Problems installing Windows NT 4.0 Server

[PlawsWorth]

After the copy of setup files and stuff are finished the computer ask me to take out any cd/diskett and reboot. So after I rebooted the setup program should start but all I get is something like "press any button to reboot" and the only thing to do is to press a button and the thing reboots and the same message appears. help!

[Joe]

you tried whipe'n the drive and starting over?

[PlawsWorth]

At the moment speaking im deleting the i386 folder and i'm going to try installing with the floppy disks and one time directly from the cd-rom. I'll report back if it still screws with me.

[PlawsWorth]

I have figured out that the "Press button to reboot" thing is a bios built in message that comes whenever there is no working boot source. So I believe that the installtion prog. doesn't manage to fix so setup starts after reboot. The thing is even though I would use the three disketts it wouldn't help since the prog. says that all disketts/cd's should be removed before I reboot. And when the reboot is finished the error message appears so....joe???

[Joe]

Have you installed a Linux OS on this machine earlier? something with Ext2 or Ext3 FAT tables?

cause NT and Dos FDISK cannot remove those partitions. you need to run a debug script to clean the header sectors on the drive.

if you dont, you can remove all the partitions in the NT load, build new partitions, and load the software but on a reboot it wont boot up at all since it cant read the MBR on the disk anymore.

[jtroutma]

Plawsworth:

If your boot drive is going to use FAT32, you can always just boot from a Win98 floppy and then copy the i386 folder to the HDD, then run WINNT.exe and follow the instructions.

That should do it.

If your boot drive will be using NTFS, then boot using the NT boot floppies, activate the CDROM drive and then run WINNT.exe from the CD and you should be on your way.

Other than that, you may have a hardware problem.
Even if you are booting from a controller that WinNT does not reconize, you should still get a Blue Screen that says INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE.

BTW activate SMARTDRV.exe before you try to copy the i386 folder or running WINNT.exe. It will save you at least 10-20 minutes of waiting for the machine to copy files.

[PlawsWorth]

Here is how I have tried to install nt:
1. I took the 1gb wdc harddrive and plugged it to my mainframe. There I used the winxp format tool to format the harddrive to a fat 16 drive.

2. I plugged back the harddrive to the server and booted up with a winme disc and choosed to boot with cd-rom support but not to start the install prog.

3. Then I typed E:\i386\winnt.exe /x /b /s e:\i386\

4. The prog. started and copied the files needed before the setup prog. can continue. When the copy was finished it asked me to reboot which I did.

5. "Press Any Button To Reboot" (I have configed so my bios starts to boot from Cd-rom, then C:\)

[PlawsWorth]

just testing out if my vb code is working...

[jtroutma]

Ok, sounds like you have everything in order there.....

BTW sorry if I went too basic during my first post, didnt mean to.
Also you are correct with using FAT16 (I was forgetful of the fact that NT 4.0 does not support FAT32).

hmmmm, well if you could refresh my memory on what the command line switches do that you used for the install, we might be able to get this thing figured out.

Also have you tried using this HDD and install in another machine?
Have you tried installing NT 4.0 Server without any of the switches?

[PlawsWorth]

hehe, well it's my first time with nt 4 so im a bit dumb
well the /x I found out that I doesn't need. the /b /s is for installing from the cd without and floppys.

to Joe: Where can I find this magical script?

[Joe]

Do a search on the web for it in google. I have the link at work and I can find it if you need, hell I even have a floppy with the script at work!

and Mandrake will do that to ya, so will redhat and slackware it seems ( any newer linux that uses Ext3).

I would just hunt around. it involves you basicly editing the sectors on the HD and resetting them to 0

[PlawsWorth]

what the word I should search for on google?

[Joe]

Ummm... maybe Linux, and uninstall, or debug.exe or stuff like that

[jtroutma]

Keep me posted on your progress..... I have installed NT4 server before and it wasnt that hard.

If Joe's idea doesnt work (not to say that it won't )then maybe we can try something else.

[iceheart]

Please tell me if I'm smoking crack or something, but isn't there a fdisk /mbr or something like that that "gives" windows back the mbr, or the mbr is not the problem here?

[jtroutma]

I thought about that too but threw it out. When you run setup, the last thing it does is overwrites much of the MBR so that Windows can boot the system. So even if Linux or something else was in the MBR, Windows should have cleared it out.

However I have never had any luck with using fdisk /mbr .....results will vary.

[PlawsWorth]

Here's something funny...
I pluged the 1gb wdc hdd to my pc (not the server where the probs. are) and installed win nt 4.0 server without a problem. Then I plugged it back to the server and it ran nice there execpt the nic wouldn't allow it-self to be intstalled and when I tried to get the drivers re-installed it hung and stuff. So I installed win 2000 server just ot find out I can't install sp3 since it req. a coupple of 400mb space wich I didn't have after the installation. But the motherboard has 4 pci slots and 3 isa. I have plugged the gfx card to the last pci and the nic next to the gfx card. The thing was that I managed to get the nic to work perfect when I had it next to the gfx pci slot while when I had the gfx/nic in the first pci slot (as from the beg.) it wouldn't boot. So if I plug the hdd to my pc and install it there with the nic as it are now both nt 4 would work and maybe also the nic

[jtroutma]

huh........

strange, but that is computers for yea

[PlawsWorth]

Well after I plugged the hdd to the "mainframe" and tried to install nt there everything went fine. But I got some probs in nt later so I tried to reinstall it on the hdd after formating it to a fat 16 drive and the shit problem keeps getting back on both my pc's. After the copy of files are done and the pc reboots the shit won't boot. The odd thing was that it complains about probs reading the cd with the files (when trying to copy them) but after I have taken out the cd and put it back in the cd-rom it continues without any probs. But after the boot prob I tried to copy all the files to the hdd and then type winnt /x /s C:\i386 and the thing is it starts to complain on the same files when it got the files on the hdd.

[PlawsWorth]

Well. After having tried to install the shit for like 12 times, yes! Each time taking about 2hours...! Anyway the solution for me and for most guys is this:
If you are installing from the cd without a floppy the command is
winnt /b /x /s X:\XXX

(X:\XXX where you have the files, ex: D:\i386)

What I had forgot all the time was the /b command.... and trust me, I must have spent ca 12*2 hours = 24hours during the last two weeks just trying...! Anyway, now I just have to solve the problem with my realtec nic 10mbps card that nt complains about the lack of drivers, prob. gonna burn a whole 700mb cd-r with a 1,6mb zip file since I don't a have a floppy on the server. Anyway now i'm happy

[jtroutma]

What does the /b command do? Please refesh my memory.....

[ambient]

yo you don't need the /s with the /b if you're in the i386 dir. Just use from x:\i386>winnt /b. below is the script your looking for. Oh and the /b means don't make floppies just install. As for your deal with the nic. If when you load the driver's it hoses NT with a BSOD and won't boot, just make a copy of the hardware config in system properties, i.e. right click my computer > properties. specify the menu to show for 1 sec, that way if you install driver that hoses it you just load the copy of the hardware config and it won't load the driver. the debug script below will take any partition of the drive. Just boot from a win98/me floppy and type the command under the comments section. the debug exchange section is what you will see returned.

DEBUG EXCHANGE COMMENTS
c>DEBUG :type DEBUG from dos & press enter
-a 100 :type a 100 at debug hyphen & enter
xxxx:0100 int 13 :type int 13 & press enter
xxxx:0102 ress enter
-rax :type rax & press enter
AX 0000
:0301 :type 0301 & press enter
-rbx :type rbx & press enter
BX 0000
:200 :type 200 & press enter
-f 200 L 200 0 :type f 200 L 200 0 & press enter
-rcx :type rcx & press enter
CX 0000
:0001 :type 0001 & press enter
-rdx :type rdx & press enter
DX 0000
:0080 :type 0080 & press enter
-p :type -p & press enter(reg cont dsp)
-q :type -q & press enter(quit)

reboot the machine and partition the drive. i've used this a few times on 2 different maxtor 20gb drives. i got the script from a friend at school, it came from toshiba and was written by them in 1994 so use this at your own risk!

[ambient]

man that got all messed up. hold up I'll see if i can find a link. here we go right from microsluts them selves

http://support.microsoft.com/default...EN-US;q106419&

its the same script i have.

[PlawsWorth]

do you know how to config the iss in nt 4 server? Cause now the server is working all fine and everything is good. So I want to host a website for a friend of mine. So I will need to add a user/pass for him. So how-to?