STOP 0x0000007B On Windows NT 4.0 After SP2 Applied

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 Service Pack 2
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 Service Pack 2

SYMPTOMS

After you apply Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 2 on a computer with IDE hard disks, you may receive the following blue-screen STOP message when you restart your computer:

   STOP 0x000000B
   Inaccessible_Boot_Device

CAUSE

The updated version of Atapi.sys included with Service Pack 2 causes this STOP message to occur. This error should only occur if the boot or system partitions (startup file or operating system files) reside on an IDE drive. Windows NT operating system files installed on a SCSI hard disk do not experience this problem.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, do one of the following:

• If Windows NT is installed on a FAT partition, replace Atapi.sys in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers folder with the Atapi.sys file in the I386 folder of the Windows NT 4.0 CD-ROM.

  -or-

• Start your computer with the Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) created prior to the application of Service Pack 2, select Verify Windows NT System Files only, and then repair the Atapi.sys file.

  NOTE: If the computer was using Atdisk.sys instead of Atapi.sys,

           replace both Atapi.sys and Atdisk.sys.
  
     For more information on the Emergency Repair process, please see the
     following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
        ARTICLE-ID: Q129037
        TITLE     : Windows NT 3.5x and 4.0 Emergency Repair Process Screens
  
     -or-
  
  

• If Windows NT is installed on an NTFS partition, re-install Windows NT to a separate folder. Log on to this parallel installation and replace Atapi.sys in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers folder of the original Windows NT installation with the Atapi.sys file in the I386 folder of the Windows NT 4.0 CD-ROM.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.