Error Message: Service Pack Setup Error (185508)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP4
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP6
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP6a
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP4
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP6
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP6a
This article was previously published under Q185508

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to install Service Pack 4 for Windows NT 4.0, you may receive the following error message:

Service Pack Setup Error. You do not have permission to update Windows
NT. Please contact your system administrator.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if you run the Update.exe file from a folder other than the Update folder. The Update.exe file must be run from the Update folder.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, run the Update.exe file from the Update folder.

The affected files are Update.exe and Update.inf. These files must be in the Update folder or the error messages will occur.

MORE INFORMATION

The Update folder is located in the folder to which you extracted the Service Pack files, and contains the following files:

Update.exe
Update.inf
Update.nvt


This error only applies when the registry's RunOnce key is used to run a batch file.

The batch file maps a network drive back to a server location where the Service Pack 4 files are located (not under the $oem$ directory on the distribution server) and then runs Update.exe. For more information concerning deployment configurations, see the "Guide to Automating Windows NT Setup" deployment guide located under Deployment Tools at the following Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/

The other method most commonly used is to run the Update.exe program from the Cmdlines.txt file. This will not work with Service Pack 4 because it contains long file names that would be truncated during the text mode copy phase of setup.

For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: 194986
TITLE : File Copy Error Using Update.exe With Service Pack 4

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/14/2003
Keywords:kberrmsg kbFEA kbinfo kbsetup KB185508
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