SP4 Installation Does Not Delete Reference to Previous Hotfixes

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

After installing Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4, running hotfix -l will still show any pre-Service Pack 4 hotfixes as being installed on the computer using Hotfix.exe. It will also allow you to still remove the hotfix, which will return the hotfixed files to the files before the installation of the hotfix.

This can cause reduced functionality or system failures.

To retain a record of what hotfixes were installed on the system before installing Service Pack 4, run Srvinfo.exe or Hotfix -l and save this information to a text file on the computer.

RESOLUTION

When you perform this procedure, the computer will not retain the record of hotfixes installed previous to the SP4 installation if you run the uninstall procedure by running Spuninst.exe from the $NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\ folder or you remove it through the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. To retain a record of what hotfixes were installed on the system before installing Service Pack 4, run Srvinfo.exe or Hotfix -l and save this information to a text file on the computer.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To remove the reference to these hotfixes, delete the following keys that reference pre-SP4 fixes:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT
\CurrentVersion\Hotfix\<KBArticleNumber>

where <KBArticleNumber> is the Q number of a Microsoft Knowledge Base article associated with a particular hotfix.

Also delete the folders under the %systemroot%\ folder that begin with $NtUninstall<KBArticleNumber>$ and that matches the registry key deleted.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0.

MORE INFORMATION

The Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 installation will replace any pre-Service Pack 4 hotfix files on the system but it does not delete the registry reference or the uninstall folder created by running Hotfix.exe.

For additional information about Hotfix.exe, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q184305 How to Install and Remove Hotfixes with HOTFIX.EXE

Additional query words:

Keywords : NT4SP4Fea
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb