Repairing Windows NT After the Application of Service Pack 3
This article was previously published under Q146887 On This PageSUMMARY
The following are recommended recovery options for Windows NT 4.0 computers
with Service Pack 3 installed:
MORE INFORMATIONUsing an ERD Created After Installing the Service PackWindows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 contains a modified Setup.log file that lets you recover a Windows NT Server or Workstation installation after software failure. If the system is in an unbootable state, you must use an Emergency Repair Disk created after installing Service Pack 3 with the RDISK command. For more information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: 156328 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/156328/EN-US/) TITLE : Description of Windows NT Emergency Repair Disk NOTE: To use the Emergency Repair Disk utility, you must have the updated version of Setupdd.sys. The updated version is contained in Service Pack 2 (as well as this Service Pack.) To update your version of Setupdd.sys, you must copy Setupdd.sys from the Service Pack to your installation disk 2. This replaces the previous version of Setupdd.sys with the updated version. For more information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: 168015 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/168015/EN-US/) TITLE : Files Not Replaced When Running Emergency Repair Repairing the Windows NT installation using this disk recovers the system to a NO SERVICE PACK installation. This ensures recoverability for users where the system has become unstable after the application of the Service Pack. If a Service Pack is required, it must be reapplied when the Emergency Repair is completed and the system has rebooted. This method should only be used if the system is in an unbootable state. The following Service Pack 3 files remain after the system has been returned to a basic Windows NT 4.0 state so that Windows NT can read and utilize the new Security hives:
Samlib.dll Samsrv.dll Winlogon.exe Uninstalling the Service PackIf an administrator can log onto the computer and run an application, then rerun the Service Pack Update utility and uninstall the Service Pack. This is always the preferred method of recovery. When using the uninstall feature, the computer is restored to the system configuration as it was directly before applying the Service Pack. If the computer hangs during startup, this is not a viable option.Repairing the System Files and the System and Security HivesIf the computer is unbootable and there is a pre-Service Pack 3 Emergency Repair Disk, you must choose to repair the system files and the System and Security hives. An alternative method is to use the Repair folder by running Emergency Repair and selecting the option for no Emergency Repair Disk. If RDISK has not been run after the application of Service Pack 3, you must choose to repair the System and Security hives or follow the procedure outlined below in order to alter the Setup.log file:Modify the contents of the Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) by doing the following:
"Upgrading" Windows NT 4.0 Over Windows NT 4.0 with Service PackIf the computer is unable to boot and the repair process fails or you do not have an Emergency Repair Disk or a CD-ROM drive, you must perform an upgrade of Windows NT 4.0 over Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3. Please follow these steps to do this:
ARTICLE-ID: 164471 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/164471/EN-US/) TITLE : Replacing System Files Using a Modified Emergency Repair Disk APPLIES TO
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