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Service Pack 2 Uninstall Directory Gets Overwritten

Article ID: 165542 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q165542

SYMPTOMS

If you uninstall Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 2, the uninstall procedure may not restore the original files.

If you apply Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2) a second time with the Create Uninstall Directory option chosen, the uninstall procedure may not restore the original files.

In this scenario, the pre-SP2 files in the uninstall directory may be replaced with Service Pack 2 files already in the Windows NT directory tree. The files are copied without warning. Future use of the Service Pack 2 uninstall feature may copy Service Pack 2 files back into the Windows NT directory tree instead of the original files.

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RESOLUTION

To maintain the state of the files prior to the first application of Service Pack 2, use one of the following options:

When re-installing Service Pack 2, select "No, I do not want to create an Uninstall directory."

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Prior to re-installing the Service Pack, make a backup copy of the $NtServicePackUninstall$ directory. After you apply the service pack again and choose to create an uninstall directory, you may replace the $NtServicePackUninstall$ directory with the backup copy.

If you wish to save the state of the files prior to the re-application of Service Pack 2 and use the Uninstall feature as currently designed, simply reapply Service Pack 2 with the uninstall directory creation option enabled.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0 Service Pack 2. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

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