THE EMERGENCY REPAIR DISK FOR WINDOWS NT
PART 3
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THE EMERGENCY REPAIR DISK FOR WINDOWS NT PART 3 |
by Lance Jensen
Executive Software Technical Support Director
In the first ERD article ("The Emergency Repair Disk, Part 1", eLetter Volume 4, Issue 2), I mentioned the possibility that your SAM and Security files might be too large to fit on a floppy disk. It turns out the Software file may also be too large. Microsoft has a utility called RegClean which may shrink your Software file enough to make an ERD. RegClean is currently being upgraded, but you can find it here when it's re-posted:
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/exec/vendors/freeshare/Maintnce.asp#registry
There are some other Registry tools at the same location; take a look, they might be just what you need.
For a while, the LS-120 looked like a good option for those whose files are too big to make an ERD. The LS-120 is a removable disk the same size as a floppy disk, but it holds 120MB. The LS-120 drive will read and write standard 1.44MB floppies as well as LS-120 disks. If your BIOS will support an LS-120 as drive A:, then one would think you should be able to use an LS-120 as an ERD. The problem is, it doesn't work. Although the BIOS recognizes the LS-120 as drive A:, and the setup starts normally, when the time comes to insert the ERD, Windows NT can't access the LS-120.
Apparently the install procedure uses its own floppy driver which naturally will not recognize an LS-120. I see no reason why the install procedure could not be modified to use the driver which the BIOS supplies. I'm suggesting it to Microsoft; I expect they will love the idea.
ERD Security
You all know you need to keep the ERD floppy disks secure, because anyone can read your security data from them. There is another security measure you should take to protect your repair data: Change the directory permissions on the \repair folder to allow only an administrator to access it. Here are the steps:
1. In Windows NT Explorer, right-click the %systemroot%\repair folder.
2. Click Properties, then the Security tab, then the Permissions button.
3. For any name except System and Administrator (domain or local), highlight the name and click Remove. You may also find CREATOR OWNER; I see no problem leaving that one, but it's not necessary.
4. If either remaining name does not have "Full Control (All) (All)", highlight that name and use the "Type of Access" pull-down menu to set "Full Control".
5. Check the "Replace Permissions on Existing Files" box.
6. Click OK.
7. If you have created \repair2 or any other folders to hold repair files, do this procedure on them.
Do you have to have a CD to do a repair?
Normally, yes, but there is a way to get around it. On the Setup #2 floppy disk is a file Setupdd.sys. If you replace this file with the Setupdd.sys from the Service Pack you currently have installed, then you can run Repair without a CD. However, you will only be able to run the "Inspect Registry Files", "Inspect Startup" and "Inspect Boot" options; "Verify Windows NT System" still requires the installation CD-ROM.
Rather than alter your original Setup floppy, you should make a copy and modify that. In fact, I strongly recommend you never use the original floppies, except to make copies to use during installations and repairs.
What About Service Packs?
Service Packs update Windows NT, which means some of your system files will be different versions from those you originally installed. The repair procedure may see these files as corrupt, and prompt you to replace them. This is why you must use an ERD made after installing the Service Pack.
If you have Service Pack 2 or later, you also need to make a copy of the Setup #2 floppy and copy Setupdd.sys from the Service pack. This is because Setupdd.sys compares the dates of your existing files to the dates of the files on the original CD-ROM. If any are different, you are prompted to replace them; and if you do so, you end up with the pre-Service-Pack files. The Setupdd.sys file in the Service Packs does not do this date check.
If you don't have an ERD made after the Service Pack was installed, use the Uninstall feature from the Service Pack before doing the repair or, if your Windows NT is on the C: partition, do a repair using the \repair folder on C:. (just answer "no" when Repair asks if you have an ERD.)
If you don't have a current ERD and you can't boot up, it is possible to use an ERD if it is from an identical installation of Windows NT on some other machine. Be warned that any difference however small between the two machines may cause problems. But if you don't have even this option, then you have to do an "update". This restores your no-Service-Pack version of Windows NT. After it finishes, reapply the Service Pack and make an ERD.
There are Microsoft articles that explain this in detail for Service Pack 3:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q146/8/87.asp
And for Service Pack 4:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q196/6/03.asp
When Should I Make an ERD?
Obviously, whenever you make a change to the system. If you add a user or install an application, or if you add a new user or computer to a network, make a new ERD. But if the machine is a server on a network, you should make a new ERD at least once a week. Yes, every week. This is because of Windows NT security: It changes the System ID (SID) of each workstation every two weeks.
You could make the ERD manually. You should be doing regular backups; you can make an ERD at the same time. You can also set up an automatic update by scheduling RDIDK to run at some particular time, say every Friday night.
You do this with the AT command at the command prompt. Click Start, go to Programs and click Command Prompt. Then enter "AT /?" To list the instructions for the AT command.
But there is an easier way: Emergency Repair Disk Companion. ERDC is a small (1MB compressed) utility that makes creating and updating the ERD very simple. It's shareware, $15, and does what it claims. Besides creating or updating the ERD, it allows you to create a set of Setup floppies, and automatically update the ERD. My favorite feature is one which checks at boot-up how long it has been since you updated the ERD; if it has been longer than 30 days (and you can customize the number of days), it prompts you to make a new ERD.
This utility is a winner! You can find it at:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000DIQ&b=
CONTACT AUTHOR
Lance Jensen is Executive Software ace Tech Support Director, and has great experience with both Windows NT and Digital's OpenVMS operating systems. He can be reached at dknt_support@executive.com
Please feel free to write to him with questions or comments about this article.
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