Why do I have a WINNT folder when I am running Windows XP??

[MIKE JG]

In troubleshooting this MSFS software addon that I recently purchased and can't get to install, we realized that for some reason, I have a "WINNT" system folder instead of a "Windows" system folder.

The guy doing the troubleshooting with me asked the obvious question which is why do I have a WINNT folder on my 2003 Windows XP install instead of the normal "Windows" folder?

I have no idea as I've never noticed to be honest and it's never been a problem until now. This software installer seems to be looking for a certain .dll file that is supposed to be in the Windows folder. I have the file but it's in the WINNT folder and that seems to be the root of the issue here.

So my next question is can I make a copy of the WINNT folder and rename it Windows? I get the feeling that the WINNT folder is fairly important and messing with it is not necessarily a good idea.

Thoughts?

[Joecoastie]

From what I understand the folder is left over from a time when your XP was updated from an earlier version of Windows. You should have a folder named just WINDOWS also. That is where the operating system for XP lives. WINNT folder has "backups" from your previous system.
I looked at my directory and do not have the WINNT directory. I do remember seeing it in the past tho' I don't know if it was on this machine. I wouldn't rename it to WINDOWS, especially if there is already a WINDOWS folder. If you have a WINDOWS folder you can try and rename it to something like "sliced_bread" and see if your machine still works. j/k Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in. . . Please anyone correct my understanding in case it's in error.

joE

[Firebird]

What did you upgrade to XP from? Was it Windows NT or Windows 2000 by any chance?

[MIKE JG]

I didn't upgrade from anything. That's the weird thing. I bought this computer in January of 2003 and it came loaded with XP. That's what I don't get.

[Firebird]

Hmmm. I am not convinced that it was a pure installed straight from XP setup, but then again I have only used one version of XP.

[MIKE JG]

Friggin Gateway Computers, found this while searching:


If you do an upgrade over Win 2000, which uses WINNT, then the installation
will be in WINNT.

If you have an OEM installed version (like on a Gateway) it may be in WINNT
if they used the System Preparation Tool and never changed the setup from
WINNT to WINDOWS. Or decided for whatever reason to use WINNT instead of
WINDOWS.

I know a good number of people who have bought Gateways with XP preinstalled
in C:\WINNT.

%windir% can be anything that the person doing the install, or scripting the
install, chooses.

When performing a clean install, you can specify a different folder name,
but your safest choice is to use the default name.

It makes no difference if the %windir% is WINNT or WINDOWS. Except that it
can be confusing.

Trying to change Winnt to Windows would be tougher than a $2 steak. There
are probably 100s of registry settings that refer to Winnt.

Leave it the way it is. Or reinstall and specify Windows when installing.

So this seems to explain why I have a WINNT root folder instead of the normal Windows root.

[Joecoastie]

Darn ! No "sliced bread" ?

[msm8378]

It is my understanding that the WINNT folder in XP installations is a remnant from when MS dropped the continued development track from NT 4.0 to NT 5.0x and concentrated on XP using the pre-release NT 5.0x framework as a foundation for XP and beyond.

At least that was the rational that was discussed at an Intel trade seminar I attended in St. Louis back in 2000...

Mat

[Firebird]

That sounds reasonable. The thing is that that folder is not in the XP installation, at least not in my installation disk. What this means is that some vendors installed W2000 and then updated to XP.
Whether this is causing Mike's issue or not will be interesting to find out.

[MIKE JG]

We'll see. After the installer didn't work after the first couple tries, I ran my registry cleaner to see if that would help. That didn't change anything. The company then sent me a different version of their installer and that got me a little further.

Then I got to the point where I am now which is that the addon is installed but can't be activated because I keep getting this "Xceedzip.dll is out of date" error message.

So I started trying to trouble shoot that and now my professional computer pilot logbook will not open so I can't even access my logbook hours. So now I might have to re-install that. I also have to select restart or shut down twice to get that to work. So it seems that running the registry cleaner has done more harm than good. But it found nearly 9000 errors in my registry so I really don't want to restore it to that condition.

Really the only thing holding up the install of this Garmin 1000 addon is this Xceedzip.dll error. I think I can fix the logbook with a re-install and I have it fully backed up anyhow.

[Dark Morelia]

<rant>
F%^&ing Gateway computers!
Our first ever pc was a Gateway bought in 2000, with Windows ME (*shudder*) not only did nothing work properly software-wise, but every single hardware component and periphery died over the next 3-4 years, until only the original speakers were left!
</rant>

Anyhow , Mike, might it not be easier to back up all your stuff and give it a fresh proper XP install? sounds like it's in a bad way.
I've never seen a registry cleaner do more good than harm yet =\

[fishlips]

Guy's,

I do a fresh hard drive install at least every six months. I backup all my files on an external drive first.
Doing a fresh install is way better in terms of PC perforance than using registy cleaners which if not used correctly can kill microsoft and other important updates as well as make your PC do strange things.

It also clears out all those old hidden files that build up in nearly each and every program you use. It may take a day or so to get your PC back to how you like it set up but boy does it lift the perforance of the CPU, especially on a single core P4.

Drew, you should be able to get a full version of XP fairly cheap these days, try Ebay or do a google search.

Mark

[Dark Morelia]

Mark, the bit about the fresh XP install was for Mike's pc, not my old gateway one. That thing's dead and buried.
My current rig is home-built, running XP

[MIKE JG]

I am considering that as I have time to do this over the next couple days.

I need some friendly encouragement though as I've never done a clean install of an OS. I really think it would help. I need to make sure I have the backup discs first which I believe I do.

If, and this is a big if, I do a clean wipe and install, what is the best way to go about this? I have an external HD that has 4x the hard drive space as my internal hard drive so backing stuff up is not an issue.

[Firebird]

Loads of ways to do it, Mike. I think you might want to think about your partitioning first, if you don't already use it.
A partition for Data, i.e. stuff that does need re-installing is not a bad way to go. I also use a partition for Programs, and as I have more money than sense a partition purely for FS9, it makes backing up and restoring that so much easier.

The key thing to remember is that unless you have got portable apps, i.e. ones that don't need registry keys, you will have to re-install every single program that you have so make sure you a have a list and the installers to hand.
If your external HD needs a driver ensure that this is to hand as well. I have seen somebody who forgot and then couldn't access his backups.

Ensure that all your personalizations are backed up, as well as your email and downloads. Oh and don't forget to hide your P**n partition, or your missus will find it.

Finally I would recommend getting some pizza in, and the wife out whilst its going on.

[MIKE JG]

Well my divorce is almost finalized so the last two won't be an issue.....

[MIKE JG]

Mind you my main computer is a 2003 model which came with a modest (for that year) internal HD of 80GB.

So with 80GB to work with I don't have loads of room but it sounds like it would be a good idea to run FS9 on its own partition and the OS on another and maybe my multimedia files on yet another.

Am I correct in saying that you can only have 4 partitions per drive?

[Firebird]

No you can have a lot more, but you have to be creative.
You can only have 4 'Primary' partitions on a drive, this even includes two disks merged as one logical disk in a RAID0 volume, but you can have 3 'Primary' partitions and an 'Extended' partition.

Whats the difference? Well, simply put you can partition an 'Extended' partition into several 'Logical' partitions. For example on my RAID1 disk array, I have 3 Primary ( SYSTEM, PROGRAMS, and DATA) and the rest of the array as an Extended which is currently subdivided into 2 logicals ( TEMP and NEW) and 107GB free if I need to create another partition.
All 5 partitions are viewable under 'My Computer' and are backup-able and you can delete, create and manipulate all types using the 'Computer Management' tool on XP.

Have I explained it well enough?

[MIKE JG]

Yup, perfectly.

I do have my copy of XP, it's still sealed in plastic even. Now I'm hunting down reg codes, install discs, drivers, etc. to prepare for this.

What about running FS9 from an external drive? Is there any advantage to doing it that way?

IOW, I have a chance to really get things organized and remove a lot of the junk my "other" put on the computer over the last 7 years. I might as well do it right this time.

[MIKE JG]

Although it may be time to finally upgrade to a new machine with Win7.............