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Early Vid: Windows NT 4.0 Failure (Patreon)

Published:
2025-03-20 13:30:06
Imported:
2026-06

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Utterly failing to get Windows NT 4.0 installed on a Compaq Proliant DL-380 Gen 1... but hopefully it's a fun ride anyway. I suspect I'm very close and missing something small, but unfortunately I am out of time this week to keep at it. I'll be back on this machine behind the scenes though, I'd really like to have a solid NT 4.0 server to experiment with! Would love to hear what other things you think I should try.Video up tomorrow!

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Failing to Install Windows NT 4.0

Trying (and failing) to get Windows NT 4.0 installed on a Compaq Proliant DL-380 Gen 1 from 2000. We'll go over the domain controller capabilities of Windows NT, discuss future plans for using it on a token ring network, and learn all about the Compaq SmartStart software used to configure and administer these servers. Check me out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/clabretro Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio #netro #retrotech #retrocomputer #computers #networking #compaq Rack stuff StarTech Universal Rack Rails: https://amzn.to/404JV1Q StarTech 42U Rack: https://amzn.to/482c3oh StarTech 25U Rack: https://amzn.to/3mEB7hS Tripp Lite SMART1500LCD UPS: https://amzn.to/3KZW3Jw 1U 24 Port Patch Panel: https://amzn.to/3Nm0bFa 1U Brush Panel: https://amzn.to/3mExAA3 1U Rack Shelf: https://amzn.to/3oaDclT Video gear Camera: https://amzn.to/4al3xjA Main mics: https://amzn.to/4dCUuO2 Desk mic: https://amzn.to/3ye8BsV Note: The above are Amazon affiliate links. It doesn't cost you extra, but I'll receive a commission which will help keep the content coming. I only link to things I've personally ordered.

Comments

Mark Heneghan

This was my jam back in the day. I used to build these servers for a large enterprise. I just had Compaq smart start flashbacks.

clabretro

Bet it was quite the experience setting up a fleet of these (though I suppose one gets good at it haha)

Mark Heneghan

Wait till you have to install the service packs. ;)

NephiAust

Dont forget at the driver selection, you can hit S again to select more drivers for it to load. So that way you can have the smart array + drive array A set of nitpicks that was annoying me all the way through 1) If not using the smart start, dont use Windows 95/98 boot disks. Get and create the 4 NT boot disks (if the CD wasnt bootable) as you can do basic partitioning and formating on it 2) Partition = logical segmentation of the desk. Virtual disk =/= partitions. So every time you created a new logical drive, you should consider it as if you have a 2GB and a 6/7GB drive set installed. If you were partitioning it, you would have a 9GB drive with a logical partition of 2GB on the drive.

clabretro

Do you think I would've had better luck with the NT disks?

Michael Dragone

And reinstall them after adding any features.

Heino Walther

I seem to remember that we used to copy the drivers onto the media... with a tool to modify the ISO file, and then burn a version where you didn't have to use the floppy-drivers.... but man, it was many beers ago ;-) I think NephiAust is right about the ability to load multiple drivers... I would give that a try... just load them all and see if it works ;-)

clabretro

I'll have to try the multi-driver. It actually complains if it doesn't think the driver is of any use, which is nice

Wossen Wyatt

That was hard to watch. Your pain has nothing to do with NT, per se. NT is a breeze to install on natively supported hardware. I completely agree with and appreciate your desire to get it up an running on that absolute unit of a server. But maybe it might be worth it to install on a "simpler" system first to make your grand design a reality sooner. Then you can always revisit the ProLiant and maybe set it up as a BDC (backup domain controller). Then you can play around with redundancy on the domain. In fact, you'd be able to remove the temp PDC later and promote the ProLiant from backup to primary, if you choose. But I hate watching the peculiarities of that specific Compaq box get in the way of what will undoubted be a very rewarding NT journey.

Jonathan Cilley

I remember hating NT4 installs. Always had driver issues no matter what I did. Reminds me how good we have it now today.

clabretro

yeah for sure, if I can't get it after a few more tries I'll hunt down another "easier" machine to throw it on!

Martin Paulsen

I hope you succeed. NT4 is what set me on the path to become a sysadmin, though oddly enough I've never used it! As a teen I found this "old" NT4 book, and the first several hundred pages were about network technologies/topologies before it moved on to domains and what not. I remember reading all that and thinking "this is what I want to work with".

TrolleyMC

probably, I've never needed 98 boot disks when installing NT 4. I think your issue though is just drivers. SCSI RAID controllers are a PAIN to get going

Wossen Wyatt

You were successfully booting from the NT CD. The NT boot disks are only needed if the BIOS can't boot from CD. Since it can, your experience is the same. Also, NT weirdly needs to create a FAT16 partition first, even when you tell it to use NTFS. It converts the filesystem on the first reboot. What's cool though is that when you boot from the NT floppies or CD, that initial partition can be 4GB. That's something that DOS boot disks can't do, and Win 9x disks can only do with large disk support turned on, which creates a FAT32 partition that NT can't access.

Wossen Wyatt

TrollyMC is right. It's not even a problem with RAiD itself. Just with that particular model of RAID controller. Using a less exotic machine with get you further, faster for the stuff you really want to achieve.

Jack Beckman

Yes, I remember Nt 4 being very touchy. And it loved to blue screen.

Jack Beckman

Yes. DOS does a crap job of formatting for anything but DOS.

Jack Beckman

I remember hating NT 4 as it would blue screen at the drop of a hat. Try to use a modem? BAM. Unplug the mouse? BLAM. As for Windows for Workgroups - we used to call it "Windows for Warehouses" back then because it seemed no one was buying it.

NephiAust

Compared to the your 95/98 attempts... yes. Compared to your smart start attempts.... no.

Joe Dry

You have the patience of a saint! This server is from before I was born but I have just started my career in IT. I guess this video is a great example of why these "smartstart"-type utilities didn't really catch on? Very interesting video as always!

John Bailey

A couple of things to try... First, make your partition 2047 MB. Then when you get to the point of loading the drivers, repeat the process and load more than one storage driver. Sometimes the controllers require two or three drivers to fully work. I remember running into that with a couple Windows 2000 machines way back when.

clabretro

oddly enough, SmartStart is smart (heh) enough to make the partition 2047. I'll try the multiple driver trick!

Wossen Wyatt

Hey Clab. Here's another interesting thing that NT 4 server will be good for when it's finally setup. https://youtube.com/watch?v=-BXvk3aVqAg Doing it via token ring would add value on top of what Chris already did, I think. Just a thought.