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Alberto Di Meglio IT/DIS
Service Pack 4 for Windows NT 4 was released at the end of 1998 and contains various updates and bug fixes for Windows NT.
The most important improvements introduced by SP4 can be summarised as follows:
http://microsoft.com/technet/year2k/product/user_view68399EN.htm (Windows NT 4 Workstation)
http://microsoft.com/technet/year2k/product/user_view67961EN.htm (Windows NT 4 Server)
For more detailed information about the fixes contained in SP4, check at:
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/exec/overview/NT4SP4whatnew.asp
(overview of all new features and fixes)
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q194/3/03.asp
(detailed technical list of all fixes)
SP4 will be deployed in the NICE NT environment during the months of June and July one Division at a time.
The installation of SP4 on NICE is automatically started when a user logs in a computer that hasn't yet received the update.
In order to install SP4, it is
necessary to be logged under an account with local
administrator privileges. If the account used doesn't have
local administrator privileges, a dialog box will prompt you to log
in under a valid account to start the procedure and the
installation program will then stop. It is not possible to start
accidentally the installation while logged in as a non privileged
user. You can have a look in the NICE NT FAQ page at
http://nicentinfo.web.cern.ch
for more information about
accounts with local administrator privileges (I
want my NICE account to have local administrator privileges. How do
I do it?)
The installation consists of one or more steps, depending on the components that you will choose to install.
The first time that you log in under a privileged account, you will see a dialog with four buttons, one for each option.
Option 1: "Yes, proceed with the installation"
If you choose the first option, the installation of SP4 will immediately proceed and will install the basic components required to update your system. You need to have about 35 MB of free disk space to install SP4. You will see a dialog showing you the installation progress. Do not use the computer during this phase. At the end of the installation, the computer will automatically reboot. At this point you can log in with your normal account.
Option 2: "Maybe, but I want more information"
Select this option if you want to choose which components to
install. A dialog in French or English will guide you through a
series of steps. For the moment the additional components you can
install are Internet Explorer 4 Service Pack 1 and the
updated Data Access components (v.2.0) for working with databases.
You need to have up to 80 MB of free disk space for this option.
This installation is divided in three phases:
Option 3: "Not now. Remind me again next time"
Select this option if you want to postpone the installation to the next login as local administrator.
Option 4: "Not now. I'll do it myself later"
Select this option if you don't want to install SP4 and don't want to be reminded anymore.
Service Pack 4 can be installed manually at any time from the Windows Menu by going to
Start - More Applications - System Configuration - PC Administration - Windows NT 4 SP4 Setup
The manual installation doesn't check for the user Division and can be used to install SP4 even before your scheduled turn.
If you want to reinstall SP4, you need to select the first option. IE4 and the Data Components cannot be reinstalled using this procedure. If you need to reinstall Internet Explorer 4.0 SP1 you have to use the procedure from:
Start - More Applications - World Wide Web - Install Internet Explorer, Netmeeting and Chat
IMPORTANT: if you see this error message, DO NOT reset the computer or you will not be able to connect to the CERN NT Domain anymore. Just press the Skip button.
On some computers, during the third phase of the complete installation (Option 2), we have seen one or more error messages stating that some Java class could not be registered. Press on the OK button to proceed. The classes will be registered again the first time you use them.
If you receive the prompt to install SP4 while installing or reinstalling a NICENT system, postpone the installation until NICE has completely finished updating your system. This is necessary to be sure that all files to be updated are already present on your disk.
For additional questions and comments, contact the author.