NT4 for Beginners- Step by Step
Limits
and Scope of this Section
Some
people are just a pain in the aarse
Golden
words of advice from one lamer to another
My
First Painful experience with Windows NT 4.0
The
Install has blown up in my face - now what??
The
Install was a success now what??
Limits
and Scope of this Section
Question (posed from the
Windows 95 FAQ)
To: [email protected] Subject: Manual missing items HELP! The copy of Windows for Workgroups is missing pages 118 to 142. I'm missing chapters 8 (Print Manager) and 9 (Accessories). How can I get these missing pages? Thanks for your help. I reply ' Contact Microsoft' he replies 'Thanks - but what is the MS address? ' I reply 'I don't know there's one in Perth Western Australia but I don't think it'll be any use check your phonebook....' (Duh?) Yes his Email address ended with @aol.com To: [email protected] Subject: IP numbers for MSN Hi, what I need is so simple that I can find it nowhere. I lost the IP numbers to go to MSN mail. I've been paying my $4.95 a month, I know I have mail waiting, but don't have the "numbers" to put into my setup. Lost them. Thanks. I reply 'Dunno they are probably configured just for U - you will have to call someone at MSN .....' He replies The blue text is my interpretation 'THANKS (Yell!) for reply. I called MSN and spent 45 unproductive minutes on the phone.(And its your fault!!!) Then (Man have I wasted some time because you couldn't tell tell me what I forgot) I went to U Kansas and U Iowa search sites and found info on MSN domain numbers in some help files.' This sounds like the sort of thanks you would offer someone just after they have given you the clap 'Oh THANKS!' So for his $4.95 I should have called MS for him??? This is a bit like E-mailing me and asking me 'Do you know my phone number???? can you find it for me????' |
Now don't be scared off I won't bite you head off but think before you involve anyone in the list I mean hey I have posed some really stupid questions, but I only asked after I thought about and really couldn't figure it out myself not because I'm lazy - you don't learn that way!!!
Regards,
Hansie
Golden words of Advice from one lamer to another
If you don't understand
the terms FAT, partition or path stop right now and click
here.
Make
sure that you are reasonably cognitive when you install NT 4.0 installing
it after your third tinnie/beer is probably not a good idea when you are
performing major surgery to your machine's software -
Never
install NT in the hope of fixing an ongoing problem in Windows 95!!!
All
your apps will have to be reinstalled under NT!! You can share some apps
under NT Windows 95 but many won't!
If
you have crap hardware think twice ' that 'Happy Sun Trading Co' soundcard
that sort of worked in Windows 95 Will NOT work under NT.
If
you have a video card by Happy Sun's sister co ' Dog Moon Star Computer
Enterprises' Don't install NT!!!
Read
the compatibility list your NT4.0 package came with.
Preparation! Oh! I haven't scared you off???
OK so I lied, most
of your apps will not have to be reinstalled under NT!!
If you have some DOS / Windows 95 Nouse.Windows & DOS
Experience required!!!!
Check
your hard-drive for fragmentation and errors & Viri before you start!!
Backup
your thesis your lecturer won't care at all about your misadventures with
NT!!!
Make
a note of any IRQ's DMA's and stuff from stuff like soundcards - disable
PnP on all cards that allow it!
OK
so you're ready to install NT??? Read the install instructions and ignore
any proprietry help to install NT on this machine type utilities becuase
at this point they don't work anyway (like Dec's helper)
If you are installing
into a separate partition make sure its the last one if you can help it
becuase remeber that to Windows 95 that partition will cease to exist and
that any programmes that installed in the following partition will lose
their normal drive letter assignent shortcut will stop working etc...
Make sure you have three blank (formatted) disks and stay within Windows
95 if you can help it... open up a DOS prompt and go into the i386 directory
and type 'ntsetup' (Why did you stay in windows 95 rather than DOS??? Filecopying
off my CD at least is lots and lots faster through 95 than DOS 7)
If
you are indeed a beginner I doubt that you are installing it as a gateway
on an enterprise level so DON'T be stupid and click stuff at random when
you install particularly when it comes to describing the machine's function
' set it to stand-alone server' if using NT 4.0 server......and give it
an dummy IP range if it asks 10.1.1.1 to 10.100.100.100 should be safe.....
See below!!!
Keep
following the instructions and you should be there soon enough to go! Read
below....
My First Painful experience with Windows NT 4.0
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 17:43:43 -0700 From: Hans Klarenbeek <[email protected]> Subject: Comments.....
I suppose it was foolish for me to believe that there wouldn't be any pain in learning to 'run' Windows NT 4.0. I used the word run as opposed use since using windows NT 4.0 is only very slighly different to using Windows 95. Running an OS as opposed to using it involves knowing how to fix it when it screws up..... If you are a Windows 95 user who believes that knowing how to fix a problem with Windows 95 gives you the ability to 'fix' problem in NT4.0 THINK AGAIN!... My painful first exposure to NT4.0 came in the form of RAS... Whatever I would do I could NOT dial into the internet.... I installed and uninstalled and reinstalled everything to no avail.... now I was aware of the problem people had with RAS/TCPIP stuff after service pack 2 so I figured that by installing SP2 it may fix it right??? - Well it didn't so then I applied Hot Fix for Ras.... No joy...... I said to myself bugger this I will just remove all RAS related stuff and start again..... Next thing Blue Screen of Death!!! (BSOD) Yes! It did this even in VGA mode.....
Now the problem in this instance isn't so much that it has died in the aarse as in what do I do about it? So were in Windows 95 I would be able to use do to recontruct or recopy missing files etc but no such joy with NT4.0 .... Its dead dead..... Hmmm reinstall time fine I left the install directory on another partition (the CD is at work for real work stuff and real paying clients not NT wannabe gurus like yours truly) and I find that MS have put some kind of primitive (CD Bootable) protection on NT which forces you to have the CD handy.... Great I think my MS-Select clients must love that especially if their server goes down on a weekend..... (since many don't get to keep the media). So I borrow the CD format the partition and reinstall so here is the word of advise.......
Think and think again when you do your install - the questions NT asks you at the start are IMPORTANT ... if you are a hacker/lamer like me using NT Server to play with please tell the installer that you want to configure for a stand alone server....!!!!!!! Installing with one of the other options might sound cool but you are going to be very unhappy......
So:
One: - Tell the setup programme that you wish to configure as a standalone server
Two: When it asks you to give the machine and IP range give a safe but nonesensical IP range such as 10.1.1.1 to 10.100.100.100 this apparently keeps NT happy (please E-mail me if you know why exactly)
The second time I tried to set up RAS point click and done logged on and working!!!!.... (don't you hate that?)
The Install has blown up in my face - now what??
It didn't but I will be putting people experiences in here perhaps one will help you...
It all worked successfully now what???
Reinstalling or sharing Apps with Windows 95???
I am really lame I
will just reinstall all my applications (What are you doing playing with
NT?) - well no need to read on ... skip to the beginners Q&A
For those who like a bit of a challenge and dont want to
reinstall their apps or want to share apps between NT and 95 keep reading
and follow the link after the preliminary discussion.
Now it is time to
figure out what apps need to be reinstalled and which don't - Those that
put critical information in the Windows 95 Registry are most likely to
be a dead loss... However you may be surprised by some of the apps which
are either tranportable to the new OS without re-install or can even be
shared between the two OS's. Please NOTE that this
is only possible when the app to be shared is on FAT because otherwise
Windows 95 will not able to acces it!!!!... Please note that
most apps even when they do come across succesfully will have to have their
file associations recreated....
Apps that definitely do not need reinstallation.
Any off the small tools will quite happily come across especially if they happen to live in just the one directory. Examples of such programmes are Eudora, Eudora Pro, Pfe, Free-Agent, Cute FTP and Paint Shop Pro and doubtlessly a plethora off other small apps... Some of small apps such as Winzip will need to have their registration code re-entered and the reggo code is stored in the win.ini file like this (example only does not work OK)
[WinZip] win32_version=6.1-6.2 Name=Hans Klarenbeek SN=D7902672
The registration code would thus need to be recreated in the Windows NT dir's dummy win.ini file for Winzip to realise that it is indeed registered....
This article and web site listing is provided without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, the author, faq maintainers and contributors assume no responsibility for errors or ommissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information herin.
Windows NT 4 (WinNT-L) FAQ COPYRIGHT © 1996 by Hans Klarenbeek
All Rights Reserved by the author, Hans Klarenbeek
Permission is granted freely to distribute this article in electronic form as long as it is posted in its entirety including this copyright statement. This article may not be distributed for financial gain. This article may not be included in any commerical collections or compilations without the express permision of the author, Hans Klarenbeek([email protected])
