Definition of winnt.exe in Network Encyclopedia.
What is winnt.exe?
Winnt.exe is the Setup program for installing Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 2000 on computers with a non–Windows NT operating system such as MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95, or Microsoft Windows 98. Winnt.exe is in the \I386 directory on the Windows NT 4 Server CD or Windows 2000 Server CD. The following table describes three common switches for this program.
Common Switches for Winnt.exe
| Switch | Description |
| /b | Installs Windows NT or Windows 2000 without using the three Windows NT boot floppies. Use this switch to install Windows NT on systems with a non–Windows NT operating system (such as Windows 95 or Windows 98). |
| /ox | Creates the three Windows NT boot floppies. Does not install Windows NT or Windows 2000. |
| /u | Performs unattended installation. |
Upgrading Windows NT
The Setup program for installing Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000 on systems with a version of Windows NT already installed is winnt32.exe. You can use winnt32.exe to upgrade earlier versions of Windows NT to Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000, or to install a second copy of Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000 to a different system folder if you are attempting to recover from a system crash.
