Err Msg: OS Loader V3.5 Windows NT Could Not Start...

 Last reviewed: April 10, 1997
Article ID: Q122793

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5

SYMPTOMS

When you have more than 3,000 shares on Windows NT version 3.1, the following message may appear when you upgrade to Windows NT version 3.5 and reboot your computer: 

   OS Loader V3.5
   ....

   Windows NT could not start because the following file is missing or
   corrupt: \<WinRoot>\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows NT Setup using the original Setup floppy disk or CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

CAUSE

Due to several technical issues, OS Loader V3.5 (NTLDR) only has access to about 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM at boot time. It must load the SYSTEM configuration file within this range. If that file exceeds the 16 MB limit, the above error message appears.

The SYSTEM file which among other things contains share information, achieved this size due to a problem in the Windows NT 3.5 kernel (NTOSKRNL.EXE, NTKRNLMP.EXE) code which caused excessive fragmentation of this file with this number of shares.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.5. This problem was corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Windows NT version 3.5. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces): 

   S E R V P A C K

Additional query words: prodnt
Keywords : kbbug3.50 kbnetwork ntboot
Version : 3.5
Platform : WinNT
Issue type : kberrmsg

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Last reviewed: April 10, 1997
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