Windows NT 4.0 Fails to Start on a Uniprocessor Compaq

After you install a post-Service Pack 3 (SP3) hotfix Ntoskrnl.exe dated 11/20/97 or later, the system fails to restart. The system will stop responding (hang) at the Blue screen listing the Windows NT version and service pack information. The personal computer is a uni-processor Compaq running Compaq's System Manager driver, Sysmgmt.sys.

Newer Ntoskrnl.exe code has been redesigned because of the Pentium errata bug. This new behavior conflicts with Compaq's Sysmgmt.sys driver, causing the driver to fail to load, which stops the system from starting.

Rename Sysmgmt.sys or get the latest driver from Compaq which resolves this problem.

Sysmgmt.sys is manufactured by Compaq Corp., a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

This behavior is by design.

For more information on the Pentium errata bug, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: