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Module 2: Installing Windows NT
Preparing for Installation |
Hardware Requirements |
Disk Partitioning |
System Partition
Selecting a File System |
FAT
Allows access to
NOTE |
To enable Windows NT to dual boot with other Operating System (s) (OS), the system partition must be FAT. Windows NT does not support FAT32 (used by Windows OSR2). |
NTFS
You should use NTFS when:
Note:
If (during setup) a NTFS is created, setup will format the partition as FAT and mark it to be converted to NTFS after installation. |
Here's the syntax: CONVERT drive: /fs:ntfs
[ /v]
drive = the drive you want to convert
/v = means run in verbose mode
NTFS is the only file system that supports file and folder security.
HPFS
Choosing a Server Role |
Windows NT knows three server roles:
Notes about Member Servers
Any BDC can validate logon requests from:
Planning Domains |
Assorted points you should know about servers in the domain.
Notes about Member Servers
The SID is created during installation. The only way to change the domain's SID is to reinstall. In order to move a PDC to a new domain you need a new domain SID. This is why you need to reinstall the PDC.
Although a member server may be part of a domain, it does not have the domains SID.
Note:
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Choosing a Licensing Mode |
This is covered in detail elsewhere
CAL = Client Access License.
With Per Server licensing, each CAL is assigned to a particular server and allows one connection to that server (you will be allowed to connect to multiple shares with that server).
With Per Seat licensing, a CAL applies to a specific client or seat. After a client is licensed for Windows NT Server, it has permission to access all the computers running Windows NT Server throughout the organization.
If you are not sure what sort of licensing method to choose, choose Per Server. There is a one time conversion possibility to Per Seat (and only from Per Server --> Per Seat, not Per Seat to Per Server!!). To do this, use the license program in control panel.
Window NT Installation |
- For RISC-based computers you will have to install Windows NT directly from the CD-ROM using the "setupldr" program. This program is invoked directly from the CD-ROM.
Note: Regardless of the platform, once setup is started it looks the same on all of them.
Windows NT Setup Option |
During the installation of Windows NT/WS you will have 4 setup options:
1: Typical installs:
2: Portable installs:
3: Compact installs:
4: Custom
Note:
For Windows NT Server you only have the Custom option, this is invoked automatically. |
Creating and Joining a Domain |
After that the SID will be created.
Note: Workgroup and domain can share the same names but this can get very confusing:
Joining a Domain |
Phase 0 |
During the initialization portion, setup requires the following info (Server and NT/WS) :
The following is an overview of the various
steps for installing Windows NT. "X", in the options column marks
if information is needed for Windows NT.
Phase 1 |
Phase 1 begins with the appearance of the Windows NT Setup Wizard.
Is info Needed? |
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Gathering information |
WS |
Server |
Installation method, such as Typical or custom |
X |
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Name and org. information of the person who is licensed |
X |
X |
Licensing mode |
X |
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Computer name (up to 15 characters, and must be unique) |
X |
X |
Type of Server |
X |
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Password for the administrator account |
X |
X |
Whether to make a emergency repair disk |
X |
X |
Installation of the optional results (if you choose Custom install on NT/WS) |
X |
X |
Phase
2 Phase 2 begins when the Wizard introduces "Installing Windows NT Networking" |
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Installation of Windows NT networking |
WS |
Server |
Specify what components should be installed |
X |
X |
Should IIS be installed |
X |
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Installation of the NIC (Network Interface Card) |
X |
X |
Choose
protocols
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X |
X |
Optional
and additional network services. By default these are installed:
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X |
X |
Select if you want to join a domain or workgroup |
X |
X |
Note: when asked to select a domain or workgroup during the Setup, you can create a computer account by selecting "Create computer account in domain" and enter administrator user name and password. |
Phase 3 |
The Wizard introduces "Finishing Setup"
To finish setup some final info is needed:
Now you can make a Emergency Repair Disk if you want to.
Performing a Server Based Installation |
In order to use a server based network installation you need to setup a distribution server, do this in one of the following ways:
Note: On RISC-based computers this method can only be used to upgrade or reinstall.
Installing Windows NT Using Winnt.exe |
"winnt.exe" is used for installing Windows NT, it follows three steps:
There are several switches that can be used with the "winnt.exe" command.
Winnt32.exe
Is similar to "winnt.exe" but is used on computers already running Windows NT, to upgrade them from a previous version.
"Winnt32.exe" does not support the /f, or /c switches.
It is much faster than "winnt.exe" and runs in the background while a server is running, it also calculates the amount of downtime.
If possible you should have multiple places where NT source files are stored and then use multiple "/s" switches, Windows NT will balance the load and copy the files from multiple Servers. This will increase performance.
Performing an Unattended Installation |
This is done with the /u option and is used to specify the ANSWER file.
You can then further customize the various setup configurations by using Uniqueness Database Files (to identify settings unique to a computer). The UDFs are used to provide replacements for sections of the answer file or to supply extra sections. The file is indexed via strings called uniqueness IDs.
The UDF is used to specify a set of sections that should be merged into the answer file at the start of the GUIs setup. It takes place before any affected components actually read the components of the answer file.
To specify such an installation, use either "winnt.exe" or "winnt32.exe as follows:
WINNT /U:answer_filename /UDF: ID [,database filename]
ID is the uniquemess ID to use while installing Windows NT.
Upgrading to Windows NT 4.0 |
Upgrade from |
To Server 4.0
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To Server 4.0
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To workstation 4.0 |
WS 3.51 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Member Server 3.51 |
No |
Yes |
No |
DC 3.51 |
Yes |
No |
No |
Note: You cannot upgrade from Windows 95 to NT 4.0, in order to install NT 4.0 install it in a seperate directory and delete all the Windows 95 files and directories. After that you will have to reinstall all applications. The best way to do all this is backup all your data, format the drive and install NT 4.0 |
The upgrading preserves existing registry settings, including:
- A text mode file "Winnt.sif". Where it is placed depends on the computer architecture.
- X-86 based computers: if the "/b" switch is used, the file will be placed in the "$win_nt$.~ls" directory. If the "/b" is not used, it will be placed on the second disk.
- RISC-based computers: the file is located in the "$win_nt$.~ls\architecture directory
The text mode file will contain the following entries:
Entries Explanation [data] msdosinitiated="1"
floppyless="1"
uniqueid="C:\WINNT\LCK"
msdosinitiated, indicates if setup was started by winnt/winnt32 or from CD-ROM. Set to "1" indicates that it was started by winnt/winnt32. Floppyless, "1" means that "/b" was used.
Uniqueid, identifies the installation to upgrade (if the computer has multiple Windows NT installations)
- A graphical mode initial parameter "$winnt$.inf" that is located in the systemroot\system32 directory. This file gives info such as whether or not an upgrade was performed, and where the source files are located.
Note: If you are shown a file with other entries than the ones mentioned in text mode section, you may conclude that it concerns a graphical mode parameter file.
The sysdiff.exe Utility |
Applications that do not support scripted installations, can be installed during Windows NT Setup only by using this utility! The process to use sysdiff.exe is to:
After sysdiff.exe is used there are two ways to add the applications:
Removing Windows NT from a FAT or from a NTFS partition |
From a FAT partition |
By removing the NTFS partition |
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You
need the Setup Boot Disk and
You can use one of the following:
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Note: the older versions of fdisk will not remove an NTFS partition. |
![]() I'm sorry, but I can't answer specific network-related, or exam-related questions. |
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Last Updated: August 6, 2001 | Grant Wilson, Edmonton, AB Canada |