Unattended WinXP install

I've been meaning to make a XP install disk that installs all my important programs along with it, so that way I have less to install at the end. What would be nice is to have a GUI window with checkboxes and a list of everything, so if I don't want to install a driver or program I uncheck it.

Problem is, some of the programs I want to add to the cd, like Flash, Adobe, and Quicktime, have tiny little install files that download the rest of the program from the net. I'm not going to be on the net while installing XP, unless I have the net software and av/firewall software up already.

Anyway to get around those download installers? Also, any way to make a list of checkboxes so you can pick what you want to install?

Making checkboxes for an installer sounds like a hell of a task. You've got to remember that Microsoft designed their installation routines to just copy a list of files from the CD, and when you make a customized install CD you're simply modifying that list of files (and adding said files to the CD, of course). Making these optional with a special dialogue box would entail writing whole new sections to the installer program. I haven't seen any tools or instructions to make something like that possible.

As for installers that download only the components that the user requests be installed, you can often find full file versions if you search around the appropriate website (often tucked away in the dusty recesses of various sidebars and so on). If the download link is from an official company FTP server, have a search around in the directories for full file versions too. Or check magazine coverdiscs and other software CDs - they often include full-file versions of Adobe Reader, Quicktime, etc.

Still looking for the full version of Adobe Reader, or an acceptable subsitute.