Is it possible to check a slipstreamed XP disc before using it?

My computer with XP Home crashed and after trying to recover it for days I decided instead to try making a new install disc with nlite.

My original installation disc was XP sp2 but over the years it had been updated with sp3 which of course was not on my disc.

I found an ISO copy of sp3 and I followed a very involved set of instructions that should have led to a slipstreamed disc with my original installation disc, the ISO copy of sp3 and in addition all of the updates that had been released up to the date that microsoft stopped issuing further updates for XP.

I then proceeded to make a complete slipstreamed disc with all of this and to use it to do a fresh install of XP on my computer.

I thought that I had followed the fresh install instruction correctly and my computer seemed to install all of this ok. and it started up fine but seemed somewhat different than expected.  When I checked the system information on the computer it shows the install as XP Home sp2....

What I want to know is if  there is a way to check a slipstreamed disc for accuracy BEFORE using it to reinstall the system??  I have no idea what went wrong with the process so I hesitate to even try it again.  Thanks for advice.

I have not used nlite but I have used AutoStreamer with success. I would download the XP SP3 exe file here. AutoStreamer here. You cannot use Autostreamer to include all post SP3 updates though. The SP3 iso is not used with Autostreamer, only the SP3 exe file.

If after installing SP3 you cannot get Windows Update to work then download and install the Windows XP update agent here.

http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.shtml

The above guide is for SP2 but all steps are the same for SP3. Only difference is your SP3 exe file

Edit Edit: you can tell if you have a XP SP3 install disk by looking at the root files on the CD. You should see a file with a SP3. Double clicking the Readme file should give you information on the disk. I will have to confirm this looking at my SP3 install disk.

Edited by JohnC_21, 21 November 2015 - 07:53 PM.

FWIW:  I have used nLite to slipstream SP3 into an earlier version of XP...I just followed the yellow brick road as laid out by nLite.

nLite - Deployment Tool for Unattended Windows - Guide - http://www.nliteos.com/guide/index.html

Louis