Standalone Installation Methods
Installing Hotfixes on Computers Running Windows 2000
Installing Windows 2000 with the Service Pack and Hotfixes
About This Guide |
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This guide provides instructions for administrators installing hotfixes for Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and Windows 2000 with Server Appliance Kit. This guide includes technical details, procedures, and recommendations for installing Windows 2000 hotfixes on multiple computers in a small business or corporate environment. You can install hotfixes either alone (a standalone installation), or in combination with Windows 2000, a service pack, or both.
This guide assumes a working knowledge of Windows 2000 and hotfix installations. Although some basic operating system information is included in the guide, it cannot replace either the Windows 2000 documentation or formal training. Rather, this guide is intended to complement these sources of information.
This guide includes the following main sections:
This section discusses some ways in which SP4 differs from previous service packs.
This section provides information about hotfixes. It also provides information about additional resources that can help you plan your hotfix deployment.
This section explains how to perform an update installation of Windows hotfixes for computers that are already running Windows 2000.
This section explains how to perform an unattended installation of Windows hotfixes in combination with Windows 2000 and a service pack.
This section explains how to remove a Windows hotfix and discusses the limitations of this process.
What's New |
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Prior to SP4, hotfix packages included symbols for diagnosing Windows 2000 problems. To reduce the download time for hotfixes, symbols are no longer included. For more information about this change, and to find out how to download symbols, see article 814411, "Hotfix Packages Do Not Include Debug Symbol Files," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
Windows 2000 supports hotfix chaining during standalone installations. All hotfixes released since SP3 have Qchain.exe functionality built in so you can install multiple hotfixes without restarting the computer after each hotfix is installed. If multiple hotfixes replace the same file, Qchain.exe ensures that the correct version is retained. If you install multiple hotfixes, be sure to use the /Z option described in Command-Line Options for the Hotfix Package later in this guide.
What is a Hotfix? |
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A hotfix is a file or a collection of files that you can apply to Windows 2000 to correct a specific problem. Hotfixes are packaged in an executable (.exe) file, which is a self-installing format. When you install a hotfix, files are backed up automatically so that you can remove the hotfix later.
The installation process also copies files to specific folders and updates registry settings. Windows 2000 hotfix packages are named according to the following convention:
Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe
where:
Important
Hotfixes are applied only to software that is already installed when you apply the hotfixes. For instance, if you remove a component and later reinstall it, you must also reinstall any hotfixes that apply to that component. Fixes included in a service pack do not work the same way. After you install a service pack, fixes are applied to all components you add or reinstall without you having to reinstall the service pack.
The Standalone Installation |
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During a standalone installation, hotfixes are applied to a computer that is already running Windows 2000. When you run the hotfix package, it automatically installs the updated system files and makes the necessary registry changes. After the computer is restarted (required only for some system files that are used during the installation), the installation is complete and Windows 2000 runs with an updated file set.
You can install hotfixes by running the hotfix package, which extracts the hotfix files and runs the Update.exe installation program. Update.exe then checks the service pack version you are currently using. If the service pack version was released before the hotfixes, and the language is the same, the Update.exe program installs the hotfixes automatically. If your service pack version was released after the hotfixes, the installation is not completed and an error message appears, stating that the version is incorrect.
Note
If your service pack version was released after the hotfixes, and you were completing an unattended installation (using either the /U or /Q option), Setup does not continue and no message appears.
If the language of the hotfixes does not match the language you have set up for Windows 2000, Setup does not continue. If there are no version conflicts, Setup continues the installation. The Update.exe program registers the hotfixes under the following registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Hotfix\
KB######
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Updates\Windows 2000\SP5\KB######
During the installation, information for removing the hotfixes is stored in a hidden folder named systemroot\$NtUninstallKB######$.For information about removing hotfixes, see Removing Windows 2000 Hotfixes later in this document.
The following sections describe how to install Windows hotfixes from a shared network distribution folder.
There are several ways you can perform a standalone installation. These include running the Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe program manually with a combination of installation options, using Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), or using Microsoft Windows Installer.
You can distribute hotfixes either by using a shared network distribution folder or by downloading the hotfixes from the Web. Because this guide is intended primarily for corporate users, the standalone installation procedures in this guide focus on the shared network distribution method, which is the most common means of hotfix distribution for this audience.
The instructions in this section explain how to install hotfixes on computers that are already running Windows 2000.
The following table identifies the command-line options that the hotfix package supports.
| Command-line option | Description |
|---|---|
| /F | Forces other applications to close after installation is completed and before the computer restarts. |
| /N | Does not back up files for removing hotfixes. |
| /Z | Does not restart the computer after the installation is completed. |
| /Q | Uses quiet mode; shows no user interface. |
| /U | Uses unattended Setup mode. Requires no user interaction and shows only critical errors. |
| /L | Lists installed hotfixes. |
To install a single hotfix on a single computer
To install a Windows 2000 hotfix on a single computer, run the hotfix package on the computer that you want to update. The hotfix package is formatted as follows:
Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe
You can create a shared distribution folder on the network for the hotfix if you want to install it on more than one computer. The following procedure describes how to install one or more Windows 2000 hotfixes using this method.
Note
In the following procedure, Drive represents the drive of the network or computer where your distribution folder is located.
To install a hotfix by running a hotfix package from a shared distribution folder
For example, to create a distribution folder named Hotfix, type the following:
mkdir Drive:\Hotfix
Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe
For example, to install the hotfix from the distribution folder named Hotfix, you would type the following:
\\servername\sharename\Hotfix\Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe
Use the command-line options described in the table provided in the preceding section.
You can group multiple hotfixes together in a batch file and install them as a unit. This prevents you from having to restart your computer after each hotfix is installed.
The following code sample is a batch file that installs hotfixes and ensures that the correct files are replaced after the computer is restarted.
@echo off
setlocal
set PATHTOFIXES=Drive:\hotfix
%PATHTOFIXES%\Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe /Z /U
%PATHTOFIXES%\Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe /Z /U
%PATHTOFIXES%\Windows2000-KB######-x86-LLL.exe /Z /UImportant
To ensure that the hotfixes you installed take effect, restart the computer if the batch file does not automatically restart it for you.
The Combination Installation |
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The combination installation installs hotfixes and one or more of the following:
This section provides instructions you can use to perform a combination installation that includes Windows 2000 and hotfixes in unattended Setup mode.
You can perform a combination installation by including the components that you want to install with the hotfixes as entries in the Svcpack.inf file. You can also choose to install SP4 at the same time.
This section explains how to perform a combination installation of Windows 2000 integrated with the service pack and post-service pack hotfixes. It also explains how to copy to a shared distribution folder on your network each of the elements to be installed. This is part of preparing for a combination installation.
The combination installation makes it unnecessary for you to perform separate installations of Windows 2000, the service pack, or the Windows 2000 hotfixes.
Important
Before you run Windows 2000 Setup to deploy the installation of Windows 2000, SP4, and hotfixes across a network, you must copy the installation files for Windows 2000 and the hotfixes to a shared distribution folder. You must then complete the additional steps described in the procedure, To create and set up the required folders and files, later in this section.
If you are an OEM, and you plan to install additional OEM files (for example, device driver, application, or component files) on the destination computers, create a \$1 subfolder within the \$OEM$ subfolder. The \$1 subfolder maps to systemdrive, the destination drive for the Windows 2000 combination installation.
Note
In the following procedure, Drive represents the drive name of the network or computer where your distribution folder is located.
To create and set up the required folders and files
mkdir Drive:\W2000\
Ensure that only the system administrator has full access to this folder. Other users should have only Read and Execute permissions.
To verify that you have assigned the appropriate permissions, use steps 3 through 7 in the preceding procedure, "To install a hotfix by running a hotfix package from a shared distribution folder."
xcopy /E /I /V D:\i386 Drive:\W2000\i386
W2ksp4.exe /S:Drive:\W2000
Note
For a list of command-line options you can use with this command, see "Command-Line Options for Update.exe and W2ksp4," in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Installation and Deployment Guide (SPDeploy.htm).
[OptionalSrcDirs]
uniproc
svcpackIf you are deploying multiple hotfixes, copy and rename all of the hotfix executable files.
Drive:\i386\svcpack\KB###### /X:Drive:\samplefolder
For example, i386\uniproc\* files in the hotfix must be copied to the i386\uniproc folder of the shared installation folder. You do not need to copy Update.exe, Update.inf, SPmsg.dll, SPcustom.dll, SPuninst.exe, Update.ver, or symbols files.
d1,Filename
If a hotfix binary file name is not listed for each hotfix under the [Files] section, add an entry using the syntax:
d1,Filename.
For example, if a hotfix contains Win32k.sys, because Win32k.sys is not listed in Dosnet.inf, "d1,win32k.sys" must be added under the [Files] section of Dosnet.inf. This ensures that the hotfix version of Win32k.sys will be copied during Windows 2000 Setup.
To deploy a single hotfix, set up your file as follows:
[Version] Signature="$Windows NT$"MajorVersion=5 MinorVersion=0 BuildNumber=2195 [SetupData] CatalogSubDir="\i386\svcpack"[ProductCatalogsToInstall] KB######.cat [SetupHotfixesToRun] KB######.exe /options
The recommended options for hotfixes are /Q, /N, and /Z. These options prevent messages from being displayed on computers to which you are deploying the hotfixes. This makes the hotfix installation invisible to user.
To deploy multiple hotfixes, set up your file as follows:
If you are deploying multiple hotfixes simultaneously, add an entry for each hotfix under both [ProductCatalogsToInstall] and [SetupHotfixesToRun] (as shown in the example that follows).
The following lines illustrate how these sections they would appear for an installation in which multiple hotfixes are installed. If you are installing a service pack, you do not need to include details about the service pack because it is included in the installation, independent of this process.
[ProductCatalogsToInstall]
KB123456.cat
KB123478.cat
KB123490.cat
[SetupHotfixesToRun]
KB123456.exe /options
KB123478.exe /options
KB123490.exe /options The recommended options for hotfixes are /Q, /N, and /Z.
You can deploy Windows 2000 and the hotfixes to multiple computers from a shared distribution folder on a network. During the standard installation process, Windows 2000 Setup (Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe in unattended Setup mode) installs the operating system and applies the hotfixes.
To deploy the installation
\i386\winnt32.exe /?
For more detailed information, see the Winnt32.exe command syntax topic in the Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit.
Removing Windows 2000 Hotfixes |
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You can use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to remove a Windows 2000 hotfix. You cannot remove hotfixes that were installed as part of a combination installation, however, unless you reinstall Windows 2000.
If you install multiple hotfixes that each replace the same files, and you want to return your computer to its original state, you must remove the most recently installed hotfix first, the next most recently installed hotfix second, and so on.
For example, assume that you installed HotfixA, then HotfixB, and then HotfixC, and they each replace the same file. To return your computer to the state it was in before you installed HotfixA, you must remove HotfixC first, followed by HotfixB, and then HotfixA. If you try to uninstall the hotfixes in the wrong order, a warning appears listing all hotfixes and programs installed since you installed the hotfix that you are trying to remove. If you proceed, these hotfixes and programs might not work correctly.
To remove a Windows 2000 hotfix
Copyright |
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