Man was this a process. Thanks to all of the people at MDL for the great tools and info that i used. Sorry about the incomplete and missing links, but my post count was too low to include complete links. It wasnt clear to me at all if a non-OEM home built computer could work with these tools. I read a few posts that indicated it might, but nothing conclusive. I have an MSI Motherboard with AMI BIOS. I decided to start with the DMI Boot CD for Award-AMI-Intel BIOS (Add SLP1.0 w/o modding) method. I used the SATA version just for future needs even though i only had IDE Optical drives. I then followed the guide by ameykelkar (sorry had to remove link) The guide worked to a point, although it wasnt specifically written for my application. I grabbed a fresh copy of Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 (x86) - CD VL (English) from the torrent link in that post. I checked the file integrity with the MD5 & SHA1 utility and it all checked out fine. I then installed Windows XP and used a Corporate key i generated with the MSKey4in1 Key Generator. I burnt a copy of the OEMBIOS utility and it came up empty initially. After running the DMI Boot CD for Award-AMI-Intel BIOS and selecting option 2 to tattoo with the AMI/Award for HP. I ran it again after it came up with the HP info and said it should pass activation. I then installed Windows and all of my drivers etc. I thought i might be good to go at this point and tried running Windows update and it failed WGA. So back to the DMI Boot CD for Award-AMI-Intel BIOS (Add SLP1.0 w/o modding) thread and the link to the VLK & OEMBIOS Changer I then downloaded the VLK & OEM BIOS Changer and the HP / Compaq (OEMBIOS.CAT CRC32=CD4E1902) uncompressed BIOS file from (removed link) There were 2 HP OEMBIOS, but only the HP / Compaq link worked. I followed the instructions in the VLK & OEM BIOS changer readme file and im now passing WGA. Maybe i needed to read a little deeper into some of the threads here and i would have answered some of my lingering questions. I hope i made this all clear enough, so that it might benefit someone else. Its still not clear to me if i can create 1 single slipstreamed XP Pro SP3 CD with everything i need for any system. I guess ill read on and see what answers i can come up with.
Man, not taking anything away from your effort, but you honestly should keep it to yourself (unless you are 15 & just discovered XP & this is the most exciting thing ever...) sebus
Always one in the crowd... Thanks for the warm welcome ahole. And just why do you think i should keep it to myself? I made the post thinking it may help someone who was struggling with the same questions i had. Sorry if i sounded a little too enthusiastic. I stumbled across MDL after unsuccessfully using other methods. Even with my 20+ years in working on computers, i hadnt heard of or tried the methods used here. Try not bashing the new guys and maybe you'll find they have something to contribute.
Need to add the OEMBIOS files to the iso before burning..you can use the files in the changer also. Usually only 6 or 7 files (depending on your method learned)..
Or even better next time just download xp pro oem sp3 add oembios files and winnt.sif file and it done.
911medic and urie, Would this work for all machines or would i need one disk for all home built machines with an AMI, Award or Intel BIOS and then another for OEM machines that i would still need to get the correct OEMBIOS that matches the SLP string for the machine in question?
Let's see... nothing impossible! ????...shocking, but you now have a chance to catch up, never to late to learn sebus