How to use the Windows 2000 Recovery Console on a computer with Windows NT 4.0

This article describes how to use the Windows 2000 Recovery Console on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.

The Recovery Console for Windows 2000 can be used to recover a Windows NT 4.0-based computer that is unable to boot to an operating system. For example, the Recovery Console can be useful in situations where a driver or service prevents the computer from restarting, or if a file or registry hive is corrupt. However, before you attempt to use the Recovery Console, use the "last known good" configuration.

To install the Recovery Console on a Windows NT 4.0-based computer, either restart the computer by using the Windows 2000 CD-ROM (if the computer supports restarting from a CD-ROM), or restart by using the four Windows 2000 Setup disks.

When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press F10, or press the "R" key on the keyboard (to repair an existing Windows 2000 installation), and then at the next screen, press the "C" key on the keyboard to go to the Recovery Console. The Recovery Console should start and request you to log on to the computer by using the administrator password.

For additional information about Recovery Console usage information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following issues can occur when you use the Recovery Console on a Windows NT 4.0-based computer:

1. Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later is required to log on to the Recovery Console.
2. If the operating system is on a (software) mirrored partition, you must break the mirror before you can access it. The software mirror can be broken by using the Disksave.exe utility located in the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit.
3. There may be some services that cannot be stopped and started by using the listsvc command.
4. If you use the chkdsk command, you may be prompted for the location of the Autochk.exe file. If you are prompted, point to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder of the Windows NT 4.0-based computer that you are attempting to repair, and then the Chkdsk utility should run.
5. If the computer restarts from the four Windows 2000 Setup disks, and the option to install the operating system rather than boot to the Recovery Console is selected, Setup can prompt you for the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM. In this situation, restart the computer (no changes are made to the current drive).
6. The format command does not work when you boot to the Recovery Console from the Setup disks, and you are prompted for the location of the Autofmt.exe file.

The following list summarizes the status of each Recovery Console command when it is used with Windows NT 4.0:

• attrib: It works.
• delete: It works.
• fixboot: It works and replaces Ntldr, Ntdetect.com, and Cmdldr with the Windows 2000 versions.
• md: It works but not at the root level.
• type: It works.
• cd: It works.
• dir: It works.
• fixmbr: It works.
• mkdir: It works but not at the root level.
• systemroot: It works.
• chdir: It works.
• disable: It works.
• format: It does not work when you run it from floppy disks, and it prompts you for the Autofmt.exe file.
  
  NOTE: Do not format NTFS file system partitions by using a Recovery Console if you are restarting from the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM as you can change the NTFS format to version 5.0, which the Windows NT version of the Chkdsk.exe utility is unable to repair.
• more: It works.
• chkdsk: It works, but you need to point it to the System32 folder for the Autochk.exe file, when you are prompted.
• diskpart: It works.
• help: It works.
• rd: It works.
• cls: It works.

The Windows 2000 Recovery Console had been created after the development of Windows NT 4.0. Even though the two operating systems are architecturally similar and use a similar file system, the Windows 2000 Recovery Console should be considered a last resort to recover a failed Windows NT 4.0-based computer that cannot be accessed by another method.

For additional information about specifying third-party mass-storage drivers as the Recovery Console is loading, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: