Windows NT 4.0 Workstation: how to install it step by step

Install Windows NT Workstation 4.0 on an x86 PC from your own CD. The steps suit people who maintain old equipment or hobby machines and are comfortable with partitions and file systems.

What you need

Use your own legally obtained NT 4.0 CD and its Product ID. Do not use downloaded images or key generators. There is no activation.

• Microsoft supports only hardware on its Hardware Compatibility List. Other hardware may or may not work.
• Keep the driver disks for any third-party storage adapter, plus a blank 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy for the Emergency Repair Disk.
• NT 4.0 supports the FAT and NTFS file systems. It does not support FAT32, so a large FAT32 disk from a newer system will not be readable.
• Windows 95 cannot be upgraded to NT 4.0. Install it in a separate folder, and the two systems will dual-boot. Windows 95 settings and programs do not carry over.

Choose a file system first

For a new PC that will run only NT, Microsoft advises one NTFS partition. On an existing system with files you want to keep, it advises keeping the existing partitions. To dual-boot with MS-DOS or Windows 95, the system partition (drive C) must be FAT, and MS-DOS must be installed first. Installing MS-DOS afterwards can overwrite the boot sector so NT will not start until you use the Emergency Repair Disk.

Start Setup from the CD

1. Insert the disk labeled Windows NT Setup Boot Disk in the floppy drive and switch the computer on. If your BIOS can boot from the CD (the El Torito bootable CD format), insert the CD instead and skip the Setup disks. If you have no Setup disks, Microsoft's manual says Setup creates them when you start it from a network share with the winnt or winnt32 command.
2. Follow the prompts for Setup Disk 2 and Setup Disk 3 when asked.
3. On the welcome screen, press Enter to install. Press F1 for help. Press R only to repair a failed earlier attempt. Press F3 to quit.
4. Setup lists the mass storage devices it found (CD-ROM drives and SCSI adapters). If yours is missing, press S and supply the maker's driver disk. IDE drives are found automatically and are not listed.
5. Check the hardware list. To change an item, select it with the arrow keys and press Enter.
6. Select the partition for NT. The partition must hold at least 117 MB free. On an existing system with files you want, keep the existing partitions and do not delete any. Partitions shown as "Windows NT Fault Tolerance" are stripe sets, volume sets or mirrors, so leave them alone.
7. Choose the file system. For an existing partition the default keeps it unchanged, with its files. Do not choose to reformat it unless you have backed up, because that erases every file on it. Converting to NTFS keeps your files but makes them readable only by NT, and Microsoft's manual says converting back means backing up, reformatting and restoring.
8. Accept the suggested folder for the Windows NT files unless you have a reason to change it. Then let Setup copy files and restart.

Finish the graphical part

1. After the restart, a graphical Setup asks for details such as your name, the Product ID, and the computer name.
2. If the PC is on a network, Setup asks for a workgroup or domain and network adapter. Without a network, you can skip these.
3. When asked, insert the blank 3.5-inch disk to create the Emergency Repair Disk. Microsoft strongly recommends it.
4. Restart, then sign in.

Check that it worked

• NT starts to the desktop, which looks like Windows 95.
• Microsoft suggests reading Setup.txt on the CD before installing and Readme.doc afterwards.
• Apply service packs from your own archive. Service Pack 6a was the last full service pack. Do not use third-party download sites.

If something goes wrong

• A large disk may cause trouble. Secondary sources describe limits of roughly 4 GB for the partition Setup creates and 7.8 GB for the boot partition on early releases. Service Pack 4 or later is reported to help.
• See Windows NT programs and problems for errors after install.

Frequently asked questions