Creating a Windows XP Service Pack 3 Integrated CD with Windows Media Player 11

System Requirements:

  • Windows XP Home Edition
  • Windows XP Professional Edition

The Problem:

This article discusses how to create a slipstreamed Windows XP SP3 CD with Windows Media Player 11 integrated into the install without the need for any third-party programs.

This article was written in response to my observing that there is a problem with the installation media generated from the creation of a Windows XP SP3 plus Windows Media Player 11 CD in some cases.

During the installation from XP SP3 slipstreamed media you may receive the following error message:

unregmp2.exe – Unable To Locate Component
This application has failed to start because WMDRMSDK.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.

unreg2mp.exe Error

This error message will appear at least 5 times during the setup. Once the system restarts to desktop Windows Media Player will not be included in the installed application list and will be missing from the start menu. The Windows Media Player executive will be missing from Program Files; effectively rendering your system Windows XP Home N / Windows XP Professional N.

It will also ruin any automation that you might like to have in your Windows XP installation!

Prerequisites:

This article specifically discusses and assumes the following:

  • Windows XP Home or Professional Edition
  • Windows XP SP3 RTM
  • Windows Media Player 11 – 11.0.5721.5145 (wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe published 1/15/2007)

Please Note: If the Windows Media Player 11 build is updated in the Microsoft Download Centre then the Service Pack 2 component of this article may no longer apply.

More Information:

The date on the Windows Media Player 11 installation is the problem. It was issued well before the release of SP3 in the beginning of May 2008. The installer binary is not SP3 aware and, when forced to integrate will fail to modify the required scripts for SP3 as technically speaking Windows sees it as a SP2 “patch”.

When the installer comes to setup Windows Media Player during install, it will find a broken module, error out (repeatedly) and ultimately fail to install the module; and yes, despite what Microsoft say, it is a module.

Windows Media Player, like an increasing number of things from Microsoft these days is distributed using the Microsoft QFE engine, as such the installer does contain the necessary information to perform a merged installation as it is essentially a patch.
While the deployment for Internet Explorer 7 is likewise in the QFE installer, sadly Microsoft made the conscious decision to disable the integration routine for IE7 – presumably as they originally wanted everyone to WGA Validate their systems before they could install IE7.

If you are interested in deploying Internet Explorer 7.0 from your integrated CD, please see my guide which can be found at the link below

View: Deploying Internet Explorer 7.0 from a Slipstreamed Windows XP CD

 

For the time being, the issue of the WMP11 installer only being aware of SP2 presents a problem to anyone looking to slipstream, but there is a pretty obvious workaround – step through SP2 first while you are slipstreaming!

You will need:

  • A Windows XP RTM, SP1, SP1a, SP2 CD
  • Windows XP SP2 : WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe : OR : Integrated XP SP2 CD to start from
  • Windows XP SP3 : WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe : OR : xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso (Recommended)
  • Windows Media Player 11 : wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe

Obtain the necessary Windows Media Player 11 Patch Installers

The WMP redistributable itself is just a candy-wrapper for the installer, it in itself is simply a front end to the patch installers that run invisibly behind it when you perform an installation. You simply need to get at them yourself.

  1. Copy the wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe to the root of C Drive (i.e. C:\)
  2. Open a command prompt and type:
    c:\wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe /t:c:\wmp11-files\ /c
  3. Go into c:\wmp11-files\ and copy/move out the following files into a new folder called c:\qfe-updates\
    • umdf.exe
    • WindowsXP-MSCompPackV1-x86.exe
    • wmfdist11.exe
    • wmp11.exe
  4. You can now delete c:\wmp11-files\
  5. Rename the files as follows:
    • 0wmp11.exe
    • 1wmfdist11.exe
    • 2umdf.exe
    • 3WindowsXP-MSCompPackV1-x86.exe

Note: The reason why I had you rename the files with 0, 1, 2, 3 prefixes is so that if you automate the process, then WMP11 will be slipstreamed before any updates are applied. More importantly, from testing several failed builds, it appears that if wmp11.exe is not slipstreamed before the other updates then you will receive the following error message when you attempt to load Windows Media Player on the target system.

Wrong Windows Media Player Version

Create the Slipstream

The sequence that follows will guide you through creating a successful SP3+WMP11 CD which you can use to burn your own disc.

The process for this is pretty much routine and is well documented on-line, so I am not going to go into any detail over how to burn the image back to a bootable CD. I am assuming that you have a fair level of technical competence.

Check the Base CD Version

You need to know what the base Service Pack level is for the CD you are using. If you really are not sure then a good rule of thumb is to look at the root of the file listing on the CD.

If you see:

  • win51ic.SP1 or win51ip.SP1 then you have an XP SP1 CD
  • win51ic.SP2 or win51ip.SP2 then you have an XP SP2 CD
  • win51ic.SP3 or win51ip.SP3 then you have an XP SP3 CD and why are you following this guide?

If you do not see any of them, then you have a RTM CD.

 

If your DO NOT have a SP2 CD (i.e. RTM or SP1/SP1a/SP1b)
  1. Make the directory: c:\integrated
  2. Copy the ENTIRE contents of the CD to c:\integrated including all files and folders
  3. Put WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe on c:\
  4. Open a command prompt and type:
    c:\WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe /integrate:c:\integrated /passive
  5. Follow the wizard

You now have a SP2 base

 

If you DO have a SP2 CD
  1. Copy the ENTIRE contents of the CD to c:\integrated including all files and folders

You now have a SP2 base

Slipstream Windows Media Player 11

Once you have your c:\integrated base (which is by the virtue of you following the above already SP2) you can proceed

There are multiple ways of doing the slipstream, I have an automated way. This guide simply outlines the idiot proof way to do it. If you have a faster way, then be my guest.

It is advisable that you check a SP3 + Windows Media Player 11 manual install for any required WMP 11 updates (in fact any SP3 update that is in a MSQFE format can be applied in this way: see my ultra patched Windows 2000 SP4 guide for examples of what you can do). Simply download and slipstream the QFE’s using the same syntax.

At the time of writing the only one that is required is:

  • KB941569 (WindowsXP-KB941569-x86-ENU.EXE) for Windows Media Player 11 Format Runtime

Open a command session and issue the following commands:

c:\qfe-updates\0wmp11.exe /integrate:c:\integrated /passive
c:\qfe-updates\1wmfdist11.exe /integrate:c:\integrated /passive
c:\qfe-updates\2umdf.exe /integrate:c:\integrated /passive
c:\qfe-updates\3WindowsXP-MSCompPackV1-x86.exe /integrate:c:\integrated /passive

If you are slipstreaming the WMP11 Format Runtime update then:

c:\qfe-updates\WindowsXP-KB941569-x86-ENU.EXE /integrate:c:\integrated /passive

Slipstream Windows XP SP3

Now that Windows Media Player 11 is integrated into a SP2 source, you can safely update the source to Windows Media Player 11.

  1. Copy the WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ENU.EXE file to c:\ (the root of C Drive)
  2. Open a command prompt and issue the command:
    c:\WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ENU.EXE /integrate:c:\integrated /passive

You now have an integrated SP3 CD with Windows Media Player 11 on it – that will actually install and work!

Rounding off the CD before burning

If you remember at the beginning of this adventure, I suggested that you get hold of the xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso version of SP3 – well here is the reason.

This contains all the necessary updates for the

  • .net Framework CD installer
  • Home Networking Wizard
  • Files & Settings Transfer Wizard
  • Deployment Tools
  • ValueAdd folder & its contents

If the CD you started this process from was not Service Pack 1 or higher then once you slipstream the option to instaler forl the .net Framework from the CD’s autorun program will no longer work. If your CD was not produced after .net Framework 1.1 SP1 was released, then the framework version will not be SP1 and thus out of date.

The files on this CD can be used to update the ‘extras’ beneath Support and ValueAdd as well.

  1. ISO Mount or burn the xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso
  2. Open c:\integrated
  3. Delete the folder DOTNETFX
  4. From the xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso copy the following into c:\integrated:
    1. DOTNETFX
    2. SUPPORT
    3. VALUEADD
  5. Open c:\integrated\SUPPORT
  6. Delete the folder called SYMBOLS and all of its contents

Your CD is now production ready. Simply burn it with the requisite boot sector image using a compatible Disc burning package and you will be able to install integrated SP3 installations directly from the CD.

Tip: If you monitor Windows Update, then keep the deployment folders and every Patch Tuesday you can simply integrate the latest patches into the c:\integrated folder and if you burn that back to CD/CDRW you will have a CD that will install XP in a state that requires no significant patching what so ever!

Known issues

The following list outlines known issues that have been observed or reported as a result of following this process.

  1. This procedure is susceptible to failure caused by configuration anomalies, and is very reliant on the order of the process above taking place. I have tested the above method successfully using both XP Home Edition and XP Professional Edition, but I do strongly recommend that you burn to CD-RW and / or test using Microsoft Virtual PC / VMWare before you begin committing disc’s to single write media.
    Load it, and launch Windows Media Player, it is that simple a test.
  2. The Windows Media Player installation method used in the slipstream continues to expose the uninstaller for Windows Media Player 11 via the Add or Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. If you run the uninstaller all the way through, nothing happens.If you want to get rid of the uninstaller from Add or Remove Programs, you must delete the following registry key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\wmp11

    For the Windows Media Format Redist Uninstaller:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WMFDist11