• Windows NT requires a CD-ROM drive when installing on RISC-based computers. When installing on an Intel-based computer, you can use a network installation if you don't have a CD-ROM drive.

• CPU
  • Intel 80486/33 or above.
  • MIPS R4400- or above
  • Digital Alpha AXP-based computer
  • PReP-compliant PowerPC-based computer
• Memory
  • Intel: 16 MB for NT server, 12 MB for WS
  • RISC: 16 MB for both server and WS
• Free hard disk space (Note: also depends on cluster size)
  • Intel: 125 MB for typical server installation, 110 MB for WS
  • RISC: 160 MB for server, 110 for WS

• Windows NT Hardware Qualifier (NTHQ) is a utility that defines the hardware installed on a computer and is included on the Windows NT installation CD-ROM. You have to put the program on floppy disk and reboot with that disk to use the application. It only works on Intel-based computers.

System Partition

• NT requires a SYSTEM partition to store files needed to boot NT
• On Intel x86 based computers the ACTIVE BOOT PARTITION usually C:\ is the system partition. This is the partition the computer BOOTS from

• It's the old opposite thing: The SYSTEM partition is where the boot files are; the BOOT partition is where the NT system files are (\winntroot). These two CAN be on the same DISK. No prob.

• Stripe sets, volume sets or other fault tolerance volumes on a hard disk appear as partitions of an unknown type in the setup screen. To make changes to these, you have to backup the data on it, partition the disk and restore the data.

FAT

Allows access to

• NT
• W 95
• MS-DOS
• OS/2

NTFS

You should use NTFS when:

• Windows NT is the only operating system in use.
• File level security is required.
• Permissions must be preserved while migrating directories and files from a Novell NetWare server!!
• Windows NT file compression is needed.
• Services for Macintosh will be used for file and printer sharing.

Note: If (during setup) a NTFS is created, setup will format the partition as FAT and mark it to be converted to NTFS after installation.

• A Fat partition can be safely converted to NTFS, using the "convert.exe" command.

  Here's the syntax: CONVERT drive: /fs:ntfs [ /v]
  drive = the drive you want to convert
  /v = means run in verbose mode

• When creating a partition during installation, the partition is always formatted as FAT. Even if you choose to format the partition as NTFS, the initial format is FAT. At the end of the installation, the system restarts and the partition is converted to NTFS. Because of this, a problem occurs if you want to create an NTFS partition larger than 4 GB during installation. Because FAT has a maximum partition size of 4 GB, a partition larger than 4 GB cannot be created during installation.
• Work around:
  • Choose to create a partition of 4 GB or less. After installation completed, extend NTFS partition by adding unused space to the partition.
  • 
    On another computer, format the drive greater than 4 GB, the move to the new computer and install NT.

• Installing Windows NT on a RISC-based computer forces you to format the C-drive with FAT and a minimum of 2MB of free disk space to store the two required files, Hal.dll and Osloader.exe.

NTFS is the only file system that supports file and folder security.

HPFS

• High Performance File System was used with OS/2  and LAN Manager
• It was the first to support LFNs.
• It also had better file security, but that security isn't compatible with NTFS.
• IT ISN'T SUPPORTED IN WINDOWS NT 4.0
• A special utility ACLCONV.exe converts HPFS volumes (from early MS-based systems) to an NTFS equivalent. Whenever you see HPFS mentioned in questions, it is likely to be a red herring.

Windows NT knows three server roles:

• Primary Domain Controller (PDC)
• Backup Domain Controller (BDC)
• Stand-Alone, or Member Server when it is part of a domain.

Notes about Member Servers

• has nothing to do with user accounts and logon
• cannot be promoted to PDC or BDC without reinstalling NT

Any BDC can validate logon requests from:

• Windows NT.
• Windows for Workgroups (WFW).
• LAN manager.
• MS-DOS with enhanced redirector installed.

Assorted points you should know about servers in the domain.

Notes about Member Servers

• has nothing to do with user accounts and logon
• cannot be promoted to PDC or BDC without reinstalling NT

• Member servers can provide file, print, and application services more efficiently than a BDC or PDC, because they don't participate in validation requests.

• A member server can only be promoted to a PDC or BDC by reinstalling Windows NT.

• LAN manager servers, can join a domain, but cannot validate any logon requests from Windows NT clients.

• PDCs or BDCs cannot migrate between domains (you will have to reinstall). They MUST remain in the original domain.

• Computers running Windows NT/WS or member servers can migrate between domains because each has its own local user account database and it's own SID.

• Domain names can be changed. Think of the domain name being associated with the SID

• The domain Security Identifier (SID)
  • A unique numeric value that identifies a domain, not a domain name.It is included in all user, group, and computer accounts that are created in the domain.

The SID is created during installation. The only way to change the domain's SID is to reinstall. In order to move a PDC to a new domain you need a new domain SID. This is why you need to reinstall the PDC.

Although a member server may be part of a domain, it does not have the domains SID.

• When changing the domain name, you have to change the domain name on the PDC first, followed by the domain name on every computer in the domain. The new name will be associated with the domain's SID.

  Note: When you do change the domain name, you will also have to create new trust relationships, if any existed.

This is covered in detail elsewhere

CAL = Client Access License.

With Per Server licensing, each CAL is assigned to a particular server and allows one connection to that server (you will be allowed to connect to multiple shares with that server).

With Per Seat licensing, a CAL applies to a specific client or seat. After a client is licensed for Windows NT Server, it has permission to access all the computers running Windows NT Server throughout the organization.

If you are not sure what sort of licensing method to choose, choose Per Server. There is a one time conversion possibility to Per Seat (and only from Per Server --> Per Seat, not Per Seat to Per Server!!). To do this, use the license program in control panel.
 

• Windows NT comes with three floppy disks, which contain a minimal version of Windows NT. You will have to use these before you can access the CD-ROM and format the desired partition. The first disk is to be used as a boot disk.

• For RISC-based computers you will have to install Windows NT directly from the CD-ROM using the "setupldr" program. This program is invoked directly from the CD-ROM.

Note: Regardless of the platform, once setup is started it looks the same on all of them.

During the installation of Windows NT/WS you will have 4 setup options:

1:  Typical installs:

• Accessibility options.
• All accessories except for desktop wallpaper and mouse pointers.
• All communication programs.
• All multimedia components except sound schemes.

2:  Portable installs:

• Accessibility options
• All accessories except for desktop wallpaper and mouse pointers.
• All communication programs.
• All multimedia components supported by the hardware.
• TCP/IP is the default protocal installed
• Dialin Networking is also installed by default

3:  Compact installs:

• Only components required be Windows NT are installed.

4:  Custom

• User chooses

  Note: For Windows NT Server you only have the Custom option, this is invoked automatically.

• If the computer that you install is a PDC, you will have to provide a unique domain name, which does not conflict with any other existing computer- or domain name (s).

After that the SID will be created.

Note: Workgroup and domain can share the same names but this can get very confusing:

• Workgroup computers are not members of the domain and are not included in the domain.
• The workgroup computers will appear in the Windows NT explorer with the domain computers, which makes it hard to recognize what belongs where.
• 
   
• Only workgroup computers running Windows NT can be administered with Windows NT Adminstrative Tools.

• Adding computers to a domain is default right of:
  • Administrator,
  • Domain Admins, and
  • Account Operators.

• For any computer to join the domain, you must create computer account on the PDC either prior to or during the installation and supply a computer name domain name during installation. For member server or WS, you can join domain during (as BDC) or after installation.

• You can grant the user the right to create a computer acccount during installation, but this means giving admin rights to a user

During the initialization portion, setup requires the following info (Server and NT/WS) :

• Whether to upgrade or not.
• Confirmation of detected hardware.
• Partition on which to install to.
• The type of file system. By default, the existing file system (FAT) for the selected partition will be retained, but setup offers the option to convert FAT to NTFS
• A location for the Windows NT files (default = drive:\winnt).

The following is an overview of the various steps for installing Windows NT. "X", in the options column marks if information is needed for Windows NT.
 

Phase 1 begins with the appearance of the Windows NT Setup Wizard.

The Wizard introduces "Finishing Setup"

To finish setup some final info is needed:

• Timezone, date, and time.
• Exchange inbox configuration (if selected to use exchange).
• Videocard driver.

In order to use a server based network installation you need to setup a distribution server, do this in one of the following ways:

• Use the Windows NT explorer or the "xcopy" command to copy the subdirectory from the CD-ROM (like i386) to a shared folder. You can copy the "drvlib" too if needed (make sure you copy the hidden files to !!!).
  • Include the /s switch to make sure all the subfolders are included
• OR Share the Windows NT directory on the CD-ROM. This is slower, but doesn't use up the 40 MB of space needed for the install files.

Note: On RISC-based computers this method can only be used to upgrade or reinstall.

"winnt.exe" is used for installing Windows NT, it follows three steps:

1. Creates three startup disks.
2. Creates a "$Win_nt$.~ls" temporary folder and copies Windows NT Server files to this folder.
3. Prompts the user to restart the computer with the first floppy to boot.

There are several switches that can be used with the "winnt.exe" command.

• The "/u", requires the "/s" switch to specify the location of the Windows NT files. It automatically uses the "/b". the switch also bypasses the final installation text screen and reboots automatically.
• The "/udf" is also used with an unattended install.
•  / B installs NT without the set of 3 floppies. This is usually the case when using a network installation. (This option requires 4-5 MB of disk space. It creates a $ldr$ file and a $Win_nt$.~bt temporary folder.

Winnt32.exe

Is similar to "winnt.exe" but is used on computers already running Windows NT, to upgrade them from a previous version.

"Winnt32.exe" does not support the /f, or /c switches.

It is much faster than "winnt.exe" and runs in the background while a server is running, it also calculates the amount of downtime.

If possible you should have multiple places where NT source files are stored and then use multiple "/s" switches, Windows NT will balance the load and copy the files from multiple Servers. This will increase performance.

This is done with the /u option and is used to specify the ANSWER file.

• By editing a copy of the "unattend.txt" file (which is included with the Windows NT/WS Resource Kit) you can create an Unattended Answer File, or you can use the Setup Manager utility that is available on the Windows NT CD-ROM.

You can then further customize the various setup configurations by using Uniqueness Database Files (to identify settings unique to a computer). The UDF’s are used to provide replacements for sections of the answer file or to supply extra sections. The file is indexed via strings called uniqueness IDs.

The UDF is used to specify a set of sections that should be merged into the answer file at the start of the GUI’s setup. It takes place before any affected components actually read the components of the answer file.

To specify such an installation, use either "winnt.exe" or "winnt32.exe as follows:

WINNT /U:answer_filename /UDF: ID [,database filename]

ID is the uniquemess ID to use while installing Windows NT.

• When a failure occurs on the Windows NT start or installation, use NTHQ to check that all of the hardware is being detected and that the hardware is on the HCL

• The following table describes the possibilities for upgrading:

The upgrading preserves existing registry settings, including:

• User and group accounts.
• Network settings and configuration.
• Desktop environments.
• Preferences set for the administrative tools.
• When using setup, Windows NT creates two initial parameter files that contain info on how the setup will take place. Setup gathers this info from either the command line switches or from the "unattend.txt". The two files created in two modes:

• A text mode file "Winnt.sif". Where it is placed depends on the computer architecture.

• X-86 based computers: if the "/b" switch is used, the file will be placed in the "$win_nt$.~ls" directory. If the "/b" is not used, it will be placed on the second disk.
• RISC-based computers: the file is located in the "$win_nt$.~ls\architecture directory

Entries	Explanation
[data]  msdosinitiated="1"  floppyless="1"  uniqueid="C:\WINNT\LCK"	msdosinitiated, indicates if setup was started by winnt/winnt32 or from CD-ROM. Set to "1" indicates that it was started by winnt/winnt32.  Floppyless, "1" means that "/b" was used.  Uniqueid, identifies the installation to upgrade (if the computer has multiple Windows NT installations)

• A graphical mode initial parameter "$winnt$.inf" that is located in the systemroot\system32 directory. This file gives info such as whether or not an upgrade was performed, and where the source files are located.

Note: If you are shown a file with other entries than the ones mentioned in text mode section, you may conclude that it concerns a graphical mode parameter file.

Applications that do not support scripted installations, can be installed during Windows NT Setup only by using this utility! The process to use sysdiff.exe is to:

• Use sysdiff /snap snapshot_file to create a snapshot of a reference computer (that needs to have the same architecture as the destination computer). Also the %systemroot%, such as c:\winnt, must be the same.
• Install the applications that will be installed by Windows NT Setup on the reference computer.
• Use sysdiff /diff snapshot_file difference_file to create a difference file on the reference computer. This file will contain; binairy files for any applications that where installed, as well as any "*.ini" settings or registry settings for the application.

After sysdiff.exe is used there are two ways to add the applications:

• During setup: place the different files in $oem$\Oemfiles\$$root and add the "sysdiff/apply difference_file" command to the $oem$\Oemfiles\Cmdlines.txt file.
• To an already excisting Windows NT installation: go to a command prompt and run "sysdiff /apply difference_file" to apply the difference file.
• "sysdiff /dump difference_file dump_file" can be used to dump the difference file to a form that can be read, to review the contents.