"Missing or corrupt Ntfs.sys" error message when you restart Windows XP after you convert your hard disk to the NTFS file system

SYMPTOMS

You can use the following command to convert your hard disk from the FAT 32 file system to the NTFS file system:
convert drive: /fs:ntfs

When you use the command, after the computer completes the conversion and you restart Windows XP, you may receive an error message similar to the following error message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the Ntfs.sys file is missing or becomes corrupted when you convert your hard disk to NTFS.

RESOLUTION

o resolve this problem, replace the missing or corrupted Ntfs.sys file:

1. Use the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD to restart your computer.

2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to select the To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R option.

3. Type the number of the Windows installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console, and then press ENTER.

4. Type the administrator password when you are prompted, and then press ENTER. If no administrator password exists, just press ENTER.

5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER after each command):

cd \windows\system32\drivers

ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old

Note: This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the Ntfs.sys file is not found,the file is missing.

6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers

Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.

7. Remove the Windows XP CD from your CD-ROM drive, type quit at a command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Recovery Console.

8. Restart the computer.

Command prompt runs file as program instead of opening it

SYMPTOMS

SYMPTOMS

When you use a command prompt (Cmd.exe, or the Windows command processor) to open a file that does not have an executable file name extension, the file may run as a program instead of being opened in the program that is registered for the file type (based on the file name extension).

For example, if you type filename or filename.txt at a command prompt, Filename.txt may run as a program instead of being opened in Notepad. This may also occur if the file is called as a command line in a batch (.bat) file or in a Windows NT command script (.cmd) file.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if the following conditions exist:

* The file is a binary image that contains an executable header. For example, the file is a .com or .exe file that has been renamed with a different file name extension.
* You do not specify a program for Cmd.exe to use to open the file.

When you type a file name at a command prompt, or you use a file name as a command line in a batch file or Windows NT command script, Cmd.exe calls the CreateProcess function to open the file. The CreateProcess function examines the file's contents. If the file's binary image contains an executable header (which indicates that the file is really a .com or .exe file), the file is run as a program. This behavior is compatible with previous versions of Windows NT.

WORKAROUND

Open the file by using Windows Explorer, or use the following command line to open the file in the appropriate program:
program filename.ext

For example, to open Filename.txt in Notepad, use the following command line:
notepad filename.txt

MORE INFORMATION

Some files contain viruses or can otherwise damage your computer. If you are not confident that a file is safe, take precautions such as these before you open the file:

1. Check the file with a virus scanner.
2. Save your work and quit other programs.
3. Disconnect from the Internet or from any other network connections.

Cmd.exe recognizes files with .com, .exe, .bat, .cmd, .vbs, .js, and .ws extensions, and any other extensions that are defined by the PATHEXT environment variable as executable files, but it can also run files without these known extensions if the file's binary image contains an executable header.

Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer perform additional checks before opening a file. This includes determining if any program is associated with the file name extension in the registry. This MIME-type detection permits Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer to find and start the object server or program that is associated with the file name extension.

REFERENCES

For additional information about computer viruses, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
129972 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/129972/EN-US/ ) Description of Computer Viruses
For additional information about MIME-type detection, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms775147.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms775147.aspx)
For additional information about the CreateProcess function, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms682425.aspx

How can I remove Service Pack 3?

QUESTION:
I just installed Service Pack 3 on my XP Pro computer. Before that everything worked fine. Now some of my programs are flaky. I want to get rid of it? Can I and how?

ANSWER:
If you installed the beta of IE 8 before installing SP3, you may not be able to roll back. Otherwise, there are a couple of ways to do it. The easiest is to use the Add/Remove Programs item in Control Panel, but if that doesn't work, try this:

1. Click Start | Run
2. Type : c\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst.exe
3. Click OK
4. This should start the Service Pack 3 Removal Wizard, which walks you through the steps of uninstalling the SP

If these methods don't work, first restart the computer and then use System Restore to roll back to a restore point that was prior to the time you installed the service pack (this will also undo any other changes that you've made since that time).

How to open files and folders with a single click

By default, clicking once on a file or folder in My Computer or Windows Explorer highlights it; you have to double click to open it. But if you're really lazy - er, efficiency-minded - and want to be able to open items with just one click, you can configure XP to do so. Here's how:

1. Click Start | My Computer
2. In the My Computer console, click Tools | Folder Options
3. Under "Click Items as Follows" at the bottom of the General tab, select "Single-click to open an item (point to select)
4. Click OK

Now you can save energy by eliminating dozens or hundreds of clicks per day!