I've been working on a liveHDD version of Windows 2000 to get around deactivation issues under Windows XP in the event of drastic hardware change. I specifically want to avoid a PE-base so I can install software on-the-fly while diagnosing and repairing client PCs.
Unfortunately, that means the OS is machine-dependent and I'll need to scan and apply necessary drivers each time I boot from a new PC. Since I may be booting off something as limited as a USB 1.0 port, I'd suspect driver installation time could double, and that's not really acceptable when time is money.
I noticed the site hosts driverpacks for Windows XP which also support Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000. I've downloaded the ones I need, question is; is there any way I could strip the driverpacks of XP and 2003 dependent drivers in hopes I could shave a little time off of extraction? Furthermore, does anyone know of a way just extract ALL of the Windows 2000 drivers into a directory post-install and just allow Windows to "Find New Hardware" at the beginning of each boot? That way I'm not running BASE every time I work on a new machine.
I'd really rather not muck around with an incredibly limited script application library with Bart's PE, WinBuilder, or any other type of preinstallation environment format. Most of the software I've purchased and been using for years don't have available scripts.
I know Linux install would be a breeze and could run universally, but I run a business and I can't concern myself with two months of downtime to learn Linux. I'm interested; I just don't have the time.