Safe Mode or equivalent for NT 4.0?

[ncfuzzy]

Hello. I'm new to the site. It looks like a good resource. I have no prior experience with NT 4.0 Server and come from a Novell/MS Server 2000 world prior. I inherited several MS NT 4.0 servers (running SP 6a) and one in particular was having problems with it's tape drive. I purchased the identical tape drive to replace the bad one and installed it. After rebooting with the new tape drive installed, I received a message that a service or driver failed during startup. Of course it was the driver for the tape drive (PfsTape). The OS couldn't see the new tape drive either even through control panel when I searched. I used the CD that came with the new tape drive to install the latest driver in hopes that it would be recognized. I updated the backup software while I was at it since it was recommended.

My problem now is that I get the blue screen of death when I log in at the console as anyone including admin and the dump screen tells me that it's the new driver called Pfs.sys. The server will run fine if no attempt is made to login at the console. I can even login as admin at any other station. But logging in at the console causes a crash every time. I've tried logging in with the last good configuration and VGA mode to no avail.

My question is this....I would like to start up the server in something equivalent to safe mode so that I can remove the new driver and uninstall the backup software upgrade which I think is causing the crash upon login at the console. Any suggestions on the best way to do that?

 

[Redhook01]

Well, there is no such thing as "safe mode" in NT. However, you can still get into the system to stop a bad service by doing a parallel install of NT to a different directory and/or drive/partition. The steps for a parallel install can be found here....

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;259003

Once you get the parallel install up and running, you then need to edit the original installs registry to prevent the bad service from running at startup. I couldn't find the steps on the MS site, but I did find them via Google search. The steps for this are listed below....

Editing the Registry to stop services from a parallel install: From the parallel install do the following:

1: Type regedt32 at the Run command, and hit enter.

2: Highlight the window that says HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

3: Pull down the Registry menu and select Load Hive.

4: Browse to the registry files of the original install. Usually c:\winnt\system32\config. Select the "System" file, with no extension.

5: When prompted for a name type in something like the machine name, or parallel, and hit OK. The name isn't really important.

6: You now have access to the registry of the original install. To get to service, navigate to "name you picked"\controlset001\services.

7: Look for and stop all 3rd party apps, the spooler, WINS, and any other app you think might be causing your problem. To set a service to manual click on the folder for a service, and change the key Start: REG_DWORD:0X1 by double clicking on it. Change the 1 or 2 to a 3. 1 is start with the system. 2 is start automatically, 3 is manual, 4 is disabled.

8: Once you have made the changes, you will need to save the hive back into the original registry. Once that is done you can restart back into the original install to see if you have corrected the problem. If the PC still won't boot, then go back into the parallel install and see if you missed disabling any third-party services.

Hope this helps!

 

[zoeythecat]

Try booting up into VGA Mode. Your goal should be to remove whatever drivers you installed via control panel and tape drives. You will hopefully be able to login from VGA mode. If this does not work disconnect the tape drive you installed, reboot normally. You may need to reinstall the tape device drivers. Call the Manufacturer of the tape device if you encounter any additional problems. If its the tape device causing the blue screen of death hopefully their tech support can you help you with any issues.

 

[zoeythecat]

Also, just to add, you may need to reapply service pack 6 after you have the tape device and blue screen fixed. Whenever you make changes to your system (I.E - adding hardware, removing hardware) you always need to reapply the service pack.