KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q174264: WinNT ERR: INVALID LINE…IN INF FILE during Windows NT Setup

Article: Q174264
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): WinNT:3.5,3.51,4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsetup
Last Modified: 09-AUG-2001

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

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

When you perform either an unattended or regular Windows NT setup, you may
receive the following error message:

  INVALID LINE X IN INF FILE

Where X is usually the numeral 1 or 2 but could be any number.

CAUSE
=====

There may be a hardware failure or an improper CMOS setting that causes the
Winnt.sif or Txtsetup.sif file to get corrupted during the file copy portion of
setup.

This may also be caused by fragmentation on the local drive, bad copy across the
network, or you may have a typographical error in the Unattend.txt configuration
file.

RESOLUTION
==========

This error message may be generated by one of several problems at a hardware
level:

- Check the CMOS settings for the computer and verify all settings are correct.
  You may need to reset the CMOS setting back to factory defaults.

- Check for a L2 cache failure (if it's a Pentium pro machine the L2 cache is
  built in on the processor).

- Check for bad or mismatched RAM Memory SIMM Modules.

- Remove adapter cards such as NIC, Modems, Sound cards that are not required
  for booting.

- If all the above fail to detect the problem, there may be a problem with the
  motherboard.

If an error is received about any other line being invalid, for example: INVALID
LINE 346 IN INF FILE, an actual setup file may be corrupt. Most Likely this file
could be a corrupt Unattend.txt file in either Windows NT 3.51 or Windows NT
4.0. In each case, recreating Unattend.txt using Setupmgr.exe will fix the
problem.

Additional query words: unattend information
======================================================================
Keywords          : kbsetup 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT351search kbWinNT350search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTW350 kbWinNTW350search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS350 kbWinNTS351search kbWinNTS350search
Version           : WinNT:3.5,3.51,4.0

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

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.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1986-2002.