3125574 Convenience rollup update for Windows 7 SP1:
support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3125574
That’s a fine suggestion but what about the 8 months of updates since the convenience update?
I just updated my stock Win7 SP1 iso with the convenience and then did this procedure.
Now I am current up to Dec. 2016.
This is great. i could now Intograte Service pack 1 in to the service pack 0 iso that i have.
I had 3 of 222 files not found on the remote server, but skipped them.
“Even though you might have all the hotfixes, security patches and Internet Explorer 11 integrated, there are still other components offered by Windows Update such as .NET Framework 4.5 and the Malicious Software Removal Tool. As these are executable installers instead of Microsoft Update (MSU) files they can’t be integrated but are installed silently on first logon of the newly installed operating system. Here’s how to add them.”
Considering the above, it appears there is no mention of how IE11 is to be processed as that is also an exe not an msu. Same goes for the Windows Update Agent.
Both of these are in Optional Updates.
Do they need similar processing as is carried out for .NET Framework 4.5.2 Updates ?
IE11 can be added along with all the other patches because it will integrate correctly, something like .NET cannot be integrated so needs to be installed separately on first boot.
Thanks for a great article! In following this procedure for Win7 x64, error messages showed for
Windows6.1-KB2970228-x86.msu — not found, skipped [new Russian ruble symbol]
Windows-KB890830-v5.22.exe — not found, skipped [Malicious Software Removal Tool]
Apparently the 1st was roundly criticized as a problem patch but the 2nd doesn’t have complaints. Anyway, as there is no contact info on the Windows Updates Downloader website to let them know, just thought to let you know.
correction: should be “Win7 x86” (for the 32-bit version)
KB890830 changes its version number probably every month or two, which is why it wasn’t found. The latest one is Windows-KB890830-x64-V5.41.exe
Sadly WUD seems to be completely abandoned these days, at some point in the future we’ll redo this using another updates method.
You can try Autopatcher
I don’t know what I am doing wrong but whatever I try it still takes hours to search for updates. I’ve added KB3102810 & KB3138612 to the ISO. I’ve tried using just the convenience rollup instead of adding the updates individually. I’ve tried different ISO’s, PC’s, and I’ve tried virtual machines. No matter what I do it still takes Windows hours to search for and find updates.
KB3102810 is superseded.
KB3138612 (latest WU Client update from March 2016) in combination with KB3172605 (Update
Rollup from July 2016) and the latest WU Agent (support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/949104) does the trick!
Note: A “v2” of the KB3172605 is available, which is currently available via MS Update Catalog only. If the old version was installed, WU offers it (v2) again.
Question, so now that MS has the Windows 7 SP1 ISO for download, how does this affect downloading the above files? Is there anyway to check to see if the files you are downloading are already in the service pack 1 iso?
It doesn’t affect anything, if you read you will see that the above files are relying on you having a Windows 7 SP1 ISO in the first place. The exact same SP1 ISOs have been around since 2011.
Thanks for the reply Hal! I incorrectly stated sp1 iso and mean’t “windows6.1-kb3125574-v4-x64” which is the convenience roll up which is about 488mb. As mentioned by another poster. This includes a slew of kb updates from MS.
That makes more sense ;)
Using the Rollup patch and those updates from WUD is probably going to give you a lot of duplicates as the WUD lists haven’t been updated since the Rollup patch was released. I’m not sure if NTLite makes any allowances for the Rollup and ignores any patches it includes, it might be worth checking as it’s generally a smart program on how it deals with updates.
Hello,
I run a IT Company and we have an image with every OS, so we can choose it at setup. We are asking if it could possibly work to integrate all Updates onto those without needing to download the updates to every single OS ( Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Home Premium ). I did some research but couldn’t find anything related to my question. We are really needing this as this would spare us a hell lot of working hours.
Thank you. I apreciate every help.
Should just need to add for 32 and 64bit and it will cover all the flavors. :)
Your article was the first time I attempted slipstream updates into anything or make custom installs and I have since learned some really advanced forms of customization. I now have an updated copy of every OS on USB3 with native support for the most recent RAID, AHCI, USB3, and NVMe hardware that installs in as little as 4 minutes a computer. While this may not be that impressive of an achievement for some it’s allowed me to save hundreds of hours and allowed my tech department to reallocate our resources into other projects. Thank you for your articles!
I would be very interested to hear how you did this? Have you documented it anywhere?
Thanks,
Niall
Is it possible to extract Windows 7 64 Bit from a Windows 7 Aio disk.
You probably can but it depends how the AIO disk was put together and whether it uses 32-bit or 64-bit boot files etc. In reality it would be easier and faster just to download a clean ISO from Microsoft.
Now that MS has started releasing the “Convenience Rollup Updates”, could you use this method to add the April 2015 Servicing Stack Update, plus the latest CRU file, rather than going through the ULZ file and selecting the various checkboxes as described above?
It all seems way to complicated for me. First off, what a Windows ISO is, and what’s it’s real purpose; is not clearly defined. Next, it states “Copy the contents of the DVD to a folder on your hard drive, an ISO can be extracted with an archiver such as 7-Zip or mounted as a virtual drive and then everything copied to a folder.” Which folder. what 7-Zip, what mounting, what virtual drive and again, what folder???
A simple step-by-step instruction without assuming everyone is a computer genius would have been preferred. If I have to look up a dozen things to use a program, then I just don’t bother with it. Instead of being time savers, usually, they are time wasters.
If there is a better way of downloading an OS on you PC, why does Microsoft not offer it, use it, or even tell you about it?
To be brutally honest, if you don’t understand what things like ISO files, virtual drives and 7-Zip are, you really shouldn’t be looking at doing something like this, it’s far too advanced.
This type of task is meant for people that have some reasonable knowledge of Windows and software in general, it’s not for the novices or the inexperienced.
If you don’t understand what you’re reading, instead of blaming the author for writing a “complicated” article, you should just move along. No one is going to hold your hand and baby you through this process. I understand that there are readers out there with different levels of experience, and that you may be a novice. I was once a novice, and that’s OK. But blaming the author instead of reading and learning isn’t going to get you anywhere. It’s a different story if you attempted this process, ran into problems, and asked for help. Your reply was not only unhelpful, but more importantly it shows your ignorance and laziness. Please do not trash talk other people’s hard work if you simply do not understand it. I personally found this guide incredibly helpful and time saving. Next time before posting useless comments, maybe you should think twice before publicly embarrassing yourself.
Anyway, since you read this article, I’m guessing that you probably want to reinstall your OS, but judging from your lack of knowledge, you should probably avoid touching your computer and leave it to someone who is more experienced.
Hi, I really want to try this, But I’m getting hung up on the “ULZ file below to download the extras from Microsoft, download and double click it to import into WUD’- When I double click, all that happens is that a text file opens and it’s not imported to the Windows Updates Downloader. The text file seems to be a description of the KB updates. Please help, I’ve been able to do all the rest of this. Thank You
Firstly you have to actually install WUD (not try to use a portable version), then the ULZ filetype will be applied and the file will be imported once double clicked. Reinstall WUD if it isn’t importing on double click and make sure nothing is stopping it from applying the file type association.
Thanks, trying this asap
I tried reinstall of WUD and I keep getting an open text file. Any other things to try???
Thanks
If you still have trouble rename the .ulz file to .zip and extract the .ul found inside. Then copy it to this folder:
%localappdata%\Supremus Corporation\Windows Updates Downloader
Ok Got it now, when downloading updates, make sure that that are going into WUD directory, not the default directory that shows up on WUD when you first open it. It’s a Daaa moment for me, and I feel stupid since it was so simple. Hope this might help others having this problem. Thanks for your help Mr HAL9000
Can i use whatever windows 7 iso? but that windows had a crack on it, if i burn it along the update ,there is no problem right?
Obviously we can’t comment on cracks but all versions of Windows 7 are on each DVD but you have to run the ei.cfg patch mentioned to make them visible.
Use windows new convenience rollup update which will mean you only have two add two updates to the update list
I fee like I’m missing something here after Step 4:
A) I opened the Windows 7 Ultimate x64 .ISO image in 7Zip and extracted it all to a folder.
B) I installed nLite v1.4.9.3 from their website then ran it, and clicked the “Next” button (only option other than to choose a language option), and was presented with a “Locating the Windows Installation” prompt,
C) A path field and browse button provides a facility to select a directory for an existing install base.
D) Navigating to the root of the folder where the extracted ISO files were deposited was not successful. Browsing further into “Sources” folder, where the “Boot.WIM” and “Install.WIM” files with the main content reside, or other folders (‘i386’, … ) were also for naught. nLite will not allow me to proceed – stating
“Make sure the selected folder or drive contains the ‘i386’ or ‘AMD64’ directory …”
Is this an atypical DVD image? It did come directly from Microsoft TechNet.
Does step 4 assume that the WIM image itself would be mounted with Read/Write access first (which may require ImageX from the WAIK)?
If anyone knows the correct workflow I’d appreciate the guidance. Many thanks to Raymond.CC for the help so far.
-D
I think you have got confused somewhere, you are talking about using nLite which is the slipstreaming tool for Windows XP. The tool and method we are talking about here is NTLite which is why you are being asked for the i386 directory, XP has that directory, Windows 7 has a Sources folder.
You need to download and install NTLite…
Thanks!
if you install KB3102810 the check for update process takes about 4 minutes to complete :)
That and KB3138612 are both recommended to install if you are having this issue although they are by no means a magic bullet and you can still have the same problem with them installed.
Downloading the Extra-Updates_files contain a file that ends in ul not ulz and when double clicked it crashed the program. These files are cml where as the orginal uls format is bnary.
The .ULZ file you download is a renamed Zip file which contains a .UL file, this in turn is a renamed XML file that contains the updates data. If you have installed Windows Updates Downloader correctly it will recognise the ULZ file type and automatically extract and import the .UL file on double click.
I’ve just tried again and the Extra Updates file installs as it should without issue. If you installed WUD and get this problem try reinstalling.
I also got a zip as I used Internet Explorer 8 to download the file. Didn’t realise it should have been a .ulz file lol. But thanks to HAL9000 for clarifying, just rename the .zip file to .ulz and it imports fine.
And what we do if you have iso with x86 and x64 versions?
Worked brilliantly for me.
Even without a SSD or RAM Drive for NTLite the whole process tool less time than a normal install followed by Windows Update. Added bonus; no need to cope with Windows Update Errors.
Plus I now have install media that can be used on any machine.
Next project is to integrate USB3 drivers to speed up the install process even more.
I believe that NTLite will do that if it is paid for, but I suspect there will be a manual method that would work.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi @ all here is what I did to shorten the update process. I switched the update process to “…check for updates and download them but install them later…”. Let that whole thing run overnight and at next morning the updates had been downloaded to the pc/lappi and i could start the installation.
That worked for you but it doesn’t work for everyone. I’ve left machines for over 12 hours and still they don’t get the updates, there are reports of people leaving their machines for well over 24 hours without success. Many of us just don’t have that long to wait….
I’ve just built a windows 7 64 bit disk and I injected over 400 updates in to it. I’m short of around 18 updates but I must say it makes things very easy now. It searches for updates within in about 5 min now where as before would take for ever. Only trouble is that this disk is around 4.88 gb in size so it I have to install from a usb pen drive. This is ok if your computer supports usb boot function
One thing I would like to add is to configure NTLite to set Windows Update to “Never Check” during this process. I’ve been doing this stuff for years, decades and noticed after packing all these updates, windows update will still take close to 1.5 hours to do the initial update check. It has to crunch numbers checking KB signatures from the bottom up and there is no way to pre-cache this step. If you leave the windows update setting to default then it will try to do the initial check on first login as soon as you get your lan drivers/connection established. Your machine will seem slow for a looooong time due to windows update running in the background.
As of 4/10/16 a fresh updated image PXE deployed(WDS) on a Core 2 Duo with 4GB ram took about 2 hours for the initial check resulting in 76ish updates. Took another 2 hours to download and process. Those .NET patches are compiled on the fly so they take a long time. The only way around this is to take a test machine and do a fresh install. Put it into audit mode(Ctrl+Shift+F3). Apply patches, updates, and base software. Sysprep, image, and pack it into an ISO……Have fun everyone!
Would you be so kind to make a tutorial on this?, or refer to one that you recommend?. Thanks
Hi, I wanted to know if I could use my original Windows 7 without the SP1 for this install. And I can’t seem to add the 2 half updates Windows 7 Extra Update file to the Downloader, I can open, extract, save to, but I don’t see it in the downloader. Would really like to try this. Thanks
Fantastic tutorial, everything worked.
The only problem I now have is Windows Update just hangs. I’ve left it for hours, restarted the laptop many times, tried net stop wuauserv & net stop bits and cleared the Software Distribution folder but still the same result.
Is there anything else I can try?
Thanks
Before you connect to Windows Update you might like to try and run an offline method such as WSUS Offline Update. The issue you are having is becoming more and more common recently but there could be a few missing updates that might help cure the problem, and WSUS will install them for you. Have a read here:
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/offline-windows-update/
This is a known (but poorly documented) issue. The symptom: Windows Update hangs indefinitely on ‘Checking for Updates’ on a Win7 build. The fix is to manually install KB3102810, available from support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3102810. Hope this information saves some headaches!
This can help in some situations although when I had the same issue, manually installing it didn’t help at all. KB3138612 is also recommended when you have this problem because it installs the latest Windows Update Client version. Didn’t help me either but is still worth trying as this whole update delay/cpu usage issue is growing and I’m seeing it on a lot of Win 7 machines these days.
Seems to me that although the UI shows it hanging, the updates still download in the background.
Well, whenever I go to shutdown after running Windows Update there always seems to be an exclamation on the shut down button and some updates are installed before the computer fully shuts down.
Just for some reason it never shows that is has found (and downloaded) updates in the Windows Update page.
They could be if your computer is set to auto update but obviously that won’t be the case if updates are set to check only or never check. The only exceptions could be something like the updates to Windows update that could get installed automatically as prerequisites.
Last couple of days I have been working on the same issue with Windows Update. Too many things I tried to recite them, but one thing did work, so maybe it’s what matters most.
Downloaded Windows 10 ISO, burned the DVD and started the upgrade. Made sure to let it check for updates when it asked. When I did this, I also also started Windows Update from Control Panel and asked it to check for updates as well. Then I went to bed as it was about 1am already.
Got up pretty early and came down to the computer. Found the the install had reached it’s next screen, so it obviously found what it needed. Moved the window to the side and seen the Windows Update found 242 updates as well. Didn’t mention it, but this was a new install of my Windows 7 Ultimate, so these were the first set of updates. I did the new install only because I was not able to get updates working in the old install.
So now I have fully updated my new Windows 7 and will have a bunch of apps to install, but first I did a full backup of this current install. Now, if I can only get Windows Repair Disc to work… Oh boy, it never ends.
Heh. Nowadays you can also integrate SP1 by using NTLite, so you can take the original Win7 RTM ISO and update it .
What forces me to integrate these updates is the enormous amount of time spent waiting “checking for updates” and then waiting forever on a stuck installation of some update.
I actually had a similar problem of a stuck “checking for updates” a few days ago, nothing listed on the web worked and the eventual fix was running WSUS Offline Update first and then the update check only took a couple of minutes.
Hi,
Great tutorial, just created a fully updated self installing AIO for win7, also made 8.1 which works well. I do have some questions if someone could please help.
What is the difference between 8.1 and 8.1 update, I understand one is a laptop that came with 8.1 and the other is for laptops that were updated from 8 to 8.1 but im really not sure, which is which, and when should each be used.
If a laptop has 8 on it, can I put 8.1 directly onto it?
or if a laptop was updated to 8.1 from 8, which one should i use.
Also the iso I created here for 8.1 works great, but not for win8.1 with bing, it asks for key and wont take it, I presume its because its oem, but has anyone any ideas how to deal with that.
Can I just go ahead and put 8.1 core on all 8 and 8.1 core laptops,
I put a ofline installer on my iso for chrome, avg and firefox, and put them to /verysilent, but they still popup dueing installation and ask all the install details, which is ok but if your install is not attended, the pop ups timeout after a minute and they wont install
Any helo would be great
Hello, great manual, but for some reason it did not work for me :( I have done everything step by step and final iso file was around 3.8Gb but after installing it on a virtual machine it still was about to download over 200 updates. Any idea why? Thanks
Did you install the same version of Windows you ran the updates for? For instance, if you integrate the updates for Professional there will be none for Home Premium, Ultimate etc…
Hi HAL9000, I think I have figured it out. I’m pretty sure the version of win 7 on the iso I have used was wrong, as it was not SP1. I have found iso of the win 7 with SP1 and it worked with that one. Thanks for your help :)
Glad you got it sorted…
Hi, Hal2k! I’ve been meaning to use this guide/tutorial for the migration from WinXp to Win7 I commented on elsewhere: I do have Win7 (original, pre-SP1) install disks, but thought it would be easier to install from a slipstreamed one — but now I ran into a “catch-22”: You said: “the good news is the same developer [as vLite] has created a new tool called NTLite that does similar but works on windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and even Windows 10. First and foremost you need a Windows 7 Service Pack 1 DVD or ISO image to hand. Copy the contents of the DVD[/]ISO (…) to a folder. Download NTLite Free and install it. Launch it and click the Add button and browse to the folder [from] step 2”, but NTLite doesn’t run on WinXP! So, to get a slipstreamed & updated install disk for Win7, I need to already have Win7 installed?!?
You don’t need Windows 7 installed specifically but you do need one of Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 installed to use NTLite. XP isn’t supported probably because the whole install disk structure is totally different than Vista and above and internal commands may also be used to help create the slipstream.
Thanks for your quick reply!
Unfortunately, you confirm this ‘catch-22’: I need to have Win7 installed to make a Win7 install disk — but I was already expecting that, now.
So, ‘plan B’: Install a ‘temp’ Win7 with no SP1 (as a double-boot option), then install NTLite and make the ‘complete’ install disk as directed. Sounds like it might work?
That could be your best option if you have no access to an OS newer than XP.
It depends how often you plan on using the integrated disk as to whether it’s a useful exercise. If you are only going to use it perhaps once to install Win 7 it’s possibly quicker to use an offline update method such as Offline Update or Autopatcher. Slipstream disks become more valuable the more they are used to install Windows, for one install they are not really worth the time.
I do agree: Slipstreamed disks are more valuable the more they are used to install Windows — and since, as I said, I’ll be using this migration to become familiar with Win 7, learn how to make it ‘my own’, and finally settle on a configuration, I expect I’ll have to reinstall Win 7 several times (the last ones, without double-boot, hopefully), so getting a slipstreamed (and as updated as I can make it) install disk is important to me.
Since the copy of Win 7 I purchased is an ‘upgrade’ one (since I know it can be used to install even without an actual upgrade), bought in the US, it now seems I have one more hurdle: I was under the impression that, starting with Win 7, the ‘master’ install disc would have all versions, and the license/key would determine which one you could install, so I got the Ultimate version; but, now, when I started actually exploring it, it seems that “all versions” means Pro/Home/Ult/etc, but all languages are NOT there! I’d be OK with installing the en-US version, but my wife would have a hard time with that, so I’m now trying to get a pt-BR copy of the install .iso (preferably with SP1), hoping that the ‘legal’ key I bought can be used to activate it — but, so far, no luck (aside from shady sources I prefer to leave alone); even the ones listed in your original article have no mention of pt-BR copies… Do you know if a key for a en-US Win7 can be used to activate a pt-BR one, BTW?
That’s right, the Windows 7 ISOs are language specific and you will need a separate ISO image for each language you want to use. The “Computer software” section in our forum will be able to help you download an official Brazilian Portuguese version of the Windows 7 install disk.
(Sorry, I used the “Reply” on this post, because the latest one isn’t showing one. If there is a limit to ‘replies’, please excuse my ignorance!)
Thanks for the tip about the pt-BR disk; I’ve managed to find one with SP1 already, but I’ll explore that section of the Forum later on.
Just one hanging question I hope you might know the answer to: Can I use the Win7 licenses/keys I bought (with the en-US version) to activate a pt-BR installation?
I can’t say for sure because I’ve never had to activate any other language than English, but I believe the licensee will work in any supported language as long as it’s the same version of Windows you install (i.e. Home Premium etc).
That belief makes two of us — and I do hope so, too. It’ll certainly be a relief, if true, since it means I can proceed mostly as I had planned, years ago.
Thanks for your support and help!
Or, just use this:
download.wsusoffline.net
It runs all of the updates for you. True, you do have to monitor it and click, “yes”/restart every so often, but it’s pretty slick. It even works when WU is being a pest & not allowing updates!
FYI
HAL9000,
Question on updating a multi-version Windows 7 disk, wouldn’t it be easier to make the ISO back to Windows 7 Ultimate, make the updates, and then remove the ei.cfg file again?
If you did that you would still only have an updated Ultimate. All the different versions of 7 are stored in the WIM file and need to be updated separately, removing the ei.cfg only allows you to see them all during install.
you can get the latest updates as they are released in an ISO direct from Microsoft
support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/913086
Since WUD (Windows Update Downloader) seems to have stagnated with as someone else noted no updates in some time. You might want to investigate a similar tool which I’ve been using for some time to maintain a local patch repository. The tool is named autopatcher and it separates 32 bit and 64 bit updates validates check sums and includes windows 8 as well. The download link is in there support forum.
Regards
John
Just want say Thanks “HAL9000” very well done nice and clear, pictures very good size. and it really did help me.
Unlike so many so call guides all they want people click on there site with tons unhelpful info small pictures and full of adverts
Once aging really nice guide “HAL9000″” thank you for taken the time to do it.
Glad you found it useful…;)
Hi,
I followed your guide and it was very useful. However, after that I made the new ISO with all updated suggested by your link, at the end of the installation, there are still more than 100 updates to do. How can I integrate also them?
Thank you
Sadly it appears the author of WUD is not keeping his lists up to date, the last one is from March 2015.
use wsusoffline they are pretty up to date. the folder path to add to Ntlite would by yourdrive:\wsusoffline\client\w61-x64\glb. Ntlite will report the hotfixes that are not compatible after you add them. You can remove the ones that are in conflict, etc. There is a similar guide (but manual) here sysadminlab.net/mobile/creating-a-fully-patch-install-wim-for-windows-78-without-mdt-but-using-wsus-offline-updater
hi,
i want to ask, if i have a win 7 DVD with SP1, who can I found only the updates those are not included in my DVD, this software you mention “windows update” starts downloading all the updates those are already included in the DVD, what is the method that the software first read the all DVD data and than search on windows updates that the only updates those are not included in the DVD package.
thank in advance for your reply.
If your WIndows 7 SP1 DVD is a standard disk from Microsoft, Windows Updates Downloader will download all the updates it needs since SP1.
If your DVD has been custom made and includes other patches since SP1, there is no way to tell what has already been integrated into the disk.
thank you.
have you any link where you place a copy of win 7 professional 32 and 64 bit with all updates included (standard copy not customized) ?? if yes then plz share the link.
thank you
Nice article!
If I may… I have and use what I believe is a faster solution to setting up a new pc, updates, 3rd party apps and all…
In a nutshell :
1)Setup,update,install etc so the machine is as you want it. Do not activate the OS
2)Uninstall all entries under Device Manager>’IDE ATA/ATPI Controllers’. Do not let it reboot if it asks to do so.
3)Start>Run>sysprep>Enter.
4)Double click sysprep.exe
5)Select ‘OOBE’ option ,tick generalize , select Shutdown, click OK.
6)Once shut down, clone this to another drive (I have multiple OS’s ready on 1 spare disk in a machine which acts as the ‘source disk’ or rather, ‘source partition’ when cloning. I boot these every 2 weeks to update them, then run steps 2-5 again [steps 2-5 can be made into a batch file]).
7)Boot off the ‘Destination’ drive, update Win / drivers and enjoy.
8)Don’t forget to activate your Win & Office with legal keys you own.
Once you have this under your belt, you can get a new PC ready far less time. Personally I have a new PC ready with client data,apps etc in 3-4hours MAX, so I can offer 24hour turn around on new systems.
I forgot to mention that when I 1st setup the ‘master’ OS to clone, I use ninite.com’s facility. I also use this to update clients apps (the supported ones anyway) automatically, by scripting the file to run every 2 weeks.
Wsus Offline might be of interest to some of you, used to use it a LOT and for ~2years, before putting the above solution together for myself.
BTW W10 has a local , cut down version of Windows Services Update Service. Run a W10 VM and of you need to update a clients W10 , then the client PC will pull these from the VM. IMHO this should have been introduced in Vista already.
Wintoolkit is much better than nlite. It can slipstream all the updates and create a bootable iso using microsoft tools.
Google it.
I have used WinToolkit several times over the years but believe NTLite is better and an easier product to use. It’s very important to get the order of updates correct and NTLite does that for you, last time I looked at WinToolkit it required manual work to find out what updates should go in which order.
Landon, are you using a mobo with UEFI bios? I had exactly the same problem when using a new Asus motherboard. The solution is to look in the UEFI settings (somewhere under ‘USB’) and change ‘XCHI Handoff’ to the opposite of whatever it’s set at. If it’s disabled, set to enabled. and vice versa. Reboot and the install should pick up where it left off, but your keyboard will now work.
You could also use PS2 mouse and keyboard devices. They won’t be affected.
Hi, did it both ways with additional programs in post-setup, and the last time now without extra programs in post-setup, it’s been running since noon, i woke up at 4:30pm and it’s still running! At this rate I should have just installed Windows 7 Home premium like normal, and let it gather updates itself in 24 hours. Question; Why not just put the updates into the extracted ISO folder location: \YOURFOLDERNAME\sources\$OEM$\$$\Setup\Updates ?
Where the original updates are located during installation process, then just recompile the ISO again. After doing WUD, I just merged the updates for WIndows 7 into one folder, while putting the installer updates into another folder, adding those to post-setup. For some reason though after merging updates (non-installers) and ones downloaded from your WUD List, it overwrote some that were downloaded from WUD.. So apparently WUD and your list grab same named updates, just put into their respective folders? But this shouldn’t be taking 4 hours regardless.
Been easier to just put updates on target computer, slap a batch file script to run into each folder, letting it install the updates via batch file.
The last time I tried this, which was a few months back, the install took about 5 minutes longer than it would from an untouched install disk (under 30 mins). You definitely have a problem somewhere and probably the only fix would be some testing in batches to see where the problem is.
Hi,
It appears the Windows update download update lists haven’t been updated since March 2015 – I am assuming there have been updates since then. Any ideas where to get the most recent update list from as obviously i want to make the most up to date ISO image.
I downloaded windows 7 x86 using windows hotfix downloader since it founds more updates. Then i used ntlite to try to integrate them on the windows 7 installation dvd but ntlite jumped the integration of all the updates!! The same hapened using the update files downloaded by windows update downloader. So i can figure out that the problem isn’t correlate with the source of the updates. What should be the cause of this behavior?
Hi Raymond. Just about ready to do the NTLite stage but first I want to check the updates to see if:
1) Certain files ARE there
2) Certain files are NOT there
To do this more easily, it would be be best if I were to empty all 8 sub-folders (that were created by Windows Updates Downloader) into one folder. So this single folder would then contain all updates.
Do you know if this would cause any problems for NTLite?
No, it shouldn’t make any difference at all, the folder structure is created purely by Windows Updates Downloader for easier organization. NTLite will load everything from inside whichever folder you tell it.
Hello Raymond,
Interesting and informative, as to be far is the content of the site, I am however experiencing one issue which I hope you can assist me with.
After using and creating slipstreamed DVD’s previously I am now attempting to load WUD onto windows 10 so that I can create a new slipstreamed windows 7 DVD for a friend, however I am unable to get passed the initial installation screen as I keep getting the error message
‘The .net framework, version 2.0.0727 or newer is required.
Now I am running the latest version and no matter how I try to load the application, compatibility at various versions, via admin and without etc, I am unable to install the application, any suggestions?
Thanks and keep up the great work
Craig
WUD obviously needs an earlier version of .NET, Windows 10 only comes with .NET 4.6 which is not backward compatible with .NET 2-3.5. You can install it through Windows 10 quite easily, just Google “install .NET 3.5 Windows 10”, there are hundreds of guides to help.
Thanks HAL9000,
Ok now I feel particularly thick for not realising that one lol, cheers. Oh and sorry for crediting Raymond and not yourself with the article.
Craig
I am having issues using this guide to integrate USB 3.X drivers into the image. I can get the drive to boot but once it comes up to the setup screen where you input your name I have no mouse and keyboard. I tried including the unattended install files but it doesn’t go past the same enter name screen and there is no mouse or keyboard.
This article does not cover driver slipstreaming because that is almost a whole new subject on its own and can be very hit and miss about what does work and what doesn’t.
Excellent. Thanks for your input.
Re the files I want to dump\avoid, I’ve just started reading about MS’s telemetry-based and W10 promotional updates. Very scary stuff.
Hi Raymond. I’m ready to use NTLite but I’d like to dump a few of the Windows updates. I assume I can just delete them from the Windows Updates Downloader folder?
One other point: When the updates are downloaded and installed in the normal way, ie, via Microsoft’s website, the process is done in a series of stages, as you’ll know. There’ll be say, 20 updates then it’ll reboot, then you go back for another 5, reboot and another 30 and so on until you finish.
This all-in-one integrated method will install them all together, won’t it? Does that work OK? I’ve had the impression when doing updates manually that it’s not until you load certain updates that you become ‘eligible’ or ‘qualified’ for the next batch.
Yes, you can just delete any patches you don’t want to add to the image.
Windows does that because sometimes you have to have installed patch a before patch b will install. NTLite is smart enough to know this and will add the updates in the correct order so patch b can be added because patch a has already been integrated above it.
Step 4, adding the extracted service pack 1 iso to NTLite gives an error:
“invalid windows image path”
The extracted contents contain:
autorun.inf
setup.exe
windows6.1-KB976932-ia64.exe
windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe
windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe
Great information! I have a question: Is it better to put these files on a Flash Drive by themselves or are they small enough to fit on a Windows 7 4.23 DVD using NTLite? I would think all of the updates are necessary so I’m thinking of doing one or the other. Thanks again for a fantastic article.
Sorry.. figured it out after reading deeper into your blog – downloading the Optional Updates created a .zip file, NOT .ulz. Once renamed, WUD imported the list without a problem.
Thank you! Great discussion and a good tool to do the integration (although, as you mentioned, it is pretty slow – but given that running windows update on a bare-install takes days (yes, days), a couple of hours is acceptable!)
A note however: the Optional Updates .ulz file cannot be used with the current version of WUD (Ver. 2.5 Build 1002). It appears to me that they have encrypted the .ulz files from MS but yours is an xml file. Since the number of optional updates was small, I just force-downloaded them using your url references putting them in the subfolders identified by your categories.
Anyone have the windows update agent in .msu file? Windows update downloader gave me the exe version, which can’t be integrate.
The links – raymondcc.r.worldssl.net/win7-sp1-x64-Extra-Updates.ulz & raymondcc.r.worldssl.net/win7-sp1-x32-Extra-Updates.ulz come up as 404 not found. Any body found elsewhere?
Thanks
The x64 link works fine here, the second link is incorrect and not what you get from the download page.
We have had one or two reports of people having the not found issues in recent months but we’ve never been able to replicate and therefore fix any possible problem…
Hi Guy’s, thanks for the article.
FYI the win 7 iso link is no longer functional, hear is a working link i used for the iso
getintopc.com/softwares/operating-systems/windows-7-home-premium-free-download-iso-32-bit-64-bit/
sir, if i already integrated windows 7 update and i install it in my pc. can i unsinstall it once the windows 7 installed and boot?
thank you i really need help
it’s so hard to find windows 7 pure without any update or driver and SP included in the ISO
The updates will not show up in Programs and Features and are not uninstallable, the only exception will be .NET Framework.
im in the process of creating iso ,and so far i can see skips a lot of updates.Is that normal or not??Because its win7+sp1 so i guess skips the updates that are already in the sp1.
What do you think??
Hi. I am new to this. I tried creating an integrated version of Windows 7 ultimate using the software and techniques outlined in this post for the fun of it. It all went well, and I burned the generated ISO into a DVD and with it installed Windows on a test PC. But afterwards when I searched for updates, it informed me that there were more than 50 updates that were not installed. I have two questions: The first one is, how can I be sure that all required updates are included in the slipstream? My second question is, how can I create my own ULZ file to integrate all the missed updates? The list of updates it had missed included the following:
Important updates (49)
Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 30.6 MB
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2 for Windows 7 (K32901983) 52.4 MB
Microsoft driver update for Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM AC ’97 Audio Controller 66 KB
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 7 SP1 x86 (KB2894844) 3.9 MB
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 7 SP1 x86 (KB3023215) 4.8 MB
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 7 SP1 x86 (KB3032655) 310 KB
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 7 SP1 x86 (KB3037574) 3.9 MB
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 7 SP1 x86 (KB3072305) 5.3 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB2510531) 535 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3004375) 6.4 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3020388) 65 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3031432) 6.4 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3033890) 11.6 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3033929) 26.3 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3042553) 275 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3045685) 176 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3046002) 2.7 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3046017) 168 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3046269) 56 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3055642) 157 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3059317) 1.0 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3060716) 7.3 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3061518) 3.4 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3063858) 738 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3067903) 129 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3069392) 183 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3069762) 1.1 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3071756) 8.0 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3072630) 1.8 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3072633) 690 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3075226) 2.3 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3076895) 939 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3076949) 176 KB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3078601) 4.1 MB
Security Update for Windows 7 (KB3079757) 4.3 MB
Update for Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility View List for Windows 7 (K32598845) 32 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB2703157) 353 KB
Update for Windows 7 (K32952664) 5.3 MB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3013531) 1.4 MB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3020369) 3.9 MB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3020370) 137 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3021917) 305 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3040272) 1.2 MB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3045645) 1.6 MB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3054476) 64 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3068708) 19.1 MB – 19.2
Update for Windows 7 (KB3075851) 2.5 MB
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool – August 2015 (KB890830) 47.8 MB
————————————————————
Optional Updates (41)
Update for Windows 7 (KB3048761) 437 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3075249) 903 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3077715) 475 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3078667) 437 KB
Update for Windows 7 (KB3080149) 8.1 MB
Windows 7 Language Packs (34)
I don’t know what the cause of the missed updated are. Was it because they were not included in the original ULZ files, or was there some other explanation? But in either case, it would be nice if I could create my own ULZ file to include all the above, and try it again to see if it would work this time.
Open an existing ulz file with 7 zip and then open the XML file inside of this using notepad++. You can then look at the format and create your own with the updates you specified were missed…
After you have created your customized .ul file place it here —-C:\Users\youruser\AppData\Local\Supremus Corporation\Windows Updates Downloader
I have a Dell Windows 7 Pro SP1 64 bit reinstallation DVD, and I have used it to re-install on my Dell machine several times. Now I want to slipstream updates into it and use a USB to install. When I add the image folder, it says it’s invalid? I cannot use this DVD?
Creation of the installation went just fine, and the installation boots just fine.
I am trying to use my customized Windows 7 installation (Dell OEM) on a Dell Optiplex 990, and the installation is on a WD My Passport Ultra 1TB drive that supports USB 3.0. The Optiplex does not have any USB 3.0 ports, so it’s plugged into a USB 2.0 port.
Problem is when the Windows Installer gets to the part where you choose what disk to install onto, it says it is missing drivers and then it won’t install onto the 320 GB WD HDD in the Optiplex.
I’ve tried plugging the USB drive into different ports; and I’ve tried using a 2.0 cable (which seems to make the USB disk non-bootable), and I’ve tried pointing the driver-browse-dialogue to an actual Installation DVD, but all to no avail.
Is there a trick I am missing? I could always use a DVD, but I want to make my USB 3.0 Drive do the trick for me.
I’ve had many problems similar to that over the years, the only sure fire way to get it installed is via DVD. You could waste hours trying to fix the issue when it would have been far quicker just to use a DVD.
Ah, that’s really my problem. The customized version includes a lot of updates and it won’t fit on a DVD. Sigh.
You could always try another USB device such as a flash drive…
Well, I’m not ready to give up yet… So, it *IS* asking me for a USB 3.0 driver? Maybe I just have to find the right one.
Please More details for Integration With a Multiple Version Windows 7 ISO pls upload video is best tutorial
and another one Post-Setup parameter command for
7-Zip 9.22 Beta (32-bit).exe
Firefox Setup 38.0.6.exe
flashplayer18_install_win_ax.exe
K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1120_Full.exe
Shockwave 12.1.8.158.exe
vlc-2.2.1-win32.exe
WinRAR 5.01 (32-bit).exe
etc
Thanks for you great wonderful article! :)
Sorry, disregard. Saw a later reply to a comment asking the same question. Yes it can be done.
Great guide! Thank you very much!
One problem I encountered was with IE11. Windows Update Downloader automatically downloaded the .exe version of IE11 which NTlite did not integrate. The .cab files can be downloaded here and integrated:
download.microsoft.com/download/8/F/8/8F889503-72DF-4CB0-A34F-82C56C53FF2F/Windows6.1-KB2841134-x64.cab
download.microsoft.com/download/8/F/8/8F889503-72DF-4CB0-A34F-82C56C53FF2F/Windows6.1-KB2841134-x86.cab
After I fixed that and manually downloaded all the newer update, I found the integrated installation ISO is 93MB too big for a standard DVD disc. Any suggestions on how to reduce the ISO’s size? Interestingly, the integrated install.wim is 300MB larger than the sum of the original install.wim and all the updates.
Thanks for letting us know, for some reason Windows Update Downloader was using IE11 CAB files when we wrote the article and it’s since switched to using executables.
I’m not sure what has changed but when we wrote the article the updated distro fitted onto a DVD with loads of room to spare and was only a few hundred megabytes bigger than the original ISO. You may be able to use the Removal section in NTLite to take out some useless stuff, although that section is limited in the free version.
Hi,
How to integrate RAID floppy drivers in the slipstream process for win 7?
That is not covered by this article but you would have to use the “Drivers” section in NTLite.
Thank you.Any article suggestion regarding the same?
Is there a secret to getting IE11 to install. I remember last year with another app, I had to install 4-5 prerequisites before getting IE11 to install. Even when I chose to install the Optional Updates,. IE11, after booting and installing Windows 7, Internet Explorer 11 was in my list of Windows Updates.
There is no secret with NTLite as it puts everything in order needed to install IE11 correctly. I don’t know what would happen if you intentionally leave out some of the prerequisites, but if you download everything with WUD it works fine with no updates required.
I got to the final stage of creating the ISO, everything says ‘Done’, yet it says in the bottom left corner in the blue box”Error: Aborted – Saving ISO image – Not enough disk space. Error 112″
Whats wrong? im saving it to a 64GB USB flash drive that is completely empty, how is there not enough space?
Have you tried saving to somewhere else such as a hard drive?
i have not, but i will see if that does the trick. i will be able to transfer that over to a USB correct?
Yes, that’s correct.
Installing to a HDD worked, the file size says 6.7GB… how is that “too large” for a 64GB USB Flash Drive?
I’m not sure, could be a bug in the program about how it detects removable storage devices. It may be worth contacting the developer and reporting the issue.
Is your flash drive formatted in FAT32? If it is reformat it to NTFS as FAT32 file system can’t handle files larger than 4GB.
Whenever I re-install W7 Ultimate 64bit SP1 from my 2\3 year-old DVD, then go online to update it, there are a number of irritating updates that I always avoid. But it seems that the free version of NTLite only allows for ‘Basic Component Removal’. You can see what I mean here: ntlite.com/shop. Does this mean that I’ll be saddled with all updates or that I can choose not to install any update that doesn’t appeal to me?
‘Basic Component Removal’ is when you want to remove parts of Windows that are built in, it’s not related to applying update patches. You can easily choose not to include the patches you don’t want by not downloading them in Windows Updates Downloader or moving them from the folders before integrating.
I believe you can remove them from within NTLite as well.
These lists updates serve to windows in any language, since most of the updates are global, or only English?
Thank you!
It’s quite possible it will work with different languages but that is something we haven’t tested so cannot say for definite.
Thanks a lot for your guide!
Could you be so pleased, and clear for me something?
1) Where should be the “Extra” updates from step 4b stored ? In the same folder as the regular updates or in another folder?
2) During the integration process from step no.6, are these “Extras” integrated too?
3) Are the “Extra’s” ordered automatically in proper way) or they are not?
4) Or should I add them manually (as described in step 1+2+3 on your second guide page) ??
5) If so in which order? (you are describing only the order of Net framework, but no the others..)
Thanks a lot!
Hello Ciman,
1 The Extra updates should be stored in folders where all the other updates are stored by Windows Updates Downloader.
2 When you select the folder for integration, everything inside will be integrated including the extra folders. You need to select the main folder so all patches inside all folders are added at once.
3, 4 & 5 All updates will be ordered automatically by NTLite, including the extras.
Hope this helps….
Another comment – if you create an AIO disk and use an unattended file, it puts the last image you worked on within the AIO into the answer file.
You have to remove the stuff between the tags to get an AIO again.
On another note I have created a few RAM disks for testing my disk on a VM, and crunching the NTLite files, it absolutely flies! Handy to have 64GB of RAM.
I tried the post-install tasks as per this article and it never made it past finalizing your installation screen.
Conrad
Thanks for this article, I’m hoping it’s going to speed our workshop builds up a great deal.
I have started the process of creating a multi-version, update integrated CD.
When I integrate the first image, and then unload it and move on to the next – it only shows a handful of updates on the update integration tab.
If I then browse to the update folder again (which is already listed!) then it shows the full list again. Then integrating all these 200+ updates again takes a long time.
I have just one question – are the handful of updates mentioned above the only ones that are different between Windows 7 versions, and thus no need to reintegrate 200 + updates for 4 versions?
Regards,
Conrad
I believe you have to apply all updates to each version you want to update. NTLite may be newer or have a new feature that makes the process quicker, but when I tested it all the patches had to be installed each time.
Sadly it does take huges amounts of time, I’ve heard people having their AIO disks updating for over 24 hours!!
Thanks for the awesome trick.
Excellent article! Thank you for this! One question, though: Are there any tools that will check an already-slipstreamed Windows 7 ISO for only newer updates?
Downloaded the win 7 update x64 extras ulz, extracted it and got a filename ending in .ul which does not look to be compressed. When I double clicked, all it did was open it as a txt file. Renamed it to .ulz and get an error. Is there an updated file?
The ULZ file is indeed an archived XML file but if you allow Windows Updates Downloader to handle the ULZ file type it will unpack and copy the UL file to the correct location so the program can read it.
Read my reply to Chris Becker below to find out where the extracted UL file gets copied to.
How Service pack 1 ( Windows6.1-KB976932-x64″ can be added to Update in Nlite?
I could add all patches but not KB976932.
Thank you!
I have a 32/64bit multi version and am trying to figure out if it will integrate post install packages for both or is post install updates not available in this case?
Read the section “Integration With A Multiple Version Windows 7 ISO Or DVD” on page 2, that hopefully covers what you are looking for.
Well, I am a Microsoft tech. and I would like to inform you that Windows 7 download links are no longer available. Please add any other download links for this article.
If you’re a Microsoft tech surely you would know what any other official download links for Windows 7 are, and tell us…!
Hi, this tutorial has proved to be extremely useful to me, I have even updated my windows 7 install USB stick periodically to include the latest batch of updates. I was wondering if you knew, or could point me in the right direction to what windows 8.1 updates need to be downloaded to make an up to date 8.1 USB stick? I see quite a few packs, and wasn’t sure whether they all have to be added, or just certain ones if they replaced other packs and/or updates. Thank you so much for this invaluable tutorial.
No WL for Windows 7 SP1 Brazilian Portuguese, may I use the English WL?
Congratulations for the excellent guide.
I tried unsuccessfully to download the ISO for my Windows 7 Home Premium. I could not — I was told after 30 minutes on the phone with MS — because my retail disks were upgrade disks, not full retail disks.
This leads me to my principal question: will anyone who upgrades to Windows 10 from Windows 7 be able to get an ISO of Windows 10??
Without a Windows 10 disk, re-installation of 10 [if needed] will be a huge headache because you will have to first re- install Windows 7 and then upgrade it to Windows 10!!
That is one of many questions Microsoft have chosen not to answer at the moment about the free Windows 10 upgrade. The information so far is very vague and all this was announced just to grab headlines and nothing else, in my opinion.
Sadly Microsoft have also chosen to upset many Windows 7 users by pulling their Windows 7 ISO images off Digital River.
Brilliant article, in the past I always do the same for xp, and nice to know detailed instruction on Win 7 and perhaps the same set of principles for Windows 8?
Thanks!
Yes, it’s a similar process for Windows 8/8.1/10
What’s the size of final ISO? If I integrate all updates available in a x64 Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate image, will it fit in a DVD5 disk?
Thanks for you great article!
I don’t know the exact size but it should fit onto a DVDR5…
What about for Windows 8?
Yes, you can do a similar thing for Windows 8, we concentrated on Windows 7 because it’s by far the most used operating system and also the most in need of an integrated install disk.
Awesome!!! This is a must read for system integrators like me. Thanks a lot.
I can’t get WUD 2.50 to show the Windows 7 SP1 Extra Updates even though it exists in the same library as the program.
You are not supposed to put it in the same folder as the program, if that is what you have done.
Make sure you have installed WUD because it needs to register the .ulz file type, then when you double click it the file will get copied to the correct folder.
The ulz file will get extracted to a ul file in:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Supremus Corporation\Windows Updates Downloader\
Excellent guide!! Covered everything I needed, from integrating IE11 and the updates. Perfect!! No more waiting HOURS to install updates everytime I format a friend’s or family member’s PC.
I can’t get windows updates downloader to take the update lists for the extra updates that you included. When I double click on them I get a windows updater has stopped working message. I have no problem with the regular update lists.
I’ve just tried the Extra files in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, they both import into WUD fine. Maybe download them again as you might have a corrupt file.
this is exactly what i was searching for a long time integeration of updates in iso
I have my PC working fine.
Last install I did was October 2013.
Before I was formatting and reinstalling every quarter.
Now I just do not have the time it takes, which is over two days at least 28 hours.
Really, what one needs is a good cleaner and good restore program, Norton Ghost and cleaner crap cleaner.
This was great! I have been doing it the long, hard way for so long. Now I have an installer that will include the updates with it and even install Flash Player and Adobe Reader, and EVEN set certain Windows settings for me! Wonderful – and easy, too. I couldn’t get the SoftPerfect RAM disk to work right with NLite, though, but I just let it compile during the night and in the morning all is well.
I tried the RAM disk option. I installed Softperfect RAM Disk and created a 10000MB NTFS Disk, and attempted to use this drive as the temp folder for NLite.
But NLite would not load the Windows installer.
ntlite.com/discussions/#/discussion/176/error-18-while-trying-to-mount
So I changed the temp directory back to the C drive and it worked after that.
Try by not extracting the ISO to the RAM disk and use a hard drive because NTLite will then extract the install.wim from there to the RAM disk.
I used Softperfect and a 10GB RAM disk and it worked fine during testing.
HAL, I extracted the ISO to HDD, and had it write the new ISO to HDD. I only set NLite’s temporary directory to the RAM disk – that’s what didn’t work.
Or do you mean I have to extract not only the contents of the ISO, but also the cab archive containing the install.wim file?
When I tested, I copied the contents of the ISO to a folder, created a 10GB RAM disk and changed the Temp folder in NTLite, nothing else. The NTLite tool has possibly had an update since then and this could be a new bug/issue that wasn’t present before. It might also depend how many versions you are trying to update, I only tried it updating 1 distro at a time.
IE11-Windows6.1-KB2976627-x64 in Extra Security Updates is outdated update from august 2014
Yes it is, but during testing Windows specifically asked for this update every single time when it wasn’t included, even when the latest cumalative IE update is installed. So you will either have to manually hide it or download and install it anyway to be fully patched from Windows Update.
Congratulations this is one of the best guides I’ve ever read regarding this process!
I was interested in this because I’m planning to do a non-destructive re-install of Windows 7 in order to repair small bugs. I don’t know whether you also have a guide/tutorial for this, but in the meanwhile I found this excellent one: winhelp.us/non-destructive-reinstall-of-windows-7.html
Thanks again!
Hello,
great content , but is there a update list for dutch (NL) updates for windows 7 , 8 and 8.1?
Cheers
Anthony
Not that I know of, just about all of them I’ve seen are for English.
Awesome! Thank you so much HAL9000!
Thanks Hal, seems very useful tutorial. Any chance of doing changes to the registry of the new install-iso version?
Thank you. Great Article. I will be using this for next time.
Nice description, I have used this before, can it be used with Windows 8.
Yes, it works with Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10TP, 32 and 64-bit
As per usual, nothing but good stuff from Raymond. I’m almost anticipating my next reinstall!
The title should’ve been: NTlite Review with Windows 7. As it allows editing till Windows 10 even… lol
Interesting view although it’s not a review but a guide how to use NTLite (and other tools) to update Windows 7, and I think no-one would dispute Windows 7 is the o/s most in need of an updated install disk!
Many Thanks Raymond. Very well made and detailed explanation. Couldn’t be better!!!!
thanks Raymond, this is good stuff, the time spent quiet indeed is worthwhile.
OMG..!! Real good… Right when I needed it.. Thx :)