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Q171618: Unattended Install of WinNT SP May Leave System Unbootable

Article: Q171618
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): WinNT:3.5,3.51
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 10-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you install Service Pack 5 in a mass deployment for Windows NT 3.51 on
IDE-based systems, using the following command may render you system
unbootable:

  Update.exe -u

This service pack switch performs an automated installation. When the -u switch
is used with Update.exe, it will automatically close all applications and
restart the system after the service pack is applied.

You may see one of the following behaviors:

- Computer gets to the boot loader (Boot.ini) file but will stop responding
  (hang) on Ntdetect.com (most common symptom)

- Computer stops responding at the end of the POST at a black screen without
  displaying the Windows NT Boot menu options.

CAUSE
=====

This problem is caused by the IDE Drives buffers (cache) not being flushed
properly before the computer is reset.


RESOLUTION
==========

To recover the system after the service pack installation, follow these steps:

1. Create a Windows NT boot floppy disk. For additional information, please see
  the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q119467 Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition

2. When booted to Windows NT, run a chkdsk /f on the system drive.

  NOTE: Because this is the system partition, you will need to keep the boot
  floppy disk in drive A so the computer can reboot and run chkdsk.

3. The system should now be recovered. Verify by doing a reboot without the
  Windows NT boot floppy disk in drive A.

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

Prevention
----------

To keep this problem from happening with future installations of Service Pack 5,
perform the following steps:

1. Create a batch file that will call the Update.exe and Shutdown.exe (Shutdown
  is a Windows NT Resource kit utility that will shut down the system).

  For example:

     SPUpdate.bat

     %path%\update -u
     %path%\shutdown /L /R /T:60 /Y /C

  The above shutdown command forces a local shutdown (/L), reboots when shutdown
  (/R), waits 60 seconds before beginning shutdown (/T:60), Answers 'yes' to
  all prompts (/Y), and forces a close of all apps (/C). For more information
  on the shutdown command, please see the Windows NT 3.51 Resource Kit.

2. Modify the Update.inf in SP5 so that it does not automatically reboot when
  the -u switch is used. Below is a sample of code that should be commented out
  using a semi-colon (;) to stop the automatic reboot.

          Rebootend =+
        ;********* bypass reboot**************
            ;exit
            ;set Reboot = YES
            ;ifstr(i) $(Unattended) != TRUE
           ;install Install-Shutdown
            ;else
           ;ifstr(i) $(ForceClose) != TRUE
               ;set ForceAppsClosed = NO
           ;else
               ;set ForceAppsClosed = YES
           ;endif
           ;install Install-Shutdown2
            ;endif
        ;**********ends here********************

Additional query words: SP5 Hangs Unattended
======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNT351search kbWinNT350search kbWinNTW350 kbWinNTW350search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS350 kbWinNTS351search kbWinNTS350search
Version           : WinNT:3.5,3.51
Issue type        : kbprb

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

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