NT Secrets, last updated Monday, October 12, 1998.
System Secrets
User Interface Secrets
System Secrets
Maintenance
Easter Eggs!!!
Question: I installed NT over another version, how do I
get rid of the old choices on the boot menu?
Answer: There are several secrets to the boot.ini file. Basically,
you can edit it directly with notepad. First, right mouse click on it, choose
properties, and there, remove the read only attribute to it so you can change it.
Then hit OK and double click on it to open it. You can remove the bottom two lines
for the old OS, they most likely are the same as the first two choices. It is also
possible to add another operating system if it is not in there. You must have first
installed NT on a drive with MS-DOS or Windows 95 and kept the file system as FAT, not
NTFS. If the following line was not added or removed for some reason, it is possible
to add it back and have the OS boot again. Add the following line at the
bottom:
c:\ = "MS-DOS" or c:\ = "Windows 95" depending on what OS you
want to add. The text in the quotation marks is only the description seen on the
menu. If it does not work, then remove the text from the menu. Remember to
mark the file as read-only again when done editing it.
Question: I hate Dr. Watson. I have a program
that is buggy and it always pops up and takes forever to write it's log. How do I
get rid of him?
Answer: This is done by editing the registry. You have
several choices also. Run regedit.exe and go to the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AeDebug. In there,
you have the following keys:
Auto: REG_SZ: 1
Debugger: REG_SZ: DRWTSN32 -p %ld -e %ld -g
UserDebuggerHotkey: REG_DWORD: 0
If you change Auto to 0 (zero) then it will prompt you with an "Ok"
"Cancel" box (press OK to skip the debugger). If you wipe out all the
keys, then nothing happens and the app just crashes without any notice that something went
wrong. I would suggest changing auto to 0. If you do remove all the keys and
then decide you liked Dr. Watson, at a command prompt type:
drwtsn32 -i
to install it again. A good article on the MS website about this is here.
I don't have a CD-ROM, or the one I have is not supported. how do I install NT on a machine??
What you can do is the following: Somehow copy the entire i386 directory from the CD to the hard drive. It takes about 65 Mb of space, so take that into account when you install if your hard drive is not very large. This can be done a number of different ways. One easy way is to just use another machine that has a CD-ROM already installed. As long as you can read the CD and have the new hard drive installed temporarily, you can copy. You can also boot onto a network if you have all the correct drivers for doing that, such as a network boot disk that boots into DOS, then connect to a shared CD on another machine. If there is no way to do any of these, then you are really stuck! Then change to the directory you copied all the i386 files to and run "winnt /b" - the /b makes it a "diskless installation" so it will copy all the floppy files to the disk and boot using them instead of needing the boot disks. Then the setup should go flawless.
What if I have it on the hard disk and I can ONLY install it using the boot floppies. What do I do to trick it?
On the first boot disk there is a file called txtsetup.sif. Edit the file on another machine with dos edit or notepad. Then search for "SetupSource" and it should jump to the following section:
[SetupData]
;
; SetupSourceDevice is optional and specifies the nt device path
; of the device to be used as the setup source. This overrides
; the CD-ROM or winnt local source.
;
; SetupSourceDevice = \device\harddisk1\partition1
;
; SetupSourcePath specifies the path relative to the source device
; where the setup source tree is to be found.
; All media descriptors are relative to this.
;
SetupSourcePath = \
In this section, you can set where the source files are located. Remove the ; from the front of the setupSourceDevice line and it will take effect, it defaults to disk 1 (C:) but you can change that. The SetupSourcePath referrers to if you have the files located in anything other than c:\i386. If they are in c:\NTCD\i386,change it to read \NTCD. You should have the files located under a i386 directory, or you will have to change the settings at the top of the txtsetup.sif file. You will know if it works if during setup it is able to read the EULA (End User License Agreement) which is the first file it looks for on the CD.
Regular system maintenance is extremely important! I can not stress this more. Here are a few helpful tips to keep your system "clean:"
Check the event log EVERY DAY! Put a damn shortcut on your desktop to remind yourself to look in it as often as possible. It can tell you that something is wrong before it gets out of hand. For example, if your disk suddenly becomes corrupted, it will tell you there, along with a pop-up message. Check both the system and application logs, and if you have the security auditing enabled, the security also.
Disk Maintenance: Run chkdsk /f on all your volumes. If the volume is in use, it will tell you and it will ask you if you want to have it checked when the system restarts, click yes. Next time the system restarts, when it is at the blue screen, it will run autochk, and check/fix the volume. Another important tip is to defragment the volume as often as possible. NT has no built-in defrag utility until NT 5.0, so get the shareware version of Diskeeper™ and run it manually.
Now check the temp directory for old temp files. It sometimes fills up with files like ~tmp0012.tmp. These files are safe to delete. If they are still in use, you will just get a sharing violation. They will either go away on their own or when the machine restarts, you can delete them. This is more of a problem only if you are running applications on the machine, file servers alone do not have these problems. Check the memory usage by right-mouse clicking on the taskbar and opening the task manager. Click on the performance tab to see your total commit charge in kilobytes. It should be less then your physical memory size, for example, if you have 64 Mb of RAM, and it is at 76 Mb, you should try to see what is using so much memory. Click on the processes tab and look to see what is taking up so much memory. If everything seems almost normal, try restarting the machine, the second it is done, check the memory again and hopefully it is much less. If not, you will need more memory.
RDISK - Your only hope! A regular run of rdisk can save your
system. Rdisk is a utility used to make a backup of the registry hives and also
write them to a floppy disk. There are a few things to know before you rely on it to
save you.
Rdisk puts the backups of the registry hives along with the setup.log
and autoexec.nt and config.nt in the \winnt\repair directory. When you boot with the
three boot disks and choose repair, you have the option for it to search for these files
on the hard disk. But if the hard disk has failed or become corrupted, you can't
read these files. That is why it is important to have the floppy disk.
Another extremely important thing to know is the command line options,
mainly rdisk /s. By default rdisk does NOT backup
the Security database, that includes the domain servers and user accounts. Losing
this can be a huge problem!! Rdisk /s- (with the dash) will make it
run without taking any input from the user. This is good for running in a batch job,
you can make a task to have it run every week and automatically backup everything to the
hard drive. What I do is then when I run the weekly backup, I have the
c:\winnt\repair directory backed up also. I can then put the files on a disk and be
all set. I have a unique problem I am sure other people have experienced: My
software hive is larger than 1.4 Mb, so it will not even fit on the repair disk. I
don't know any workaround.
I recently found several NT "Easter Eggs" on the internet. Give them a try!
All of the following have been verified to work with NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 (English) x86 platform.
Title: List development team
1) Right mouse-click on the desktop and select properties.
2) Go to the screen savers tab.
3) Select the 3D Text (OpenGL) screensaver.
4) Select "Settings"
5) In the settings, put in "not evil" as the text and hit OK.
6) Hit the preview button and a list of the NT development team is displayed.
Hint: Set the speed to slow,
the text large and rotation style to none to see the names best.
Title: Sarcastic message
1) Right mouse-click on the desktop and select properties.
2) Go to the screen savers tab.
3) Select the 3D Text (OpenGL) screensaver.
4) Select "Settings"
5) In the settings, put in "I LOVE NT" as the text and hit OK.
6) Hit the preview button and "good?" will appear!
Note: This apparently had
been used to list the development team members (above) pre SP3.
Title: List Volcanoes
1) Right mouse-click on the desktop and select properties.
2) Go to the screen savers tab.
3) Select the 3D Text (OpenGL) screensaver.
4) Select "Settings"
5) In the settings, put in "volcano" as the text and hit OK.
6) Hit the preview button and a list of volcanoes will appear.
Hint: Set the speed to
slow, the text large and rotation style to none to see the names best.
The following Easter eggs work only prior to NT 4.0 SP3. The also work on NT 3.51.
Title: Screensaver will list different things.
1) Right mouse-click on the desktop and select properties.
2) Go to the screen savers tab.
3) Select the 3D Text (OpenGL) screensaver.
4) Select "Settings"
5) In the settings, try one of the the following: I LOVE NT, ROCK, BEER.
6) Hit the preview button and for I LOVE NT, the NT development team will be listed.
For ROCK, different rock bands will appear. For BEER, different beers will be
displayed.
Note: on NT 3.51, access the
screen saver via the control panel under the desktop icon.
Hint: Set the speed to
slow, the text large and rotation style to none to see the names best.
Most of these "Easter eggs" can be found on the internet, just search for NT Easter eggs, or I LOVE NT usually finds other sites with these. I found most of these from a site located at Windows NT Eggs. Enjoy!
2.7. *What is the difference between WINNT32.EXE and WINNT.EXE
Question:
What is the difference between WINNT32.EXE and WINNT.EXE?
Answer:
WINNT.EXE serves the same purpose that it had in Windows NT version 3.1. It is used to begin the unsupported CD-
ROM or Network Setup from an MS-DOS system.
New Switches:
/O Create boot floppies only.
/OX Create boot floppies for CD-ROM or floppy-based installation.
/B Floppyless operation.
WINNT32.EXE is a 32-bit multi-threaded version of WINNT.EXE. This allows you to create the setup floppies and copy
files to your local HD at the same time. Although they both serve the same function, WINNT32 is a 32-bit application and
can only be run from within Windows NT. WINNT32.EXE supports the /B switch but, does not support the /O and /OX
switches.
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3.15. *Installing the Sony CDU-31a CD-ROM with Windows NT
Question:
How do I install the Sony CDU-31A CD-ROM drivers for use with Windows NT?
Answer:
By default, the Sony CDU-31A CD-ROM is not available for setup or for use with Windows NT 3.1. However, there is a
driver and setup information for this CD-ROM on the Windows NT CD-ROM.
The driver and installation instructions are located in the following directory on the CD:
\drvlib\storage\sony_31a\x86 (or MIPS)
Microsoft Windows NT 3.5 automatically scans for the Sony CDU-31A CD-ROM during setup. If you wish to install the
driver after setup, select the Sony CD-ROM from the Add/Remove SCSI Drivers Option in Windows NT Setup.
Note: Most Gateway 2000 computers that ship with the Sony CDU-31A CD-ROM drive come with the Sony COR-334 host
adapter. This host adapter is an OEM version of the Sony CDB-334 and is identical to this card in all respects.
The factory defaults for the Sony COR-334 and CDB-334 are: I/O base port address set to 340 hex, DMA channel set to
none, and IRQ set to none. No IRQ setting is necessary for the card to operate correctly under MS-DOS, and therefore most
COR-334 and CDB-334 adapters are not configured for an IRQ. However, Windows NT requires the use of an IRQ. Use
the instructions in the README.WRI file to configure the adapter for use with Windows NT.
Refer the HCL for support adapter/cd-rom drive combinations.
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5.8. Difference Between Workgroup and Domain
Question:
What is the difference between a Domain and a Workgroup in Windows NT?
Answer:
The primary differences between a Workgroup and a Domain are in the storage location of user accounts and which
machine handles account validation. In a Workgroup, the account information is maintained and validated on each
workstation locally. In a Domain, account information is maintained on a primary server (domain controller) or replicated
across a group of servers; Account permissions are validated by the servers and are consistent across the entire Domain.
LAN Manager 2.x servers may also be members of a Windows NT Advanced Server domain.
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6. COMMON ERROR MESSAGES
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6.1. Error 0000001E
Question:
What should I do about error 0001E?
Answer:
This error is caused by an exception error that is not handled at any level. It generally refers to a file system problem. Run
CHKDSK or another similar utility on the drive in question. If your hardware is on the hardware compatibility list, please
submit a bug report.
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6.2. NTVDM Error
Question:
When I run MS-DOS or Windows 3.1 applications, I receive the following error message. Why?
Insufficient memory or Disk Error in NTVDM or NTVDM Error's.
Answer:
Try the following:
- Increase the swap file size to at least 20MB.
- Make sure the video card is on the hardware compatibility list (1193HW.DOC). If it is not, try using the standard VGA
driver.
- Verify that the WOWEXEC.EXE is not corrupted by copying over a clean copy.
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6.3. Error 0x00000069 or 0x00000067
Question:
I get Error 0x00000069. What should I do?
Answer:
This is an initialization error that occurs when Windows NT tries to talk with the hard drive controller. It can be caused by
many things. Try the following workarounds:
- Slow down the DMA transfer rate on the controller.
- Make sure both ends of the SCSI bus are terminated.
- Make sure there are no IRQ, or memory address conflicts.
- Make sure you are not using a faulty or unsupported driver.
- Make sure NTDETECT.COM is in the root of the boot drive partition. Missing Windows NT files can also cause Error
69.
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*6.4. Fatal System Error 0x0000000A
Question:
What do I do about:
Fatal system error 0x0000000A
IRQL expected to be less than or equal
Answer:
This usually indicates that you have changed the interrupt settings on an adapter such that the setting now disagrees with
the setting you specified during Setup. It is possible that you have installed a new card since you installed Windows NT or,
that you have an interrupt conflict with some other piece of hardware in your system. In addition, try the following:
- Disable all CPU caching, BIOS shadowing and use non-turbo mode. If successful, re-enable these one at a time to
determine which caused the problem.
- On EISA systems, incorrect configuration files (for ISA devices) can cause this error. If you are using generic
configuration files for ISA devices, check their validity or remove them completely.
- On PCI systems,
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6.5. *** Error 0x0000007B - Inaccessible_Boot_Device
Question:
What should I do about Error 0x0000007B?
Answer:
During the initialization of the I/O system, the driver for the boot device may have failed to initialize the device that the
system is attempting to boot from, or the file system that is supposed to read that device may have either failed its
initialization or simply not recognized the data on the boot device as a file system structure. In the former case, the first
argument is the address of a Unicode string data structure that is the ARC name of the device from which the boot was
being attempted. In the latter case, the first argument is the address of the device object that could not be mounted.
If this is the initial setup of the system, this error may have occurred because the system was installed on an unsupported
disk or SCSI controller. Note that some controllers are supported only by drivers that are in the Windows NT Driver Library
(WNTDL), which requires the user to do a custom installation.
This error can also be caused by the installation of a new SCSI adapter or disk controller or by repartitioning the disk with
the system partition. If this is the case, on x86 systems, the BOOT.INI file must be edited; on ARC systems, Setup must be
run. For information on changing BOOT.INI, see the Windows NT Advanced Server "Administrator's Guide."
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6.6. Error 0x0000000E
Question:
What does Error 0x0000000E mean?
Answer:
The stop screen with trap 0x0000000E may be caused by an incorrect memory configuration.
To avoid this problem, check the following:
1. Make sure the amount of memory installed on the computer is set correctly within the CMOS setup. If you have an EISA
computer, make sure you run the EISA Configuration software to correctly configure the amount of memory.
2. Some ISA bus computers experience problems running Windows NT Setup with more than 16 MB of physical memory.
Reducing the amount of memory to no more than 16 MB may solve the problem.
3. Make sure the memory chips have the same rated speed (for example, all chips 80 nanosecond) and manufacturer.
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