Is slipstreaming worth it, really to reinstall Windows 7?

Thank everyone The original 'w.heidoc.net' link for the ISO no longer has the ISOs however it does refer you to the new Microsoft one (also mentioned above) http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery.
I did so and I ran into a problem; having an OEM version of Win 7 makes Microsoft assume that this was pre-installed: Their message after keying in my product key was:
Unsupported product.
The product key you entered appears to be for software that was pre-installed on a device. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options."
This wasn't pre-installed so to speak, it was purchased as an OEM, my PC is not Dell, Compaq or what-have-you. My PC is mother board A added with VGA card B, etc at one of those small stores that sell and do such things.
So what now? since I do not have a 'device manufacturer' to contact (In actuality I had thought I bought a 'normal' Windows 7 CD and only realized much later that what I had purchased was an OEM--nothing on the BOX or the DVD itself says OEM except for the careful addition of the words on the CD that say, "For product support contact the manufacturer of your PC''

Contacted Microsoft since I wrote my previous message re: my OEM version, and it seems there is nothing I can do unless I want to upgrade to windows 8.1 (and this wold include a free upgrade to Win 10 when it comes out)

AddRAM said:

You still have to take the time to gather the installers, the updates etc. Then take time to add them to the iso, then the install time just takes longer anyway. I see no point in doing it that way. Windows takes 15 minutes to install, another hour and a half for all the updates ( and that`s being generous ) and another 10/15 minutes to add your programs. Not long at all in my opinion. It`s not something to be rushed anyway. :)

Wow, you're great for being positive and seeing it as such. It always takes me a whole day to do such a thing, because reinstalling the OS also means, as you mentioned, updating the OS but then also means taking care of the drivers, and then reinstalling all other software (Office, suite, Adobe suite, etc.) and their updates etc. etc. so to me the process is not one of just a couple of hours but a whole day indeed--or else I would be doing so every 2 months. My XP slipstream was basically self run and did take little time overall (except for the 1st time setup and stuff, but after that....)

Forgot if you already checked.. but did you go to Disk Management and look at the partitions on your hard drive? Is there a recovery partition? (Usually about 8GB with no drive letter assignment so you don't see it unless you look for it)

ComputerGeek said:

Forgot if you already checked.. but did you go to Disk Management and look at the partitions on your hard drive? Is there a recovery partition? (Usually about 8GB with no drive letter assignment so you don't see it unless you look for it)

No such thing exists (Why would there be, if I may ask? it wasn't purchased from Acer, Dell, Compaq etc.) All there is extra on the C: drive is a data file of 100MB

Overwhelmed and confused at this point. We know I do not have nor can get an ISO (with or without SP1) of Win 7 because my DVD of Win 7 is an OEM version. All links on how to do an ISO from my DVD seem to be outdated--all I really found is how to make an image of my DVD to my USB (and bootable) which I assume is not the same thing. SO I am not quite sure what to do now. Perhaps I should go back to gregrocker afterall, as I have done in the past.
update: oops 1 of the software listed above did have something for making an ISO

I think here I will answer my own question: Is slip-streaming worth it? NO.
And here's why:
I will 1st give the conclusion and then I'll answer how I got there.
In order to do so, one must do a lot of things. And to do these things one needs to learn how to do them use them. And at the end of all this you realize that by the time you have done all of this so much time has been spent that you would have saved yourself a lot of this time if you had just simply done it the normal way.
Much of the info given here and elsewhere is not necessarily easy to understand or follow. Much of it is also no longer possible since no ISO can now be gotten from Microsoft if you are like me and have an OEM version or a manufacturer's version. All software seems to need a wim and try as I may, I never was able to get one or create one. 'DISM Gui' and 'WinToolKit' require a wim file so they became useless to me. Prior to all this I ended up doing other things, all useless since integration of updates seems to need a wim file which I do not have and could not get.

So in theory this is what I would have liked (the impossible, the dreamer me)
-1- Have original DVD of windows or its ISO
-2- Get software XYZ
-2b- with software XYZ there is one button and only one button which will do the following (attain all of your needed updates integrate them to a new ISO and then create this new ISO on your bootable USB drive.
While it's doing this you can go have a coffee somewhere or do something else on your computer since no other work is required.
After your coffee reboot your computer to the USB and let it do it's work (you do add your serial number--preferably no longer necessary since you had the original DVD and it knows this-- add your keyboard language, date and computer name and then go have another coffee, since all else will be done for you.
Seems like a dream now but, if memory serves me right that was what slip-streaming with XP used to be (more or less).

Midori said:

I am not sure i can post links, but i can point you to 'MyDigitalLife Forums', they have mirrors to valid uptodate 'Windows 7 SP1 U' ISO's in the windows 7 section.

Just out of curiosity, have you confirmed that they still have those? I'm pretty sure Microsoft took all those down.