Creating a WinNT Boot Floppy for DEC ALPHA RISC Computers

• 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

Digital Equipment Corporation's ALPHA-based RISC computers rely on having a small (less than 4 GB) FAT-formatted system partition containing boot files. This system partition can also contain the Windows NT operating system but must be FAT formatted. RISC computers use the systems firmware and the ARC paths defined in NVRAM to read the system and osload partitions. The firmware loads boot files from the system partition that in turn loads the Windows NT operating system files from the osload partition.

If your small, dedicated FAT system partition or one of the files contained in the \OS\WINNTxx (xx= Windows NT operating system version) directory gets corrupted or accidentally deleted, you will not be able to boot into Windows NT. It is, however, possible to make a Windows NT boot floppy disk to allow you to boot back into Windows NT.

This floppy can be pre-made and kept available in case of emergencies and used in the event the Windows NT installation CD-ROM is unavailable to perform a repair.

RISC-based systems have information equivalent to the Boot.ini file in nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). The process for creating a boot disk for RISC systems is to copy the following files from the current working system partition or from the Windows NT installation CD-ROM's \ALPHA directory to the root of a DOS or Windows NT-formatted floppy disk:

· Osloader.exe   <--- This needs to be expanded if copied from CD:
                      IE: expand osloader.ex_ a:\osloader.exe
· Hal.dll        <--- This is machine specific - see chart below.

Once these files are copied to a floppy disk, you can add a new boot option entry in the computer's NVRAM to point to the floppy disk instead of the hard disk drive's system partition.

MORE INFORMATION

Digital Equipment Corporation's RISC computers each have their own Hal.dll File that must be used depending on the computer model number. Use the chart below to determine which hardware abstraction layer (HAL) file to copy to the boot floppy disk. The actual HAL file copied to the floppy disk must be renamed to Hal.dll.

HAL NAME        COMPUTER MODEL NUMBER
--------        ---------------------

halqs.dll    = "Digital Multia MultiClient Desktop"

halxl.dll    = "Digital Alpha XL 300/366 Family"
hallx3.dll   = "Digital AlphaStation 255"

halalp.dll   = "Aspen Alpine/Telluride"

* This model and other models not listed will require a custom HAL from Digital: see - http://www.windows.digital.com/support/sysoft.asp.

Once the Windows NT boot floppy disk is made, it will be necessary to add or modify a boot menu selection in the computer's NVRAM using the computer's built-in firmware.

DEC has two different kinds of firmware - the new AlphaBios firmware and the original ARC multiboot firmware. Depending on the model number and age of the computer, you could have either kind of firmware.

NOTE: The screens and menu items may vary from one firmware revision to the next. Use the appropriate section below for instructions on adding a boot selection to address the boot floppy disk.

Adding a Boot Floppy Option Using AlphaBios Firmware

1. Start the system.

2. After POST-Initialization completes, press F2 to enter SETUP.

         Display System Configuration
         Upgrade AlphaBios
         Hard Disk Setup ...
         CMOS Setup ...
         Install Windows NT
         Utilities
         About AlphaBios
   

3. From the main menu, select: UTILITIES --> OS SELECTION SETUP...

4. The previous boot selections will be displayed.

   EXAMPLE:

      Windows NT Server Version 4.0     Primary Operating System
   
       ----------------------------------------------------------
      | Boot Name: Windows NT Version 4.00                       |
      | Boot File: Disk 0, Partition 2  \os\winnt40\osloader.exe |
      | OS Path:   Disk 0, Partition 1  \WINNT                   |
       ----------------------------------------------------------
   
      Insert=new   f6=edit    ESC= discard changes
      Del=Delete   f7=copy    f10=save changes
   
   

5. Choose either Insert to make a new entry or f7 to make a copy.

6. Modify the new boot entry to look like below:

       ----------------------------------------------------------
      | Boot Name: Windows NT Boot Floppy                        |
      | Boot File: A:                   \osloader.exe            |
      | OS Path:   Disk 0, Partition 1  \WINNT                   |
       ----------------------------------------------------------
   
   

7. Press f10=save changes, then press Enter to continue.

8. Press ESC back to the boot selection menu and you should now have an additional option titled "Windows NT boot floppy."

9. Ensure your previously made Windows NT boot floppy disk is in drive A and press Enter on that new boot menu selection.

10. Windows NT should now load.

Adding a Boot Floppy Option Using ARC Multiboot Firmware

1. Start the system. The first menu will be the Boot menu.

         Boot menu:
         Boot Windows NT Server Vx.xx
         Boot an alternate Operating System
         Run A Program
         Supplementary menu...           <--- Select
   
      A. From the Boot menu, select Supplementary menu.
   
         Supplementary menu:
         Install new Firmware
         Install Windows NT from CD-ROM
         Setup the System ...            <--- Select
         Display Hardware Configuration
         Boot menu ...
   
      B. From the Supplementary menu, select Setup the system.
   
         Setup menu:
         Set System Time
         Set Default Environment variables
         Set Default Configuration
         Set System Language
         Manage Boot Selections menu     <--- Select
   
      C. From the Setup menu, select the Manage Boot Selections menu.
   
      D. From the Manage boot selections menu, select Add a boot selection.
   
   

2. At the following prompts, type the correct information for your system.

   NOTE: When a specific path is requested, this may vary from one computer to another.

   Select a system partition for this boot selection Choose: New system partition

   Enter location of the system partition for this boot selection Choose: Floppy Disk

         Enter floppy drive number: 0
   

   Enter the osloader directory and name Type: \osloader.exe

   Is the operating system in the same partition as the osloader:

      Choose: NO   [or YES depending on your configuration]
   
      NOTE: This may vary from one computer to another. The example here
      reflects the most common RISC configuration. The system and OS
      partitions are separate.
   
      IE: System partition is usually 6 MB to 10 MB and contains the boot
          files.
      OS partition is where the \winnt directory is located.
   
      Enter the location of the OS Partition
      Select media
      Choose: SCSI Hard Disk
   
      Enter SCSI bus number
      Type in the appropriate bus number - usually zero.
   
      Enter SCSI ID
      Type in the appropriate SCSI ID - usually zero.
   
      Enter partition
      Type in the appropriate partition number - usually 2
   
      NOTE: You can run Arcinst.exe program to display partition information.
      From the main menu, select Run a program, then type:
      CD:\ALPHA\Arcinst.exe
   
      Enter the operating system root directory
      Type in the path. For example: \winnt
   
      Enter the name for this boot selection
      Type in a name. For example: Windows NT boot floppy
   
      Do you want to initialize the debugger at boot time:
      Choose: Yes or No
   
   

The changes will be saved in NVRAM. The new boot selection will become the default. The Manage boot selections menu has an option to rearrange boot selections if you do not want the new selection to be the default.

To verify your new boot selection: From the Manage boot selections menu, select "change a boot selection," then the new entry name.

It should display your custom entry information:

LOADIDENTIFIER = Windows NT Boot floppy SYSTEMPARTITION = EISA(0)DISK(0)FDISK(0) OSLOADER = EISA(0)DISK(0)FDISK(0) \OSLOADR.EXE OSLOADPARTITION = SCSI(0)DISK(0)RDISK(0)PARTITION(2) OSLOADFILENAME = WINNT OSLOADOPTIONS = NODEBUG

Possible Error Messages Booting from Floppy

• STOP: 0xFACEFEED (0x800BD950,00000000,00000000,00000000)

  The Alpha HAL generates this error when it encounters a hardware failure; this can be caused by using the wrong or outdated Hal.dll (see the HAL chart above).

• Windows NT Could not Start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

  "LOAD NEEDED DLLs FOR KERNEL Please Re-install a copy of the above file. Press any key to continue"

  You have missing or corrupt .PAL files on the boot floppy disk. Be sure to copy ALL the *.PAL files from the Windows NT installation CD-ROM to the root of the boot floppy disk.