Microsoft KB Archive/186612

= Use Installation Mode to Install New Drivers on Terminal Server =

Article ID: 186612

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

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This article was previously published under Q186612



SUMMARY
If you need to install additional hardware on an existing Terminal Server, Microsoft recommends that you use Installation mode, not Execution mode.



MORE INFORMATION
The standard Terminal Server mode is Execution mode. The server starts in Execution mode when you start the system. The system is not operating in a global fashion when it is in Execution Mode. That is, the system expects many concurrent user sessions. This requires that the system keep sessions completely separate from each other, including the user at the system console. For instance, every user has a Windows and Windows\System directory that no one else uses. If an application requests the location of the system root, the system will point the application to the user's Windows directory rather than the actual Terminal Server system root. This is appropriate for application use, but not for installation. Differences like this can cause a hardware device installation to complete successfully but fail for users other than the administrator, who installed the device. In the worst case, the device will fail for everyone.

In Installation Mode the system acts like a Windows NT Server, in most ways. The system expects that you are installing a device or an application for global access.

To install a device using Installation mode, open a command prompt and enter the command, CHANGE USER /INSTALL. Then install your device. Return to the command prompt after installation, and enter CHANGE USER /EXECUTE. If the device installation requires you to reboot the server, doing so will place the server back in Execution mode.

Keywords: kbinfo KB186612

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