I had previously covered vLite, a freeware utility to create a stripped/slim version of any flavor of Windows Vista. Now, the developer of the software released a new beta version (v1.1.6) of the program that allows you to slipstream Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista and create a bootable DVD from it.

But there is a known issue with this. The slipstreaming process will only work if you are using an unmodified version of Windows Vista RTM installation which has not been edited by vLite or any such third party software. Per KB 948343, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 does not even display in Windows Updates and is not offered for download if it detects from the registry that such a software is installed on the computer. Therefore, if the setup detects that some essential files are missing, the SP1 update aborts.

The workaround is to do a clean install of Windows Vista RTM, SlipStream it, integrate any Hotfixes or Drivers and then remove unwanted components using vLite. This could possibly be done in a virtual environment using the free Microsoft Virtual PC software for 32-bit or VMWare/VirtualBox for 64-bit Windows Vista.

Overview:

1. After you install vLite, launch it and browse to the folder that contains the original, unmodified Windows Vista RTM (usually our DVD-RAM drive)
2. Once all files are copied to your local drive, select the flavor of Vista that you want to slipstream
3. Then choose the following options: “Service Pack Slipstream” and “Bootable ISO”
4. Browse to the path where the Service pack 1 executable is located
5. After the slipstream process is completed, enter a DVD into the DVD-RAM drive and burn.

Click here to download the latest beta of vLite v1.1.6 for Windows Vista.