Windows NT Help

tophurler

Hey all,

I’ve got a problem with Windows NT. A friend of mine is a veterinary supplier, and he was experiencing difficulties with one of his computers – in that it wouldn’t turn on past the loading screen. He asked me to take a look at it.

I re-installed Windows NT and updated it to Service pack 6 (tried service pack 6a but it gave me an error about High Encryption). His computers are connected through a server and each computer connects to the internet through a dial-up. The dial-up connection takes place through the server and not from each computer.

When I tried to set back up his internet connection I ran into some problems. When I right-clicked on Internet explorer and selected connections, the connections area was shaded out, so I clicked on the Connection Set-up button. Now when I selected to connect through LAN, then through Modem, it starts to install some files from the NT CD which it requests. These files are to do with Remote Access Services.

However, after it copies the relevant files, it throws an error at the end which reads “Unable to load library file C:\WINNT\System32\rascfg.dll” and asks me to “Ignore , Retry or Fail”. I can’t seem to get past this point and as a result he’s without internet and email on one of his computers.

Would anyone be able to help me out with this problem?? Its kinda urgent.

Thanks

TH

tonky

This is quick 'n dirty, but if it's urgent -
the file C:\WINNT\System32\rascfg.dll is probably missing.
copy the file from one of his other NT4 pc's & paste it into the proper folder on the dud pc. Use network link, floppy, pendrive or whatever to get the file.
Try that for a start.
This is to to with RAS services stuff, AFAIK, let us know how it goes.

tophurler

hi tonky,

The thing is he doesnt have another PC running NT, the rest are all a Mix of XP Pro, 2000 etc. I think i even tried downloading that file from a site and replacing the old one but it doesnt work,

I'm really stumped on this one, you any ideas what else i could try?

Thanks
TH

JDxtra

As far as I remember Service Pack 6a for Windows NT was available in two versions - high encryption and standard. Might be worth trying to source the standard version and applying it to the PC.

Incidently Windows NT 4 has gone end of life. It might be worth his while to consider upgrading at this point.

Capt'n Midnight

get mozilla (seriously) as an alternative to IE if that's the only problem.
install IE 6 SP1 may sort out the encryption - its been so long I can't remember - check technet
in google add the keyword "technet" to your search and if too many results add site:microsoft.com as well , then check www.annoyances.org

also when you add/remove network components like PPTP/RAS apply sp6a before rebooting. SP6a was released because of problems with SP6 so you should get it applied, and you will also need to install the 14MB SRP and another 30Mb of patches from windows update too.

A bit late now, but make a copy the \winnt\repair folder and the run
rdisk -s -
so you have a cppy of the previous and current settings

tophurler

Thanks for the advice guys, so if i upgraded from NT to Windows XP Pro would that be a better option??? I have an XP Pro upgrade.

Orion

Captain Midnight: His problem is setting up the RAS services for dialup - doesn't matter what browser you have if you can't connect to an isp

tophurler: I can post you a copy of SP6a if you like. Moving to 2000 or XP is much the preferred option but if that's not feasible then you're welcome to a copy. One thing to remember is that after installing any network components you must reinstall the Service Pack in NT4.

You could have a look at http://www.dll-files.com/ for the file also.

tonky

tophurler,
upgrade to xp pro is your quickest fix, from memory NT4 could be tricky enough for networking, Win 2000 pro is my preferred option for a business setup.

Capt'n Midnight

Macros42 wrote:

Captain Midnight: His problem is setting up the RAS services for dialup - doesn't matter what browser you have if you can't connect to an isp

oops misunderstood " experiencing difficulties with one of his computers " and "Now when I selected to connect through LAN,"

is it unable to load the file when copying files - or does it copy ok and then fail later on - if the former then a tiny chance you would have to use regedt32 to change permissions on some reg settings , used to have to do that with some TCPIP problems and it was painful

suggest if serveral PC's that ICS or light proxy (analogx / squidnt) might be another option.

Mr. Fancypants

Hold on......

Is the problem on one of the workstations or the server?

If it is the workstation all you may need to do is make sure you have the ip settings correct, including the gateway address. Was the workstation on a domain? If so, have you put it back onto the domain? Are you able to ping the server? How are the other workstations set up?
They may be using the server as a proxy. You can check this by opening Internet Explorer then clicking on Tools-Options-Connections-Lan Settings. Copy the address into the same place on your rebuilt pc.

tophurler

I'm able to access the folders shared on the server - i've the computer in the correct workgroup and it can see the other PCs on the network.

My problem is with the RAS setup, when i go to the Connections tab in Internet settings the area is greyed out. So the only available button is "Set up new connection". When I select that it asks me for the Windows NT disk - but at the end of the installation I get the error I talked about above.

Does that make any sense?

TH

Mr. Fancypants

tophurler wrote:

I'm able to access the folders shared on the server - i've the computer in the correct workgroup and it can see the other PCs on the network.

My problem is with the RAS setup, when i go to the Connections tab in Internet settings the area is greyed out. So the only available button is "Set up new connection". When I select that it asks me for the Windows NT disk - but at the end of the installation I get the error I talked about above.

Does that make any sense?

TH

Do you really need RAS set up? Is there someone dialling into the computer or are you just trying to get the computer to access the internet?

tophurler

Hey MB,

I think the way his PCs are setup is the following

They are all connected to the server, he has dial-up connection to the Net but there is only one connection made from server to ISP - not from each individual computer,

Does that make sense or have I taken him up wrong?

TH

Mr. Fancypants

That makes sense. If thats the case there is no need for RAS, you only use that if there is someone dialling into the computer.

You need to check the following things on one of the other computers that works and replicate them on the computer you have rebuilt.

The Proxy Address (Found by opening Internet Explorer-Tools-Internet Options-Connections-Lan Settings)

The Gateway Address (Found TCP/IP Properties)

The DNS Servers (Also found in TCP/IP Properties)

Is the only problem with the computer that it cannot connect to the internet or are there any other issues?

tophurler

Yes thats the only problem, but the thing is - When i go to set up the connections like the other PCs in the office/building, I must first run the Connection set-up wizard which asks for the NT cd and then copies some files - as its finishing the installation it throws the error “Unable to load library file C:\WINNT\System32\rascfg.dll” and asks me to “Ignore , Retry or Fail” - and im back to square one again.

Can you see whats stopping me from setting up the Internet Connections??

Orion

mbroaders wrote:

That makes sense. If thats the case there is no need for RAS, you only use that if there is someone dialling into the computer.

Not true. NT4 uses RAS for internet connections. Remember that NT4 was around before ordinary people dialling up to the internet really took off. That OS was not designed with the internet in mind.

The RAS components are used for both outgoing and incoming connections in NT4. As I said before I can send you a copy of the SP1 cd no problem or the dll is probably on www.dll-files.com. Another thing to try is copying the I386 directory from the CD onto the hard disk and when it asks for the CD point it to that location instead of the disk itself.