Absolute Beginners Guide to A+ Certification. Covers the Hardware and Operating Systems Exam

Windows NT 4.0 might be venerable (a polite way of saying "reeeealy old") in computer terms, but it's still around, and understanding how it works is a part of A+ certification. Who knows , you might even need to install it someday!

The process is a little different with Windows NT than with Windows 9x/Me:

1. Boot from the Windows NT 4.0 CD or the bootable setup disks you learned to create in Chapter 15.

2. Start the computer with the bootable setup disks.

3. Run the Windows setup program (which prepares the hard disk if necessary).

The following sections cover these steps in detail.

Installing Windows NT 4.0 to a Local Drive

Follow this procedure to perform a clean install of Windows NT 4.0:

1. Insert the Windows NT 4.0 CD into the computer's CD-ROM drive.

2. Turn on the system and allow the computer to boot from the Windows NT CD. Adjust the boot order if necessary as discussed in Chapter 6 or as shown in Figure 16.3. Use Winnt to start the installation process.

3. If the system won't boot from the Windows NT CD, create boot disks as described in Chapter 15 and restart the system with boot disk #1. Insert each disk as requested . The setup program starts after the last disk is inserted.

4. After the setup program pokes around your hardware, it prompts you for an installation location. Use the default location ( C:\Winnt ).

5. Create and format disk partition(s) when prompted. Windows NT 4.0 supports FAT16 and NTFS. See Chapter 15 for more information about file systems.

6. Select an installation option: Typical, Portable, Compact, or Custom.

   Follow the prompts to complete the remainder of the process, which includes

   • Choose a computer name .

   • Choose Administrator account password.

   • Select optional components .

   • Create an Emergency Repair Disk.

   • Select network components ( clients , protocols, services).

   • Configure regional settings and date/time.

7. If necessary, restart the system in VGA mode to install replacement graphics or other drivers after installation is finished.

caution

Network Drive Installation of Windows NT

Windows NT 4.0 can be installed from a network drive or location. To perform an installation from the network, you need to

1. Create a shared folder on the network.

2. Copy the contents of the \I386 folder and its subfolders to the shared folder with Xcopy or with Windows Explorer.

To perform a clean install of Windows NT from this folder

1. Start the computer with a DOS network client (have fun with Config.sys and Autoexec.bat) .

2. Connect to the network folder containing the Windows NT setup files and run WINNT .

When installing upgrades, you can use a Windows network client.

You can automate the network installation with the Setup Manager tool on the Windows NT 4.0 CD. This can be used to create a special text file called Unattend.txt , which contains the responses desired for computer name, time zone, product ID, network settings, file system, and so forth.

Installing Windows NT Default Device Drivers

Windows NT 4.0 automatically installs default device drivers for mass storage, graphics, and other device categories. If additional drivers are needed, in most cases they can be installed after initial configuration is completed.

However, if you need to add replacement mass storage (ATA/IDE or SCSI) device drivers, they should be installed during the initial installation process when you're prompted for replacement drivers.

For example, if you need to install Windows NT 4.0 on an ATA/IDE hard disk greater than 8GB, you should download Service Pack 4 or greater and extract the Atapi.sys file or download it directly from the Microsoft FTP site. This file should be copied to a floppy disk. When the system asks if you want it to detect your mass storage devices, press S to skip detection, press S again, and insert the disk. Press Enter twice to add the driver, and use it.

Updating Windows NT Device Drivers

You can update the device drivers used during the installation of Windows NT 4.0 with these methods :

• Specify the driver to use and provide its location instead of letting Windows NT detect your hardware; this is the correct way to handle updated mass storage drivers.

• Create an $OEM$ folder if you use the Setup Manager to automate the installation and create Net or Display folders for network or display drivers.

After the installation, use the Control Panel icons for display, network, and so forth to install the correct drivers.

Creating a Windows NT 4.0 Emergency Repair Disk

During installation, you can (and should!) create a nonbootable emergency repair disk. This is a vital troubleshooting tool in the event your system malfunctions. This disk records the most essential parts of the Windows NT Registry. It can be used by the Windows NT setup program to repair a damaged registry. The disk is unique to each Windows NT installation, so make one for each computer. Even if two or more computers have identical hardware and software, each computer needs its own emergency repair disk.