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Differences between Windows 9x and NT 4
Users and Computer Access
Plug and Play Issues - NT is not PnP(!)
Creating the 3 boot floppies (boot from the CD if you can)
Partitioning the Hard Disk
FAT16 vs NTFS file systems
Default Installation
Alternative Installation
Installation Details
If you have trouble...
1) The CD is bootable, but your CD drive must be bootable, and the BIOS must allow you to specify the CD as a boot device. If not, you will need to create the set of three(!) boot floppies (see below).
2) The installation files are not in a folder on the CD called WIN95 or WIN98 or (as you might expect) WINNT; they are in a folder called i386.
3) There is no SETUP.EXE file, as with Windows 9x; if you do it manually, setup is initiated by one of two files, WINNT.EXE, or WINNT32.EXE; If you boot from the CD or the boot floppies, WINNT.EXE will start automatically. The other file, WINNT32.EXE, can only be run from within an existing installation of Windows. It will give you a choice of doing an upgrade or a fresh install.
4) There is a user called Administrator (you have no choice in this), who has full control of everything. You must assign Administrator a password. Ordinary users do not have the same rights as the Administrator, for security. You must create other users; none exist by default, except a "guest" user, but that account is disabled until you enable it.
5) You cannot access the computer at all without a username and password, like with Unix and Linux. This is a good thing, for security. With Windows 9x, you can just click Cancel at the username and password screen, and you still gain complete access to the system (but you may not have network access).
6) Windows NT 4 Server assumes the computer is on a network (makes sense - otherwise why would you want a server?). In fact, it may complain bitterly and refuse to install properly if it is not on a network. Save yourself some grief: at least put a network card in before starting the installation.
7) Windows NT 4 is not Plug and Play compliant. Yes, you read it correctly. It seems to be sort-of-kind-of-maybe-partly PnP, but certainly not fully, like 9x. There is no Device Manager. There is no Add New Hardware Wizard. You can't tell NT to search for PnP devices. There is a utility called WINMSD.EXE, which will show you what hardware is installed, and what IRQ etc. it is using. When you add new hardware, just pray that NT detects something, and asks for drivers.
8) Windows NT was built with security in mind. It has far better security than any previous version of Windows. However, compared to (almost) any version of Unix or Linux, it's rather second-rate security, at best, even if you install all the patches and updates. Personally, I would not trust any Microsoft product as a server of any kind. Their track record on security issues is pathetic. No doubt there are those who disagree.
Back to TopCreating the boot floppies - if you cannot boot from the CD or DVD
1. You will need three floppy disks; they must be blank, and formatted; this utility will not (or cannot) erase existing files, nor format disks.
2. Insert the Windows NT CD into the CD drive of a working Windows computer (any version), OR boot from a floppy that activates the CDROM
3. Open a DOS box (if necessary) and navigate to the i386 folder on the CD
4. If your CDROM is drive R, here is the command prompt, and what you type:
R:\I386> winnt /ox
Follow the instructions on-screen. You will be asked for the location of the i386 folder (for some reason), and then to insert the floppy disks in turn. Be sure to label them correctly - they are created in reverse order, disk 3, disk 2, disk 1.
For the actual installation, see The Installation, below.
Partitioning the hard drive(s)
This can be done with any DOS or Windows boot floppy, and FDISK.EXE. Be aware of a few things, however:
For more detailed information about partitioning and formatting drives, see Tips Parts 9 and 10.
Back to TopDilemma: To use FAT16 or NTFS?
There are advantages and disadvantages to both:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| FAT16 | |
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| NTFS | |
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FAT16
Almost any OS can access a FAT16 drive, including Unix and Linux, and FAT16 drives are easy to get at by booting from a floppy disk. Suppose Windows won't start up and you just have to retrieve some data from the disk? No problem. Boot from any DOS or Windows floppy (or even Unix/Linux), and copy your files. On the down side, you can't create a partition (=drive) larger than 2Gb. Also, the cluster size reaches 32Kb on a 1Gb drive. FAT32, incidentally, is almost as easily accessible as FAT16 (DOS and NT can't see it, but almost any other OS can).
Clusters
A cluster is the smallest unit of data the OS will read or write, so there is potentially much wasted space. Any file will use whole clusters; for example, with 32k clusters, a 33Kb file will use two clusters, wasting 31Kb of the second cluster. A single 1Kb file will use one cluster, also wasting 31Kb.
NTFS
With NTFS (NT File System), the maximum drive size is 2 terabytes, and clusters can be whatever size you wish. NTFS can also have user permissions. This allows the administrator to dictate who is allowed to access what, and to what extent. For example, users may have read-only (=they can only look at it) or read-write (=they can also change it) permissions for a file or folder. There are ways to circumvent such security measures, but NTFS is still a big improvement over FAT16 and FAT32. Be sure to apply all appropriate patches and updates if security is an issue for you.
NTFS partitions will be invisible to any installations of DOS or Win9x/ME on the same machine. Such partitions can be shared over a network, no problem.
On the other hand, accessing an NTFS partition in an emergency can be really frustrating. The utilities to do so aren't entirely reliable. You might be locked out of part or all of your own system if the login and password function doesn't work, which can happen. Your files might be perfectly fine, but you can't get to them. It's preposterous, really.
Back to TopThe installation - the default method
Boot from the CD, or disk 1 of the floppy set. It looks rather different from Windows 9x. For either server or workstation, I would just let it do what it wants the first time (or several times); you will get to know what you want to install and how to configure it. Click here to skip ahead for more details.
As with Windows 9x, the default installation routine will probably work, but it may also do things you don't want it to, like make your hard disk all one drive. That is simply a matter of partitioning the drive before starting the install, then telling NT not to change the partition sizes. You can also copy the installation files to the hard disk before starting the installation, much like with Windows 9x.
The Installation - Alternative Method - more complicated, but you have more control
1. Create a drive C: of a decent size; 1Gb is fine, even for NT Server. Server is remarkably small - I have gotten a basic install on a 300Mb drive, no problem. And with Server, you won't need a lot of space for other programs and games. At least you shouldn't, because you shouldn't be using a server as if it were a workstation...
2. Create a drive D: of at least 500Mb, and make it FAT16 or you won't be able to use it under NT (which doesn't recognize FAT32, remember).
3. Create a folder on D: called i386.
4. Copy everything from the i386 folder on the CD to D:\I386.
5. Boot from a floppy disk, and navigate to D:\I386 (switch to drive D: by typing D:, then switch to the folder by typing cd i386).
6. Type winnt at the command prompt, and the installation program starts.
Back to TopThe Installation - Details
For the first while you see white text on a blue background, much like the ancient DOS/Windows 3.x installation. Or the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. During this stage you must make some basic decisions, such as partitioning and formatting the hard disk - or leaving the existing partitions, which you created already, and which partition to install the OS on. It will then copy a whole lot of files to the hard drive. You will see a yellow progress bar as files are copied. At length it will reboot, and you see a GUI.
After this point, I would just let it do what it wants, if you are new to Windows NT. Choose to customize things if you want - you will get to know what you want installed.
Other matters come up besides what additional applications and programs to install, not necessarily in this order. At various points you are asked to make decisions regarding:
Remember, no matter what choices you make during installation, 99% of them can be changed after installation. Failing that, you can always wipe the drive and start over. See Tips Part 9.
If several attempts to install Windows fail, you may have a hardware problem: a defective device or one that Windows really doesn't like or understand. It's also possible that the Windows CD is bad. Seek help from the place where you bought the hardware, or your local guru, or the internet, or the device's manufacturer (if you know which device is the culprit). There are plenty of people out there able and willing to help.
Good luck.
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