PRE-INSTALLATION NOTES FOR 
MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT VERSION 3.5

Install Windows NT from CD-ROM or floppy disks as 
described in Chapter 1 of the Installation Guide. 
This file contains additional information you may
need prior to installing Windows NT on some 
hardware configurations

CONTENTS=========================================

Additional Installation Information
Installing over the Network Without Floppy Disks 
Boot Floppy Disks
Creating Backup Disks
Upgrading Windows NT 3.1 to 
   Windows NT Server 3.5
Upgrading When Third-Party System 
   Software is Present
Running Windows NT 3.5 on PCI Bus Systems
Update Required when Retaining Windows NT 3.1
Installation Directory
Installing to Mirrored Partitions
Selecting Keyboard Layout
NextStep Changes to Partition Tables
Disk Fragmentation Can Prevent Installation
MS-DOS Undelete Sentry Blocks
Using MS-DOS Based Disk Utilities
Interrupt Conflicts
ROM Shadowing on Multiprocessor Systems
CD-ROM Installations Require Local CD-ROM Drive 
SCSI Devices Must Be On for Setup
Disconnect UPS Serial Connections
ACER AcerFrame 3000 MP
Digital Alpha AXP Firmware Must Be Upgraded
Gateway Nomad and TI Travelmate Notebooks
IBM Personal System/2
IBM ThinkPad
Intel EtherExpress 16 LAN Adapter
Toshiba T4400SX Monochrome
Caching Disk Controllers and Drives
Installing Windows NT on an ESDI 
   Disk Drive with More Than 1024 Cylinders
  
=================================================
  

Additional Installation Information
-----------------------------------
For general hardware information, see Chapter 2, 
"Troubleshooting," in the Installation Guide. This 
chapter contains general troubleshooting 
information about interrupt conflicts, unsupported 
peripherals, network adapter cards, SCSI drives, 
and video display adapters.

See the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List to 
determine which hardware components have been 
tested by Microsoft for compatibility with Windows NT.

After you install Windows NT, read the following 
three text files:

README.WRI contains general information about 
Windows NT, including information on specific 
hardware and software. 

PRINTER.WRI contains information about specific 
printer problems or components.

NETWORK.WRI contains information about networks, 
including information on network adapter cards and 
network interoperability. 


Installing over the Network Without Floppy Disks 
-------------------------------------------------
If you are upgrading or installing Windows NT from 
a share on your network, you can start WINNT.EXE 
or WINNT32.EXE with the /b switch and you will not 
need to use floppy disks during the process. You 
must have 4 MB of free hard disk space in addition 
to the minimum required for Windows NT files.

To use this switch, the device your computer boots 
from must also be supported by Windows NT without 
requiring drivers from the equipment manufacturer. 
Most boot devices are supported by Windows NT 
without needing additional drivers.

Microsoft suggests that when the Setup program 
offers to create boot floppies you accept the 
offer because these floppies are required when 
using the Repair disk to repair a Windows NT 
installation.


Boot Floppy Disks
-----------------
The boot floppy disks supplied with the CD-ROM 
version are identical to those used for a 
floppy disk installation of Windows NT.


Creating Backup Disks
---------------------
If you are a registered user and are having 
difficulty in creating a backup copy of the 
installation disks, contact your local subsidiary 
or Inside Sales regarding fulfillment disks.

Disks formatted with DMF (Setup Disk 4 and beyond) 
can not be copied to a standard high density 3.5" 
disk using the MS-DOS DISKCOPY or Windows COPY 
command.

Because DMF is a new format, many existing disk 
utilities such as Norton Disk Doctor, Central 
Point’s PC Tools, and Microsoft’s ScanDisk do not 
recognize DMF and may try to write over the file 
on the installation disks.  Therefore, you should 
NOT attempt to use disk utilities to diagnose DMF-
formatted disks.


Upgrading Windows NT 3.1 to Windows NT Server 3.5
-------------------------------------------------
You can upgrade Windows NT 3.1 systems to Windows 
NT 3.5 Server. 

You cannot upgrade the computer to be a primary or 
backup domain controller. You can only upgrade the 
computer to be a server that does not participate 
in validating users.


Upgrading When Third-Party System Software is Present
----------------------------------------
If you are using third-party system software
that installs its own services, such as network
redirectors, contact the software vendor to determine if any of these services should be disabled before upgrading.


Running Windows NT 3.5 on PCI Bus Systems
-----------------------------------------
To run Windows NT on a PCI bus system, it may be 
necessary to enable the interrupts either via the 
CMOS screen or by switching jumpers on the 
motherboard.  Refer to system documentation to 
find out how to enable interrupts for your system.


Update Required when Retaining Windows NT 3.1
---------------------------------------------
Caution:  If you are installing Windows NT 3.5 and 
also keeping a copy of Windows NT 3.1 on the same 
computer, you must run UDPATE.EXE if you want to 
prevent damage to FAT partitions and to ensure 
that any version of Windows NT 3.1 installed on 
your computer can still access files on your NTFS 
partitions.  If you do not run UPDATE.EXE, then 
after Setup is complete, the files on NTFS 
partitions cannot be seen by Windows NT 3.1.  
Also, using long filenames on FAT partitions might 
render those partitions inaccessible from within 
Windows NT 3.1.

You do not need to run UPDATE.EXE if you are 
upgrading or reinstalling this new version and do 
not want to keep the older version of Windows NT 
on your computer. 

To update your Windows NT 3.1 system with 
UPDATE.EXE 

1. Before running the Windows NT 3.5 Setup 
   program, switch to the \FS31UPD\system_type 
   directory on the Windows NT 3.5 CD-ROM.
   For example, you might switch to 
   E:\FS31UPD\I386 for x86-based systems.
   - Or -
   For x86-based computers only, insert the 
   Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 Update Disk in drive A 
   and make that the active drive.

2. Run UPDATE.EXE.

Follow the directions on the screen to complete 
the update.


Installation Directory
----------------------
You should not install Windows NT 3.5 in the 
directory that contains Windows NT 3.1 unless you 
are upgrading. That is, Windows NT Setup might 
indicate that it has found a version of Windows NT 
on C:\WINNT, for example, and offer to upgrade the 
old installation. If you answer No to upgrading, 
then do not select this same directory (C:\WINNT) 
for installing version 3.5.


Installing to Mirrored Partitions
---------------------------------
Setup cannot write to partitions that are part of 
a fault-tolerant configuration.  Therefore, it is 
necessary to break the mirror of a fault-tolerant 
set before installing to or upgrading an existing 
installation on that partition.  Additionally, 
Setup must be able to write to the system 
partition, so it is necessary to break the mirror 
of system partitions that are configured as fault-
tolerant sets.

Since Setup treats fault-tolerant sets as though 
they have no free space, you will receive a "not 
enough space" error if you attempt an installation 
on a fault-tolerant partition.  If you encounter 
such a message, and you are sure that you have 
enough space, check to see if your system 
partition and/or installation partition are fault-
tolerant sets.  If either or both partitions are 
mirrored, then break the mirror(s), and attempt 
the installation again.


Selecting Keyboard Layout
-------------------------
Be sure that usernames and passwords that are 
set for all users on a system are available on the 
default keyboard layout chosen for that system at 
setup time because there is no way to change 
keyboards at the logon screen.

If you have selected a keyboard that does not 
include characters used in your username and 
password, and if you have the screen saver on with 
the lock option, then if you leave the system idle 
and the lock option is activated, you have no way 
of inputting your username and password without 
knowing the ALT+NUMPAD codes for the characters 
making it up.


NextStep Changes to Partition Tables
------------------------------------
NextStep makes unconventional changes to partition 
tables. These changes can distort measurement of 
the amount of space remaining on a drive. If more 
space is reported than is actually available, 
installation can fail because of the lack of space 
on the drive. 


Disk Fragmentation Can Prevent Installation
-------------------------------------------
If your disk is too fragmented, there may not be 
enough room for Windows NT Setup to create 
essential system files. If this occurs, Setup will 
not be able to convert a volume at the conclusion 
of installation. Before trying to convert the 
volume again, either delete some files, or back up 
and reformat the drive. 


MS-DOS Undelete Sentry Blocks
-----------------------------
Windows NT cannot recognize free space that was 
created on a FAT partition using the undelete 
sentry feature in MS-DOS version 6.2. With the 
sentry method, MS-DOS reserves part of the hard 
drive to remember deleted files, then compensates 
during MS-DOS queries about free space. Because 
Windows NT doesn’t understand sentry, it reports 
the space on the FAT partition as used.


Using MS-DOS Based Disk Utilities
----------------------------------
The new long filename format introduced in Windows 
NT 3.5 uses file elements on FAT partitions 
differently than MS-DOS. Using MS-DOS-based 
disk utilities on FAT partitions used by Windows 
NT 3.5 can cause files to be deleted or long 
filenames to be lost. Microsoft recommends that 
you run only disk utilities specifically designed 
for Windows NT 3.5 or, when running MS-DOS, the 
chkdsk or scandisk utilities.

To prevent the Windows NT 3.5 FAT file system from 
using long names, you must set to 1 the following 
Registry entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
  \Control\FileSystem\Win31FileSystem

After changing the entry, you must restart your 
computer for the change to take effect.

Caution:  PCTools’ diskfix utility is known to 
delete all files on the FAT partition. If you use 
MS-DOS-based disk utilities on a FAT disk 
partition used by Windows NT 3.5, the utility may 
cause the loss of long filenames or delete files 
on the FAT partition unless this Registry entry is 
set to 1. You should back up the FAT partition 
before running any disk utility other than chkdsk.


Interrupt Conflicts
-------------------
A common problem in a computer with several 
supported devices is conflicting interrupts, I/O 
ports, or memory usage. Where possible, we have 
identified such cases in this document. However, 
if one of the supported devices does not seem to 
work, it may be due to the particular hardware 
configuration. For more specific information, see 
your hardware manual or contact your system 
manufacturer.


ROM Shadowing on Multiprocessor Systems
---------------------------------------
If you encounter persistent installation problems 
on multiprocessor systems, try installing with ROM 
shadowing disabled. 


CD-ROM Installations Require Local CD-ROM Drive 
-----------------------------------------------
Installation from CD-ROM requires a supported SCSI 
CD-ROM drive physically attached to your computer.


SCSI Devices Must Be On for Setup
---------------------------------
You should ensure all SCSI devices are on prior to 
installing or upgrading Windows NT version 3.5.


Disconnect UPS Serial Connections
---------------------------------
UPS serial-monitoring cable connections should be 
disconnected during Setup. Windows NT attempts to 
automatically detect devices connected to serial 
ports, which could cause problems with UPS 
equipment connected to a serial port.


ACER AcerFrame 3000 MP
----------------------
Before installing Windows NT, disable shadow RAM 
Video BIOS.


Digital Alpha AXP Firmware Must Be Upgraded
-------------------------------------------
Before installing Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 
or Windows NT Server 3.5 on an Alpha AXP system, 
you must upgrade your system's firmware to the 
latest version.

Read the README.TXT file provided in the following 
locations to understand the firmware revisions 
needed for your specific Alpha AXP system. This 
document also provides specific instructions for 
obtaining and applying the firmware update.

The README.TXT file is available in the following 
locations:

*  On CompuServe, in the DEC4WNT forum in the 
   Library Section [4], Hardware Support.

*  Via FTP on GATEKEEPER.DEC.COM. Once connected 
   to the gatekeeper, the README.TXT file can be 
   found in /private/fwaxp.

If you are still unsure about your particular 
upgrade requirements, call the Digital Equipment 
Corporation technical support line at 
1-800-354-9000 for further assistance.


Gateway Nomad and TI Travelmate Notebooks
-----------------------------------------
To successfully install Windows NT on these 
machines, you must choose "Custom Setup." If you 
encounter problems running setup while scanning 
for SCSI Adapters, you can skip SCSI detection to 
solve the problem.

To properly use the floppy drive with Windows NT, 
configure the system using its setup utility. Set 
the Advanced Operating System option to Auto. When 
power management drivers for these machines are 
available from Texas Instruments, using the Auto 
option will not be necessary.


IBM Personal System/2
---------------------
On some IBM PS/2 systems only planar memory is 
recognized when booting from the Windows NT CD-ROM 
boot disk or Disk #1 of the floppy disk 
installation set. This is a memory card problem. 
You may encounter this problem if your system 
contains a card with the following part numbers:

FRU-88F0075
Option 87F9856 or 87F9860

Newer model cards are available that correct this 
problem. Part numbers for the newer cards are:

FRU-87F9916 or 34F2825
Option 34F3077 or 34F3011

Using Kingston expansion memory can also correct 
this problem.

It is recommended that before you install Windows 
NT, you update your system configuration using the 
PS/2 Reference Diskette version 1.21 or later.


IBM ThinkPad
------------
The IBM ThinkPad 700c and 720c portables require 
an ABIOS patch to install and run Windows NT. Copy 
the following files from the ThinkPad Reference 
Diskette onto C:\
     ABIOS.SYS
     SF*.BIO


Intel EtherExpress 16 LAN Adapter
---------------------------------
In some cases, selecting "early" in the I/O 
Channel Ready box can stop the network adapter 
card from functioning correctly and may require 
reconfiguring with the Intel SoftSet utility. If 
you are unsure whether your system can take 
advantage of this network setting, consult your 
hardware vendor.


Toshiba T4400SX Monochrome
--------------------------
The Toshiba T4400SX display is not supported when 
an external monitor is connected.


Caching Disk Controllers and Drives
-----------------------------------
Windows NT supports caching disk controllers and 
drives only if one of the following is true:

*  The controller has a driver that specifically 
   supports caching (several of these exist: DPT 
   and IBM SCSI Caching Adapter).

*  Write-through is active (i.e. write caching is 
   disabled) by setting it either manually or by 
   default when the computer starts.

*  The entire cache option is off, by setting it
   either manually or by default when the computer
   starts.

Using a caching controller or drive in other 
situations risks loss of data if the computer is 
rebooted or a power failure occurs before the 
cache has flushed itself. You can minimize risk by 
waiting at least 1 minute (less if you know the 
maximum time the cache waits before flushing 
itself) after all system activity stops before 
rebooting.  The disk activity light is a good 
indicator of how write caching is being done on 
your system. This applies to the initial Windows 
NT installation as well as shutdown. Note that 
unexpected power failure at any time can 
potentially corrupt data on the disk, possibly to 
the extent that the disk becomes unreadable. 
Making the delay time that write data is cached 
before being flushed to disk as small as possible 
reduces this risk.

Certain applications are data-sensitive and 
require that write-through is active. Examples of 
this are SQL Server-based applications and NTFS 
partitions.


Installing Windows NT on an ESDI 
Disk Drive with More Than 1024 Cylinders
----------------------------------------
In some cases, on disk drives with more than 1024 
cylinders, Windows NT installation proceeds 
normally until the first boot from the hard drive 
where Windows NT is installed. The Windows NT Boot 
Loader will load various files and then produce a 
Fatal System Error: 0x0000006b with the message 
that Phase 1 Process Initialization failed. 
Following this message will be some type of 
hexadecimal dump, and the system will be locked 
up. If you experience this difficulty, the 
following information can help.

Microsoft has tested the ESDI controllers 
listed in README.WRI using a hard drive with a 
capacity exceeding 516 MB (MB=1,048,576 bytes) 
formatted. The MS-DOS limit of 1024 cylinders 
creates a situation where special BIOS mapping on 
the controller is used to change the geometry of 
the drive. ESDI drives are capable of being 
prepared with various values of sectors per track 
(spt) such as 53 or 63 spt geometry during a low-
level format, as shown in the following example:

1024 cylinders x 15 heads x 53 spt x 512 bytes per 
sector = 398 MB formatted capacity 

- Or -

1024 cylinders x 15 heads x 63 spt x 512 bytes per 
sector = 472 MB formatted capacity

Thus, using 63 spt will yield 74 MB more space. 
Windows NT is perfectly compatible with either 
geometry and, depending on the drive or 
controller, can access the remaining cylinders 
beyond 1024. This space can be partitioned and 
formatted but not accessed by MS-DOS. However, 
some controllers can successfully remap the 
remaining cylinders beyond 1024 so that either 
MS-DOS or Windows NT can use the entire capacity. 
For example:

1632 cylinders x 15 heads x 53 spt x 512 bytes per 
sector = 634 MB formatted capacity 


