Knowledge Base

You cannot install a service pack, a hotfix or a security fix in Windows NT 4.0

Article ID: 829302

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2006

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

SYMPTOMS

You may experience one or more of the following symptoms.

When you try to install a service pack on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based computer, the installation may not succeed. Additionally, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following error message:

Setup could not find the Setup.log file in your repair directory.
When you try to install a hotfix on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based computer, the installation may not succeed. Additionally, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following error message:

The operation completed successfully.

If you click OK when you receive this error message, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following error message:

Windows NT 4.0 Hotfix installation did not complete.
When you try to install a security fix from the Microsoft Windows Update Web site, you may receive error messages that are similar to the following error messages:

Updates Not Installed.

The following updates were not installed. To try again, click the Back button below.

Security Update Windows NT4 (KB824146) could not be installed because of an unknown error.
When you view the Windows Update installation history, you see a failed installation entry for the following item:

Q823980: Security Update (Windows NT 4.0) - version 1,10,101,0.
When you try to create an emergency repair disk (ERD) by using the Rdisk.exe utility, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following error message:

Repair disk utility could not copy all files to the Emergency Repair Disk. One or more configuration files were not found.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if any of the following conditions is true:

The Setup.log file is missing.
You do not have sufficient permission to access the Setup.log file.
The Setup.log file points to the wrong target path location for the current installation.
The Setup.log file is read-only or access to the Repair folder is restricted.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows NT Explorer.
Click My Computer, and then double-click (C:).
Double-click Winnt, and then double-click Repair.
In the Repair folder, make sure that the Setup.log file is present. If the Setup.log file is not present, you can copy the Setup.log file from the ERD. For additional information about how to re-create a generic Setup.log file if you do not have an ERD, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

175960 Err msg: Service pack setup could not find the setup.log file in your repair directory
If the Setup.log file is present in the Repair folder, make sure that the Setup.log file attributes and permissions are set correctly. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. At the command prompt, type cd winnt, and then press ENTER.
4. At the command prompt, type cd repair, and then press ENTER.
5. At the command prompt, type attrib setup.log, and then press ENTER.
6. Make sure that the Setup.log file only has the Archive (A) attribute set.
7. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows NT Explorer.
8. Click My Computer, and then double-click (C:).
9. Double-click Winnt, right-click Repair, click Properties, and then click the Security tab.
10. Click Permissions, and then make sure that the following groups have full control permissions in the Name box:
  - Administrators
  - Server Operators
  - SYSTEM
11. Make sure that the everyone group has read permissions.
12. To set the correct permission for a group, click the group in the Name box, click the corresponding permission in the Type of Access box, and then click OK.
Reinstall the service pack, hotfix, or security fix that you want to install.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

Critical updates use the Update.exe tool. To operate correctly, the Update.exe tool requires the minimal information that is located in the Setup.log file.

Service packs and hotfixes use the Setup.log file to determine the type of Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) on your computer.

REFERENCES

For additional information about how to recover from deleting the Repair folder and the Setup.log file, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

173384 How to recover from deleting the repair directory and setup.log

For additional information about how to manually create an emergency repair disk, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

158866 How to manually create an emergency repair disk

Keywords: kbprb KB829302

Microsoft KB Archive/829302

Contents