Article ID: 139733 - View products that this article applies to. This article was previously published under Q139733 SUMMARY
Microsoft(R) Windows NT(TM) 3.5x Setup Troubleshooting Guide
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Table of Contents
=================
1. Introduction
2. Pre-setup and Text-mode Setup Issues
3. Setup Failure During Reboot from Character-based to GUI-based Mode
4. GUI-Based Setup to First Boot Issues
1. Introduction
===============
This Troubleshooting Guide describes how to overcome problems installing
Windows NT on Intel(R) architecture (x86) computers. These techniques may
work for computers that are on the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List
(HCL) and for computers that are not on the HCL, that is, not certified by
Microsoft to be Windows NT compatible.
The HCL is a compilation of computers and system hardware that have been
extensively tested with Windows NT for stability and compatibility. It is
the guide used by Microsoft Product Support Services to determine whether
or not a computer is supported for use with the Windows NT operating
system.
If you are installing a computer system which is mission critical, please
see the HCL included in the Support directory of the Windows NT CD-ROM for
a list of computers which are currently certified by Microsoft to be
Windows NT compliant. If your system is not included on the list, contact
Microsoft for an updated Windows NT HCL.
MICROSOFT DOES NOT MAKE ANY GUARANTEES THAT WINDOWS NT WILL INSTALL OR
MAINTAIN DATA INTEGRITY AFTER FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
CONTAINED HEREIN
2. Pre-setup and Text-mode Setup Issues
=======================================
Architecture of Character-based Setup
-------------------------------------
During the first part of Setup (referred to as character-based Setup)
Windows NT examines your system architecture for foundation level
information and drivers. This information includes:
CPU type (x86, MIPS(R), ALPHA or PPC),
Motherboard type (PCI, VESA, MCA, EISA, or ISA)
Hard Drive Controllers
File Systems
Free Space on Hard Drives
Memory
Windows NT looks for any devices that must be initialized at system start
up in order for your computer to run. Windows NT also constructs a "mini"
version of Windows NT, which is used to reboot the system into the GUI-mode
(Graphical User Interface mode) portion of Setup. Therefore, it is critical
that the information which Windows NT gathers at this point is accurate.
Windows NT may incorrectly detect controllers and settings if the system is
using non-standard or proprietary bus components or enhancements which do
not follow industry set standards, these "non-standard" enhancements
include SMP1.1, PCI 2.1, special bus drivers, or caching chips for burst
mode transfer. If the information gathered is incorrect, Setup will most
likely fail at a later stage. Incorrect detection is often a symptom of a
hardware or configuration problem that ma also cause the installation to
fail.
Before You Begin Installation of Windows NT
-------------------------------------------
HARDWARE:
Windows NT is a 32-bit operating system and is very hardware intensive. In
MS-DOS(R) and most 16-bit operating systems, hardware is not accessed until
it is required. Under Windows NT, hardware drivers are written to and
polled much more heavily for input/output (I/O) instructions. Hardware
problems that have gone unnoticed or have appeared minor under other
operating systems, are likely to be amplified when running under Windows
NT.
Minimum Hardware Requirements:
Windows NT Workstation:
12MB of RAM
VGA level video support
Keyboard
IDE, EIDE, SCSI or ESDI hard drive
386 or 486/25 processor or better
CD-ROM, floppy or active network connection
Windows NT Server:
16MB of RAM
VGA level video support
Keyboard
IDE, EIDE, SCSI or ESDI hard drive
386 or 486/25 processor or better
CD-ROM, 1.44 MB or 1.2 MB floppy or active network connection
Note: On Windows NT Server, 16MB of RAM affords minimal functionality,
Microsoft highly recommends 32MB of RAM or more. Microsoft also
recommends the following preferred hardware:
486DX2/50 processor or better
28.8 v.34 external modem, for remote debugging and troubleshooting
Windows NT compatible CD-ROM drive
Minimum Space Requirements for Windows NT Workstation and Server:
Standard Installation 90 MB free drive space
WINNT /b 94 MB free drive space
Copying I386 directory to HD 125 MB free drive space
NOTE: For ease of supportability, Microsoft recommends at least a 300 MB
FAT system partition for systems that do not require security. This space
is used for Windows NT installation, pagefile and MS-DOS 6.22 or Windows(R)
95 installation. The advantage of this configuration is the ability to copy
over drivers or boot files in the event of virus, file corruption or
upgrade problems.
Disk Format:
To access a disk from Windows NT, the drive must be uncompressed or
compressed with NTFS file compression included in Windows NT 3.51. Windows
NT is not compatible with Microsoft DoubleSpace, Stacker or any other
compression software or hardware. A Windows NT installation requires the
boot drive be formatted with the FAT file system.
Windows NT supports only the following EIDE addressing schemes:
LBA, Logical Block Addressing
ONTrack Disk Manager
EZDrive
ECHS, Extended Cylinder Head Sector
If you use one of the above methods, some implementations require special
partitioning utilities and disk preparation utilities. Do not format these
drives under Windows NT.
Hardware Configuration:
Prior to installing Windows NT, you should record configuration information
on all adapter cards in your computer. This should include memory addresses
and IRQ’s. Windows NT, as opposed to MS-DOS, does not install properly if
adapter cards share IRQ’s. Windows NT often detects an adapter card, but
not its memory address or IRQ. Use the following list as a starting point:
Adapter Card Required information
--------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Video Adapter or chipset type
Network Card IRQ, I/O address, DMA (if used)
connector type (BNC, twisted pair, etc)
SCSI Controller Adapter model or chipset, IRQ and bus type
Mouse Mouse type, port (COM1, COM2, bus or PS/2(R))
I/O Port IRQ, I/0 address, DMA (if used) for each I/O port
Sound Card IRQ, I/O address, DMA
External Modem Port connections (COM1, COM2, etc).
Internal Modem Port connections or
IRQ and I/0 address (for non-standard configurations)
NOTE: Windows NT currently does not support the following controller and
BIOS enhancements:
32 bit I/O BIOS switch
Enhanced Drive Access
Multiple Block addressing or Rapid IDE
Write Back Cache on disk controllers
Power Management features
On some computers, Shadow RAM and L2 Write Back Cache cause detection and
hardware problems, including hangs and STOP Messages (blue screens). These
features must be disabled at the BIOS level. Check your computer user
manual for information on disabling these features.
Verify that there are no POST (Power On Self Test) errors prior to starting
Setup, and make certain that each adapter and peripheral device is set to
an independent IRQ, memory address and DMA channel.
CHOOSING THE CORRECT SETUP METHOD:
Standard Setup:
Installing directly from the CD-ROM or floppy installation disks is almost
always the best method of setting up your Windows NT system. It offers the
best support for alternate hardware application layers (HALs), timing and
third party drivers. If you have a supported CD-ROM drive, you should
choose this install method.
NOTE: If you lose or misplace the setup disks for the standard install, run
either "WINNT /OX" or "WINNT32 /OX" to create new boot disks for a
standard installation.
WINNT or WINNT32 Setup:
This method of installation was designed for network installations or for
computers with unsupported CD-ROM drives. It builds the boot disks and
performs a file copy of the installation directory to the hard drive before
the install procedure begins. It is the second best choice.
Network installs:
For networks where the Windows NT installation files are kept on a
central server, network installations can be accomplished using winnt or
by copying the entire "i386" directory from the install CD-ROM to the
hard drive and then running WINNT from the local drive, this can reduce
network traffic and dependency.
NOTE: The method of copying the i386 directory can also be used when there
are hard drive or driver issues that otherwise block the use of the CD-ROM.
Unsupported Setup Methods:
"WINNT /B: or "WINNT32 /B" is used for floppyless installation. It copies
the boot files to the root of the C: drive and then uses the hard disk as
if it were the boot disk. If you have timing issues on your computer, such
as problems accessing the hard drive or similar error messages this method
can be used but "WINNT" is much more reliable. Please note that this
method will fail if you are running BIOS level virus protection.
"WINNT /W" allows you to install Windows NT from within Windows, bypassing
the drive locking and enhanced driver issues involved with a Microsoft
Windows install. Again, this bypasses many of the Windows NT install safety
features and is not recommended.
"WINNT /U" is the command for unattended installation. This can only be
used on systems where all the components are standard and no user input
is required. If there are any problems the install will stop until the
problem is resolved.
Troubleshooting: Pre-Setup and Text-Mode Setup Issues
-----------------------------------------------------
Problem 1:
When I put the boot disk in I get an error "Operating System not found"
and setup does not begin.
Resolution 1:
Check the system BIOS to make certain the A: drive is available as a boot
drive. If it is and the error still occurs this is an indication of a bad
boot floppy or a drive which is out of calibration. To create new floppies,
format 3 disks on the computer where you are planning to install Windows
NT, then from the CD-ROM \i386 directory type "WINNT /OX." This builds a
fresh set of install floppy disks.
Problem 2:
Right after I boot the install disk, my system hangs and the floppy drive
light stays lit, and it never goes any further.
Resolution 2:
This is an indication of a corrupt boot disk or a disk controller problem.
Please run "WINNT /OX," as above, to create new floppy disks. The disks
created will not be for a WINNT installation but for a standard floppy
boot installation. If you are using a SCSI controller for your floppy
disks,
make certain that all internal and external devices are properly
terminated.
Problem 3:
When Setup inspects the hard drive the error "Setup did not find any hard
drives on your computer" appears.
Resolution 3:
Make sure all disk hard drives are powered up and properly connected to
your computer. If you are certain that the hard drives are properly
connected, check the following:
1. Scan the drive for viruses, if the Master Boot Record is infected
Windows NT may not see the hard drive properly. Please use a commercial
scan program, in addition to MS Virus scan. Even if the drive is NTFS,
the Master Boot Record can become infected.
2. If the hard drive is SCSI, check the following:
a) Is there a valid boot sector on the drive?
b) Are all SCSI devices properly terminated?
c) If you are using a passive terminator, upgrade to an active
terminator.
d) Is the BIOS on the boot (initiating) SCSI adapter enabled?
e) Are the BIOS’s on all non-initiating SCSI adapters disabled?
When the BIOS on a non-initiating SCSI adapter is enabled it can
error at bootup and/or interfere with hardware interrupt 13 calls to
the initiating hard drive controller, resulting in the inability to
boot or random hangs during installation.
f) Was the hard drive partitioned and formatted using this SCSI adapter?
If not, re-partitioning the drive or possibly low-level formatting
the drive may be required.
g) Verify that you SCSI configuration adheres to the following
standards:
Standard Bit Cable Pin Max. x-fer Max SCSI Description
Width Name Cnt. Rate MB/sec Devices
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SCSI-1 8 A 50 5 8 Asynchronous
SCSI-2 8 A 50 10 8 fast
SCSI-2 16 A+B 50+68 20 8 fast+wide **
SCSI-2 32 A+B 50+68 40 8 fast+wide **
SCSI-3 8 A 50 10 8 fast
SCSI-3 16 P 68 20 16 fast+wide *
SCSI-3 32 P+Q 68+68 40 32 fast+wide **
* = with 1 cable
** = with 2 cables
NOTE: Windows NT currently supports only eight SCSI IDs, including
the adapter ID.
Standard: The name of the SCSI standard as defined by ANSI.
Bit width: The number of bits that are transferred by the SCSI bus
during the data transfer phase.
Cable Names: A is most common, P is getting more popular, A+B is
currently not popular due to cost and space issues.
Pin Count: The number of pins in the cable. Refer to the above table
for specific numbers.
Max Transfer Rate (MB/sec): Number of bits transferred over the SCSI
bus in one second.
Max SCSI Devices: The Maximum number of devices that can be connected
to the SCSI bus with one host adapter installed.
Descriptions
------------
Asynchronous: A handshaking protocol that requires a handshake for
every byte transferred (Synchronous transfers a series
of bytes before handshaking occurs, increasing the data
transfer rate)
Fast: Fast SCSI is an option that doubles the synchronous
data transfer speed. The speed is achieved by removing
excess margins from certain times and delays. To use
the fast SCSI option, high quality cables are required.
This option is compatible with normal synchronous SCSI
and has:
- Up to 10 (megabytes) MB/second over an 8 bit bus.
- Synchronous Data transfer negotiation required.
- Single-ended implementation recommendations: maximum
cable length of 3 meters and active terminators.
Wide: Wide SCSI is an option that adds a second SCSI cable of
68 conductors. This cable provides a data path for 16-
or 32-bit data. This path has separate handshake
signals and is for data transfer only. The transfer
rate is two or four times the present transfer rate of
SCSI-1. With the second cable, SCSI-2 remains
compatible with the 8-bit SCSI.
Check the Hardware Compatibility List for notes regarding SCSI adapters
and any limitations with specific adapter cards.
3. If the hard drive is EIDE, check the following:
a. Verify that the system drive is the first drive on the first IDE
controller on the motherboard.
b. In the system BIOS, verify that file I/O and/or disk access are
set to standard. Most computers ship with access set to either 32-bit
or enhanced access.
4. If the drive is IDE or ESDI, check the following:
a. Verify the controller is functional in a different computer if
possible.
b. If the drive is larger than 1024 cylinders, make certain you are
using a supported disk configuration utility.
c. Verify the drive is jumpered correctly for master, slave, or single
drive.
Problem 4:
Windows NT gives me an error that I do not have a valid partition.
Resolution 4:
Refer to "Resolution 3" for hard drive troubleshooting information. Make
certain that you have a valid primary MS-DOS partition on the drive. You
can create one using Windows NT Setup or MS-DOS FDISK if necessary.
Problem 5:
When I try to format the partition, Windows NT gets to x% and then hangs.
Resolution 5:
Refer to "Resolution 3" for hard drive troubleshooting information. Make
certain that your hard drives do not have caching enabled. Set drive
controllers that have caching capabilities to Write Through, not Write
Back. If necessary, format the drive to approximately 5-10 MB less than the
actual size of the partition first selected.
Problem 6:
Setup hangs while copying files to the hard drive.
Resolution 6:
This is indicates one of 2 problems:
1. The incorrect HAL being loaded.
Restart Setup. As soon as the message appears "Windows NT is examining
your hardware configuration," press F5. This takes you to a menu with
various HAL’s listed. If you are running on a Pentium(R) computer with a
single processor, choose the single processor HAL, if you are running on
a Compaq(R) or Sequent computer using an OEM HAL, select other and
insert the disk provided by that manufacturer.
2. Setup is using memory reserved memory.
Disable "Video Shadow RAM" and/or "32-bit Enhanced File Throughput" in
the computer's BIOS.
3. Setup Failure During Reboot from Character-based to GUI-based Mode
=====================================================================
Architecture
------------
During the reboot from Character-based to GUI-based Setup, Windows NT is
loaded for the first time. Windows NT tries to find a valid hard drive and
partition, poll the adapters and test the bus. This is the most likely
point of failure, when the drivers are loaded into memory and multi-
threading is initialized.
STOP Messages (Blue Screens)
----------------------------
Text mode STOP Messages or "blue screens" are used to identify and debug
hardware and software problems that occur while loading or running Windows
NT. When a mission critical operating system fails, is preferable to
generate an obvious error message, such as the blue screen, rather than to
simply fail in an "invisible" manner and possibly corrupt data. The blue
screen consists of a STOP message, the text translation, the addresses of
the violating call, and the drivers loaded at the time of the stop screen.
The STOP screen give you and a Product Support Services Engineer the
necessary information to locate and identify problem areas.
STOP Messages indicate where the error has occurred at both the address and
driver levels, for example:
*** STOP: 0x0000001E (0xC0000047,0xFA8418B4,0x8025ea21,0xfd6829e8)
Unhandled Kernel exception c0000047 from fa8418b4 (8025ea21,fd6829e8)
*** Address fa8418b4 has base at fa840000 - i8042prt.SYS
*** Address 8025ea21 has base at 8025c000 - SCSIPORT.SYS
The STOP Message identifies the type of exception, the exception indicates
where the problem occurred, that is, whether it was user mode (involving
user mode operating system software) or kernel mode (involving operating
system, third-party drivers or hardware). The third and fourth line
describe which components were immediately involved and at what addresses.
For example, if the above error occurred during Setup, the problem might be
in the driver which involves the SCSI portion of the operating system. If
you receive this error during Setup, you should make certain that the SCSI
controller you are using is compatible with Windows NT and that the IRQ’s,
SCSI ID’s and termination are correct on the computer. If you are sure all
of the above are correctly configured, then you can try swapping out the
SCSI controller card for another and try installing again.
For more information on STOP Messages, see the Windows NT Resource Kit.
Troubleshooting: Character-based to GUI-based Mode Setup Failures
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 1:
After removing the third setup disk from my computer and rebooting, a blue
screen saying "STOP: 0x0000007b Inaccessible Boot Device" appears and Setup
stops there.
Resolution 1:
See "Resolution 3" of Part 1: Troubleshooting: Pre-setup and Text-mode
Setup Issues.
Problem 2:
After removing the third setup disk from the computer and rebooting, a blue
screen with the location, "0x4,0,0,0" appears and Setup stops there.
Resolution 2:
See "Resolution 3" of Part 1: Troubleshooting: Pre-setup and Text-mode
Setup Issues, this is a variation of the problem above.
Problem 3:
Setup does not boot and displays the following error message:
Setup is unable to locate the hard drive partition prepared by
the MS-DOS portion of Setup.
When you run the MS-DOS Windows NT Setup program, you must specify a
temporary drive that is supported by Windows NT. See your System
Guide for more information.
Resolution 3:
You are using Setup boot disks which were created while running the "WINNT"
variation of the install and trying to install from a CD-ROM. Create Setup
boot disks using "WINNT /OX" or simply use the original Setup boot disks to
install.
Problem 4:
Instead of rebooting from text-mode into GUI-mode, the error message
"NTOSKRNL.EXE is missing or corrupt" appears.
Resolution 4:
If you are installing to a drive other than C: and the primary drive is
FAT, edit your BOOT.INI file and change the partition information by doing
the following:
1. Remove the Read Only and System File attributes from the BOOT.INI file.
At an MS-DOS or OS/2(R) command line, type:
ATTRIB -S -R C:\BOOT.INI
2. Edit the BOOT.INI file and change the partition number for Windows NT.
Change the Windows NT line to the following:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(x)partition(y)\winnt="Windows NT on ?:"
-or-
scsi(0)disk(x)rdisk(0)partition(y)\winnt="Windows NT on ?:"
where x is the drive number, y is the partition number, and ? is the
drive letter where Windows NT resides.
If you are using the Special Step-Up CD-ROM for Windows NT, note the
following:
The Special Step-Up Edition of Windows NT 3.51 can be used to upgrade from
Windows NT 3.5 to Windows NT 3.51. You can also use the Special Step-Up
Edition to install Windows NT 3.51 into a new directory. The Special Step-
Up Edition cannot be used to upgrade or install over Windows NT version
3.1.
Problem 5:
During the reboot from text-mode setup to GUI-mode Setup the error message
"HAL.DLL is missing or corrupt" appears.
Resolution 5:
This error message occurs when a computer that is not listed on the Windows
NT HCL is using an ASUSTECH (ASUS) dual-processor motherboard with only one
processor present. NOTE: HCL certifies complete systems, not individual
motherboards.
You can work around this problem by setting the J14 jumper (on the
motherboard) for a dual-processor computer, even though the computer has
only one processor.
Problem 6:
When you install Windows NT on a multi-processor computer, the following
error message:
HAL: Bad APIC version. HAL: This HAL.DLL requires an MPS version 1.1
system. Replace HAL.DLL which the correct HAL for this system. The
system is halting.
Resolution 6:
This error message occurs when a computer attempts to boot with a symmetric
multi-processing (SMP) hardware abstraction layer (HAL) on a computer with
Multi-Processor Specification (MPS) architecture that currently has only a
single processor.
- To work around this problem, install Windows NT using Custom Setup and
verify that the computer type is not identified as an MPS machine. If
setup detects the system as an MPS machine, change the machine type to
AT Compatible.
-or-
- Edit the TXTSETUP.SIF file on the Setup boot disk. In the [HAL] section
change:
mps11_mp = halmps.dll ,2,hal.dll
to read:
mps11_mp = hal.dll ,2,hal.dll
This forces the standard ISA/EISA HAL to be loaded.
-or-
- If you are running Windows NT 3.51, select a different kernel and HAL
when you boot Windows NT. If a second processor is added later, you may
need to manually copy and rename the correct HAL file.
Problem 7:
You need to install other files during the reboot between text-based and
GUI-based Setup, but cannot catch the boot menu when Windows NT reboots to
GUI-mode Setup.
Resolution 7:
Boot from a system disk. If you need to access the previous operating
system multiple times, boot from the previous operating system and with a
text editor modify the BOOT.INI to pause indefinitely by changing the
timeout value to "-1" as follows:
1. Remove the Read Only and System File attributes from the BOOT.INI file.
2. At an MS-DOS or OS/2 command line, type:
ATTRIB -S -R C:\BOOT.INI
3. Edit the BOOT.INI file and change the timeout line to look like this:
[boot loader]
timeout=-1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT35
This change cannot be made through Control Panel, because valid values are
0-999.
After making this value a negative number, the following error message
appears:
Invalid Timeout Entry
You can disregard this error message.
Problem 8:
An error message appears when rebooting into GUI-mode Setup. If the error
is hardware related, you may receive an error message from the BIOS, or
from Windows NT in the form of a blue screen with a stop error message
containing a hexadecimal number at the top of the screen such as:
0x00000080, 0x0000007f, 0x0000007a, 0x00000077,
0x00000077,0x00000051, 0x0000002f, 0x0000002e, or, 0x0000002d.
Resolution 8:
Check your system for viruses, or for hard drive corruption. In the case of
a virus scan please use any available commercial virus scan which examines
the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the drive. Viruses can infect both FAT and
NTFS file systems.
These errors may also be a result of hard drive corruption, if you are
using the FAT file system, use Scandisk, or other MS-DOS based hard drive
utilities. If you are using the NTFS file system, try to reboot a previous
version of Windows NT to run "CHKDSK /F /R". If you cannot boot from a
previous version of Windows NT, try to install to a parallel directory to
run "CHKDSK /F /R."
Another common cause of the above STOP Message is failing RAM memory. Use a
diagnostic utility to test the RAM in your computer.
Check that all adapter cards in your computer are properly seated. You can
use an ink eraser or Stabilant-22 to clean the adapter card contacts.
Finally, if all the above fail to correct the issue, take the system
motherboard to a repair facility for diagnostic testing. A crack,
scratched trace or bad component on the motherboard can also cause these
problems.
Problem 9:
On rebooting from character-based to GUI-based Setup the screen shows that
NTOSKRNL is loading and then before or at the blue screen either of the
following stop codes appear: "0x0000000A" or "0x0000001E".
Resolution 9:
This may indicate the presence of a third party driver at the system level
which is incompatible with the version of Windows NT you are upgrading to
or a corrupt driver that did not get copied correctly during the text-mode
of Setup.
Try installing Windows NT into a clean directory. If this installs
correctly, try to access the first tree and replace the corrupt file or
remove the files associated with any suspect third party drivers.
If you are unable to install Windows NT into a separate tree, check all
essential hardware, including adapter cards, drive controllers, etc. If you
have non-essential adapter cards in the system, remove them and try the
install again.
Also verify that the essential hardware in use is Windows NT certified and
has up to date firmware, if applicable.
Problem 10:
After you reboot, the video does not come back, that is, it stays "black"
or the video is skewed.
Resolution 10:
This normally occurs if either the video is not resetting correctly during
the reboot or the video is sharing an IRQ.
Power your computer down and bring it up again, if the video works, you
will probably need to power the computer down each time you restart Windows
NT. This problem is video and system BIOS related.
If the system comes back after power down in an unusable state, check for
IRQ and memory conflicts with other cards on your system. If you are using
a PCI based system make certain that the video is not using IRQ’s 2, 9, or
12.
4. GUI-Based Setup to First Boot Issues
=======================================
Architecture
------------
During the GUI portion of Setup, Windows NT is installing the drivers,
creating accounts, configuring the network settings and building the system
tree. If there are hardware problems, or conflicting hardware settings,
Windows NT will probably not succeed in installing or upgrading.
Problems after the final reboot of Windows NT Setup are normally due to
incorrect information either in the BOOT.INI file or in the hardware
configuration.
Troubleshooting: GUI-based Setup to First Boot Issues
-----------------------------------------------------
Problem 1:
The following error message appears during the GUI-mode Setup:
External library procedure NtPathToDosPath reported the following error.
'Unable to open the specified symbolic link object.'
Resolution 1:
This error indicates that the path to the installation media is no longer
accessible. This error occurs when you have added new hardware to the
computer (for example, a SCSI controller, a SCSI CD-ROM drive, or a ATAPI
compatible CD-ROM drive) before running Setup, but without adding the
device drivers in the original Windows NT installation first.
When Windows NT Setup reboots the computer to continue the GUI-mode Setup,
Windows NT finds only devices installed under the previous version of
Windows NT (because you are running in the context of the original Windows
NT installation.)
To correct the problem, reboot to the original installation if possible,
and add the appropriate driver.
If no hardware has been added, make certain that the hardware is accessible
under the original version. If the hardware was not supported under the
previous version, remove the hardware, complete the install and then add
the device once setup has completed.
Problem 2:
When you attempt to install a driver located in the \DRVLIB directory on
the Windows NT version 3.5 CD-ROM during GUI-mode Setup, the following
error message appears:
NONCRITICAL ERROR
The external library procedure, CopySingleFile, reported the following
error: Unable to do the specified file copy operation.
You may continue (ignoring the error), retry the operation, or exit Setup.
If you choose to ignore the error, Setup may not be able to completely
and/or correctly install the software. If you exit, you will have to repeat
the Setup process from the beginning.
Resolution 2:
This problem occurs when you install Windows NT from an unsupported CD-ROM
or a network drive.
Setup copies contents of the \I386 directory from the Windows NT CD-ROM to
the local hard disk. When you reach GUI-mode Setup, communication to the
unsupported media or the network drive is terminated.
To work around this problem, copy the required drivers from the \DRVLIB
directory on the Windows NT CD-ROM to the local hard disk or to a floppy
disk before running "WINNT."
Problem 3:
When starting GUI-mode Setup with multiple CD-ROM drives, one of the
following messages appear:
Please insert Windows NT Workstation/Server disk # <disk number>
-or-
Please insert Windows NT Workstation/Server CD-ROM.
Resolution 3:
To set up Windows NT 3.51 on a computer with multiple CD-ROM drives
installed:
- Choose the CD-ROM drive that has first priority. You cannot view which
CD-ROM drive has priority on your computer, but you can follow this list
of priority:
SCSI devices
IDE (ATAPI) devices
Non-SCSI devices in the following order: Sony(R), Panasonic(R),
Mitsumi
-or-
- Place the Windows NT 3.51 CD-ROM in each CD-ROM drive until the CD-ROM
drive that has priority on your computer accepts it for copying files.
Problem 4:
During the network portion of Setup, you do not want to install an adapter
card but want to install the protocols to preserve bindings and settings
(This might be due to requiring a newer driver for your network card, or
the use of a third party driver for Remote Access Service (RAS) or server
capabilities).
Resolution 4:
If the computer is only a Server or Workstation, not a Primary or Secondary
Domain Controller, when prompted for a network adapter choose the
MSLoopback adapter and proceed with the installation of the networking as
normal. Once the system is operational, you can go back and remove the
MSLoopback adapter and install the correct adapter or third party driver.
Problem 5:
Should I create an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) when requested?
Resolution 5:
In most cases an Emergency Repair Disk and a tape back-up are your primary
tools for disaster recovery. If you choose not to create an Emergency
Repair Disk you are greatly diminishing the chances of recovering an
installation in the event of hardware or software failure.
Problem 6:
During the GUI-mode Setup, the system hangs at random intervals, either
during file copies or between screens.
Resolution 6:
This usually indicates a problems with computer interrupt conflicts,
problems with video or problems with the SCSI bus.
1. Reconfirm hardware configuration if the problem appears to be hardware
interrupt related. For example, you install the network card and the
system stops responding (hangs).
2. If the video appears to be failing after reboot during an upgrade, you
should:
a. Power down the system and then try again to boot into the GUI-mode
Setup
b. Modify the BOOT.INI file to boot to the VGA only mode during GUI-mode
Setup as follows:
1. Remove the Read Only and System File attributes from the BOOT.INI
file.
At an MS-DOS or OS/2 command line, type:
ATTRIB -S -R -H C:\BOOT.INI
3. Open BOOT.INI with a text editor and change the default line to
include the flag. "/basevideo."
The information contained in this document represents the current view of
Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of
publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions,
it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft,
and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented
after the date of publication.
This document is for informational purposes only.
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