Repair Disk Fails on Network Setup

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

NOTE: The information in this article is specific to the Intel x86 hardware platform.

SYMPTOMS

When you run Setup in Repair mode on a Windows NT installation that was created using WINNT.EXE, from a share that has the CD-ROM i386 directory copied as a flat directory, the repair process fails and the following message appears:

   Setup has determined that one or more Windows NT system files are
   missing or corrupt.

   These files cannot be repaired at this time because Setup was not
   started from an original Windows NT Setup floppy disk or CD-ROM. Contact
   your system administrator.

RESOLUTION

You need an original Windows NT Setup floppy disk to complete the repair process. You also need to manually edit the REPAIR.INF file on the Emergency Repair Disk.

To correct this problem after you have received the above error message:

1. Restart your computer with the Setup floppy disk.

2. Start Repair mode.

3. You will be prompted for the Emergency Repair Disk, and then for the Setup disk. From the available choices, select Verify Windows NT System Files, and then choose Continue.

   When Repair finds the corrupt file, the following message appears:

         Please insert the disk labeled "Windows NT Setup CD-ROM" into
         drive A:
   

4. Note the file that is damaged. This will be displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen.

5. Press F3 to exit Setup - Repair, and then restart your computer

6. Load the REPAIR.INF file into a plain text editor, such as Notepad.

7. Search for the text string of the corrupt file (FASTFAT.SYS is used in this example). You should see the following entry:

         \$WIN_NT$.~LS\FASTFAT.SYS,\winnt\system32\drivers\FASTFAT.SYS,
         "Windows NT Setup CD-ROM",eb703084
   

8. To edit the line, delete "\$WIN_NT$.~LS" from the beginning of the line, and replace the text "CD-ROM" with "Disk #6".

   The corrected line should look like this:

         \FASTFAT.SYS,\winnt\system32\drivers\FASTFAT.SYS,"Windows NT Setup
         Disk #6",eb703084
   

   NOTE: This correct disk number can be found from a REPAIR.INF created from a floppy disk installation or by manually searching the disks.

9. Restart your computer with the Setup floppy disk, and then start Repair mode. This time you will be prompted for the correct disk.

NOTE: RISC-based computers require a CD-ROM drive, this should not be an issue on these platforms.