KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q132545: Windows NT 3.51 Step Up Installation

Article: Q132545
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 3.51
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 02-OCT-2001

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.51 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.51 
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server, version 3.51 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
=======

The Special Step-Up Edition of Windows NT 3.51 can be used to upgrade from
Windows NT 3.5 to Windows NT 3.51. The Special Step-Up Edition runs only on
computers with Windows NT 3.5 or Windows NT 3.51 installed. If Windows NT 3.5 or
3.51 in installed on a computer, you can use the Special Step-Up Edition to
upgrade that copy to Windows NT 3.51, or install Windows NT 3.51 into a new
directory. The Special Step-Up Edition cannot be used to upgrade or install over
Windows NT 3.1.

NOTE: The Windows NT repair procedure also uses these steps to detect a Windows
NT installation to repair. If NTOSKRNL.EXE and NTDLL.DLL are corrupted, the
repair process may fail reporting it cannot locate a Windows NT installation. It
is possible to expand and copy NTOSKRNL.EXE and NTDLL.DLL to the
%SystemRoot%\System32 directory to allow the repair procedure to continue.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The Special Step-Up Edition setup program checks the following to verify that an
upgradable copy of Windows NT 3.5 is installed on the computer:

1. The BOOT.INI file is searched for entries indicating installations of Windows
  NT.

2. Setup checks for the following files and directories in the location
  specified by the BOOT.INI entry:


  Directories:

     \SYSTEM32
     \SYSTEM32\DRIVERS
     \SYSTEM32\CONFIG

  Files:

     \SYSTEM32\NTOSKRNL.EXE
     \SYSTEM32\NTDLL.DLL


3. Setup loads the SYSTEM and SOFTWARE hives from the registry and verifies the
  product type and version. The following items are verified in the registry:

  a. The installed version must be 3.5 or higher, but not higher than the
     version you are attempting to install.

  b. The installed version product type is compared against the Step-Up product
     type. You cannot use the Special Step-Up Edition of Windows NT Workstation
     to upgrade a Windows NT Server installation, and vice versa.

If all of these things check out correctly, Setup proceeds. If any of the
elements listed above are missing, the Setup does not to proceed. Also, if
anything prevents Setup from seeing the Windows NT 3.5 installation, Setup does
not proceed. For example, mirrored drives, inaccessible drives, and other
similar problems can prevent Setup from seeing a Windows NT 3.5 installation.

Windows NT 3.5 and Windows NT 3.51 Setup use the same steps listed above when
looking for previous installations of Windows NT. The only difference is, the
Special Step-Up Edition setup program requires the presence of an upgradable
copy of Windows NT 3.5.

Additional query words: 3.51 prodnt advanced server ntas

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNT351search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTAdvSerSearch kbWinNTAdvServ351 kbWinNTS351search
Version           : :3.51

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.