Windows only: Free slipstreaming utility Microsoft Office Integrator does something similar for Office to what nLite does for Windows XP—namely, save you a lot of time if you have to reinstall the thing. After running the program, pointing it to your Office CD/DVD or installation directory, and choosing service packs, updates, and hotfixes to integrate, it creates a new ISO that installs Office XP, 2003, or 2007 with everything rolled in. You can save more time by checking out the "hotpacks," or bundles of fixes and updates, at the forum where Office Integrator is released. My Vista installation had some trouble opening the package from the second download link at the app site, but the first opened, with a seemingly different interface. Office Integrator is a free download for Windows XP and Vista only.

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Next time you wipe your PC's hard drive clean and reinstall Windows with that old installation disc, you don't want to connect your fresh, unpatched and vulnerable system to the internet only to download 176 new updates from Microsoft. If your XP installation CD is older than 2004, once your system is online, you'll have to wait for hefty service packs to download, chained to your mouse while pushing the Next button, watching progress bars, and rebooting multiple times. Wouldn't it be better to start your installation, head out to run errands or grab coffee, and come back to an up-to-date system before your system gets online? It's possible, using some free software and a blank disc. After the jump, I'll show you how to create an automated, customised XP installation CD or DVD, that includes Microsoft's official-but-not-released Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

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