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Q194334: SP4 Installation Does Not Delete Reference to Previous Hotfixes

Article: Q194334
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbFEA kbWinNT400sp4fea
Last Modified: 11-JUN-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0 
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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          : kbFEA kbWinNT400sp4fea 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTSEntSearch kbWinNTSEnt400 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbprb

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