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Q228734: Windows NT Does Not Boot with Highly Fragmented MFT

Article: Q228734
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0,4.0 SP1,4.0 SP2,4.0 SP3,4.0 SP4,4.0 SP5
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbWinNT400sp6afix
Last Modified: 20-MAY-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP1, 4.0 SP2, 4.0 SP3, 4.0 SP4, 4.0 SP5 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 4.0, 4.0 SP1, 4.0 SP2, 4.0 SP3, 4.0 SP4, 4.0 SP5 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4, 4.0 SP5, Terminal Server Edition 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When attempting to boot a Windows NT 4.0 computer you may encounter one of the
following issues:

You get a blinking or flashing cursor in the upper-left corner of the screen

  -or-

You only get a black blank screen.

NOTE: This may occur after installing a Service Pack or while attempting to
upgrade to the next version of Windows.

CAUSE
=====

This issue can occur when the NTFS bootsector code contained in logical sector
zero of an NTFS volume is unable to locate and load NTLDR into memory due to the
Master File Table (MFT) being highly fragmented.

NOTE: In the case of the upgrade boot failure, we cannot load the file called
$LDR$ from the root of system partition used to boot the computer.

RESOLUTION
==========

How to Resolve Issue If The Computer Cannot Start
-------------------------------------------------

1. Obtain the Bcupdate.exe program, which updates the boot code of the NTFS boot
  sector. For information on obtaining the individual software update, contact
  Microsoft Product Support Services. For a complete list of Microsoft Product
  Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to
  the following address on the World Wide Web:

  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

2. Once you have obtained the software update create a Windows NT startup floppy
  disk and boot Windows NT using this disk. For additional information about
  how to create this disk, click the article number below to view the article
  in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q119467 Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition

3. Extract Bcupdate.exe and NTLDR from the software update.

4. Run Bcupdate.exe C: /F.

Other command line parameters supported:

  /q - Quiet mode (must include /y).
  /y - Don't confirm.
  /f - Force update of in use volume.
  /t - Only test for old boot code.

5. Some systems with particular partition layouts may experience issues unless
  NTLDR is also updated. Therefore, Microsoft recommends that you replace NTLDR
  on the system with the one in this software update in conjunction with
  running Bcupdate.exe.

WARNING: If you reinstall Service Pack 5 after you replace the NTLDR with the one
from BCUPDATE (SP6), you may render the system unstartable.

To Prevent This Issue From Occurring
------------------------------------

Follow the above instructions for obtaining and running the bcupdate.exe utility.
Then obtain the latest service pack.

Windows NT Server or Workstation 4.0:

Obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0. For information on obtaining
the latest service pack, please go to:

  http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/ServicePacks/

  -or-

  Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack


Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition:

To prevent this problem from occurring, obtain the latest service pack for
Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information about
the latest Windows NT 4.0 service pack, click the article number below to view
the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack


WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this issue, a discussion of MFT fragmentation, together with one
method of preventing excessive MFT fragmentation, is presented in the following
Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

  Q174619 How NTFS Reserves Space for its Master File Table (MFT)

After the system drive is sufficiently fragmented such that the system cannot
start directly from the hard disk drive, it is still possible to start through a
Windows NT startup floppy disk. This is possible because the floppy disk
contains its own copy of NTLDR. For additional information, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q119467 Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in
Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6.

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

This issue occurs only on computers whose system partition is formatted with
NTFS. Windows 2000 contains both the updated bootsector code and the updated
NTLDR so it is not susceptible to this issue. The NTFS bootsector code's job is
to locate and load NTLDR into memory. To perform this function, the code must
recognize NTFS data structures well enough to locate NTLDR on the disk. This
task involves reading the volume's MFT in order to obtain the root directory,
which in turn contains the information necessary to locate the MFT for the NTLDR
file itself. The NTFS bootsector code runs in "real mode" and therefore cannot
address large amounts of memory. When the MFT is highly fragmented the code may
run out of memory to store all the necessary records for the MFT. To prevent
excessive MFT fragmentation see the following KB article:

  Q174619 How NTFS Reserves Space for its Master File Table (MFT)


Additional query words: 4.00 bootcode flashing

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Keywords          : kbWinNT400sp6afix 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTW400sp5 kbWinNTW400sp4 kbWinNTW400sp3 kbWinNTW400sp2 kbWinNTW400sp1 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400sp5 kbWinNTS400sp4 kbWinNTS400sp3 kbWinNTS400sp2 kbWinNTS400sp1 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbNTTermServ400 kbNTTermServ400sp4 kbNTTermServ400sp5 kbNTTermServSearch
Version           : :4.0,4.0 SP1,4.0 SP2,4.0 SP3,4.0 SP4,4.0 SP5
Hardware          : ALPHA x86
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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