Choose the help section for Windows NT: Windows NT FAQ

Installation

How to create bootable floppy disks for installing Windows NT?

• Use the command

  <Cd-rom>: \ <processor type> \ winnt / o

  For example, for Intel machines:

  F: \ i386 \ winnt / o

  Where f: is the drive letter cd-rom.
  
  
• Try also the command winnt /? . Learn a few additional keys.

How to install Windows NT without using boot floppies?

• Use the command

  <Cd-rom>: \ <processor type> \ winnt / b

  For example, for Intel machines:

  F: \ i386 \ winnt / b

  Where f: is the drive letter cd-rom.
  
  
• Try also the command winnt /? . Learn a few additional keys.

What are the minimum memory requirements for Windows NT?

Does Windows NT support the so-called "compressed" disks (Stacker, DoubleSpace)?

Windows NT does not support any method of data compression on a disk used in MS-DOS or other operating systems. However, since version 3.51, the system has built-in so-called "file-by-file" compression for disks (partitions) formatted using the NTFS file system.

To compress specific files or directories, set the required files or directories to the "Compressed" attribute, using Windows NT Explorer or File Manager. You can also use the COMPACT.EXE program from the command line (console).

What should I do if I receive a UNACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE message when I try to install Windows NT?

• Maybe you have a virus. Check your computer.
• Perhaps you have several disks, active (bootable) partitions as well. Make only one partition active (use the fdisk program).

Russian language

How to install Russian language support?

1. Select Settings \ Control Panel from the Start menu.
2. Double-click the Keyboard icon to open the Keyboard Properties dialog.
3. In the Input Locales tab, add Russian (several files from the Windows NT distribution will be installed) and set the Russian to the default (Set as default).
   Otherwise, you do not get russification of DOS programs (Win32 console applications do not concern this remark). If you still decide to leave the default American layout, and want to Russify DOS at the same time, add to the file
   % SYSTEMROOT% \ SYSTEM32 \ AUTOEXEC.NT call the crack. However, remember that in this case you are getting a number of problems.
4. Close the Keyboard Properties dialog.
5. In the Control Panel, double-click the Regional Settings icon to open the Regional Settings Properties dialog .
6. On the Regional Settings tab, set Russian and check the Set as system default locale check box. Close the dialog and reboot the system, as you will be asked.
7. Do not panic when next time you open this bookmark. The checkbox is cleared, but this does not affect the correctness of the localization.

Why does not the standard keyboard switch for DOS sessions work for me - kb16?

1. Start Registry Editor ( regedt32 or regedit ).
2. Open the key
   HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Keyboard Layout \ DosKeybCodes
3. Change the value of the string variable 00000409 from us to ru ;
4. Call the command kb16 ru .

Installation on top

Can I install Windows NT over Windows 3.1x?

Can I install Windows NT over Windows 9x?

Can I install Windows NT 4.0 over Windows NT 4.0 beta 1 and 2?

Hardware (Hardware)

How to install non-SCSI CD-ROM drive (Panasonic, Mitsumi, etc.)?

• When installing the system (any version), you will be prompted to add SCSI devices. Do not be surprised, your Panasonic or Mitsumi CD-ROM is in the list of SCSI devices. To install the driver, press the S key and select your CD-ROM from the list.
  
  
• With the installed system
  
  
  • Windows NT 3.51
    1. Run the Windows NT Setup program whose icon is in the Main group.
    2. Select Add SCSI device.
    
    
    
  • Windows NT 4.0
    1. Start the Control Panel program (Start Menu, Settings).
    2. Double-click on the "SCSI Adapters" icon to open the "SCSI Adapters" dialog.
    3. Use the Add button to add the driver you need.

What sound cards are supported in Windows NT?

• Sound Blaster (all models up to SB16)
• Pro Audio Spectrum
• Windows Sound System
• Compaq Business Audio

Why do not I have sound on Sound Blaster in DOS applications?

What does the message IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL 0xNNNNN mean?

• During the installation of Windows NT, select Standard PC instead of what Setup offers.
• Disable the external and internal cache of the processor.
• Simply "simplify" your computer: remove unnecessary cards (especially network ones!), Disable shadow RAM / ROM, L2 cache options, CMOS antiviruses, etc.
• If nothing has helped, try low-level formatting of the hard disk. If this also does not help, then it's a matter of poor-quality or incompatible hardware.

Service, system setup and some common problems

How to prevent NT from reading Autoexec.bat from DOS?

1. Run Regedt32.exe.
2. Open the registry key
   HKCU \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
3. Set the ParseAutoexec value to 1 by default, and change it to 0.

How do I start the program before logon?

The Windows NT Resource Kit includes the srvany.exe service that performs these tasks. Its detailed description can be found in the srvany.wri file.

The same program in the source code can be found on the Windows NT SDK CD-ROM.

How can I improve performance?

1. When using multiple paging files (paging files) on several physical disks, the performance at a large load is noticeably increased. (NT uses them at the same time)
2. As you know, NTFS is a rather slow file system, mainly because of the support of a large number of additional information, for example, the date of the last access to the file. You can increase the performance by disabling the update of this date by setting the registry parameter HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ FileSystem \ NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate (type REG_DWORD) to the primary one.
3. Check the file cache settings. If you have Windows NT Server installed, you can change the settings as follows:
   1. Start Control Panel, open the Network application.
   2. On the Services tab, select Server, open its properties (by double-clicking on its name or clicking on the Properties button).
   3. The cache is managed using the Optimization switch. Set "Minimize memory used" if less than 64 users are connected to your server. If you are using a SQL server or some other client-server application, use the "Maximize Throughput for Network Applications" mode (by the way, this value is set during the installation of Internet Information Server).
   For Windows NT Workstation, you can try changing this parameter in the registry (HKLM \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \ Memory Management, the LargeSystemCache parameter). The value can vary from 0 to 3. However, according to Microsoft, Workstation always uses the "Minimize memory used" mode (the value is 0), and no one received a visible result from changing this parameter.

How to disable AutoRun for CD-ROM?

1. Run Regedt32.exe.
2. Open the registry key
   HKLM \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ CDROM
3. The AutoRun value, which is 1 by default, is set to 0.

How can I prevent a color palette from changing in some DOS applications?

1. Open Control Panel \ Console (Command Line), select the Colors tab.
2. It is necessary to reduce RGB parameters of white , gray and light-gray colors of units by 2.