The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
SUMMARY
This article describes how to create a Windows NT boot disk to access a
drive with a faulty boot sequence on an Intel x86-processor-based
computer.
NOTE: The procedure for RISC-based computers is different and not
documented in this article.
This Windows NT boot disk can access a drive that has the Windows NT file
system (NTFS) or File allocation table (FAT) file system installed. The
procedures in this article can be useful to work around the following boot
problems:
- Corrupted boot sector.
- Corrupted master boot record (MBR).
- Virus infections.
- Missing or corrupt NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM.
- Incorrect NTBOOTDD.SYS driver.
- This boot disk can also be used to boot from the shadow of a broken
mirror, although you may need to change the BOOT.INI to do that.
This Windows NT boot disk cannot be used for the following problems:
- Incorrect or corrupt device drivers that have been installed into the
Windows NT System directory.
- Boot problems that occur after the OSLOADER screen.
To work around or fix these problems, run the Emergency Repair disk, load
the last known good control set, or reinstall Windows NT, if necessary.
How to Create a Windows NT Boot Floppy
The Windows NT floppy disk must include the files NTLDR (or SETUPLDR.BIN
in Windows NT 3.5), NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI, and the correct device driver
for your hard drive.
NOTE: The NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM, and BOOT.INI files usually have their file
attributes set to System, Hidden, and Read-Only. You do not need to reset
these attributes for this disk to work properly. For more information on
the structure of the BOOT.INI file, see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q102873
TITLE: BOOT.INI and ARC Path Naming Conventions and Usage
To create a Windows NT boot floppy disk, use the appropriate method:
If You Do Not Have Access to a Computer Running Windows NT
- Create a copy of the first Windows NT Setup disk using the DISKCOPY
command, and then delete all files on the new disk.
- Copy the NTDETECT.COM and NTLDR files to the new disk.
- Rename the NTLDR file to SETUPLDR.BIN.
- Create a BOOT.INI file.
The following is an example that works for a single partition SCSI
drive with Windows NT installed under \WINNT, however, the exact value
in the [operating systems] section depends upon the configuration of
the Windows NT System you want to boot:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
[operating systems]
scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows NT"
If your computer boots from an IDE, EIDE, or ESDI hard drive, replace
the scsi(0) with multi(0). If you are running Windows NT 3.5 or 3.51
and your system boots from the first or second SCSI drive, then you can
also replace scsi(0) with multi(0).
- If you are using scsi(x) in the Boot.ini, copy the correct device
driver for the SCSI controller in use on the computer, and then rename
it to NTBOOTDD.SYS. If you are using multi(x) in the Boot.ini, you do
not need to do this.
- Start your computer using the floppy disk, and then log on to Windows
NT.
If You Have Access to a Computer Running Windows NT
- Format a floppy disk using the Windows NT format utility.
- Copy NTLDR from the Windows NT Setup CD-ROM, Windows NT Setup floppy
disk, or from a computer running the same version of Windows NT as the
computer you want to access with the boot floppy. You may need to
expand this file from NTLDR._ to NTLDR by using the following command
line:
EXPAND NTLDR._ NTLDR
- Copy the NTDETECT.COM file to the disk.
- Create a BOOT.INI file or copy one from a running Windows NT computer
and modify it to match the computer you are trying to access. Below is
an example which will work for a single partition SCSI drive with
Windows NT installed under \WINNT, however, the exact value in the
[operating systems] section depends upon the configuration of the
Windows NT computer you are trying to access:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
[operating systems]
scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows NT"
If your computer starts from an IDE, EIDE, or ESDI hard drive, replace
the scsi(0) with multi(0). If you are running Windows NT 3.5 or 3.51
and your computer starts from the first or second SCSI drive, then you
can also replace scsi(0) with multi(0).
- If you are using scsi(x) in the Boot.ini, copy the correct device
driver for the SCSI controller in use on the computer and rename it to
NTBOOTDD.SYS. If you are using multi(x) in the Boot.ini, you do not
need to do this.
- Start using the floppy disk, and then log on to Windows NT.
If You Have Windows NT Version 3.51
- Format a blank 3.5" 1.44mb floppy disk under Windows NT 3.51.
- Copy NTDETECT.COM and NTLDR to the new disk.
- Create a BOOT.INI file with the following lines: (This example is for a
single partition SCSI drive with Windows NT installed in the default
directory, C:\WINNT35.)
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt35
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt35="Windows NT 3.51"
- Boot from the floppy disk and log on to Windows NT.
Troubleshooting
You may encounter one or more of the following problems when you attempt
to start your computer using your Windows NT boot floppy disk:
- If the path pointing to the system files is incorrect or includes the
drive letter, you may receive the following error message:
Windows NT could not start because of the following ARC firmware
boot configuration problem: Did not properly generate ARC name for
HAL and system paths. Please check the Windows NT (TM) documentation
about ARC configuration options and your hardware reference manuals
for additional information. Boot Failed.
- If an incorrect SCSI driver has been selected or the NTBOOTDD.SYS file
does not exist, you may receive the following message:
Windows NT could not start because of a computer disk hardware
configuration problem. Could not read from selected boot disk. Check
boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows NT (TM)
documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware
disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for
additional information. Boot Failed.
|