

















Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 08:07:17 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Remote booting Win95

	I am receiving a growing stream of messages asking about the
remote booting of diskless clients to Win95. The guide available is file
w95inst7.zip (or it's Postscript printer version w95insps.zip) in directory
misc on netlab2.usu.edu (also on netlab1.usu.edu, pub/mirror/misc and
refererenced in the list's FAQ). See also papers msoff95.txt and drived.txt
in the same directory.
	That is for a read-only NetWare file server and clients using Novell
VLMs. Novell's Client32 (still) does not support remote booting.
	What I cannot help with is anything related to NT servers or NT
clients, or with Microsoft style networking. I don't touch these items
and my guesses are probably worse than yours. Please do not ask me about
support of NT. Instead please ask Microsoft, or see the Novell archives on
Novell shell components for NT.
	Joe D.


















------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 09:48:29 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Win95 installation to NW servers, new revised instructions

	If you are considering installing Windows 95 on a NetWare file
server then you may be interested in reading my updated, illustrated,
more detailed document on how to accomplish that goal. Last summer I
published doc WIN95BOO.TXT as a set of working notes on the task. That
doc was correct but far from indicating all the great many difficulties
one encounters. The new document covers these and more.
	You may wish to read the doc even if your clients are not diskless.

	This time I decided to illustrate the instructions with screen
captures. To combine the pictures with text I used Microsoft's Powerpoint
version 7 (the Win95 edition). Since not everyone has that product I have
also produced a Postscript printer version (color included). At this time
I do not have a straight text doc. My screen is 1024x768, my printers are
an HP 4M and HP 1200C (color inkjet), paper size is US letter.
	The  D R A F T  document (subject to editorial change to improve
language and make it look nicer) is on netlab2.usu.edu in directory misc,
which is the same as directory pub/mirror/misc on netlab1.usu.edu. There
are two .ZIP files:

	w95inst7.zip	- full Powerpoint v7 slide show
	w95insps.zip	- postscript printer versions of slides and notes

	I recommend readers first look carefully at all the slides and
read the extensive notes accompanying each slide, and only then undertake
an installation.

	In the process of rewriting the instructions I clarified many items
that we had either taken for granted or overlooked as unimportant last year,
but which setup.exe reacts to very strongly. Initial conditions turn out to
be vital, minor choices of things here and there are vital, the MS Win95
Resource Kit is well meant but has nothing much to do with reality (they
wrote it well before the code guys sort of did their job).
	The new instructions have worked here time and again, all the
way through the process. That is not a 100% guarantee they will work on
your particular clients, but with some minor tweaking you should succeed.

	Remember, this is a DRAFT document which I typically change slightly
every day. I won't post a new edition until its finished. The draft is only
to help folks asking me about the matter every day of the week.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

[Floyd: Original Win95Boo text deleted]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 08:00:00 WST
From: Ped Ristic <RISTIC@COMMERCE.MURDOCH.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: WINDOWS ON THE LAN (even '95)

A few years ago we moved to having Windows totally on the lan, ie
with boot ROMS.  We did this because of the constant problems with
having local hard disks, ie viruses, junk being left, people removing
important files etc.  Now we have a consistant interface to every
machine and we don't even go into some labs because without a hard
disk, there is not much to fail in the pc.  (the occasional floppy)

We have given each pc a virtual hard disk, that is their node address
is mapped to a directory on the server in the login script (which is
huge but is created only once and rarely changed).  That gives them a
'c' drive (during login the 'c' drive portion is cleared so that no
junk can accumulate).  Of course all applications are on the server
and we have very little problem running any of them in this
configuration.  Occasionally we may need to modify the login script
if some legacy dos app requires it.  The win swap file can also be
set to reside on the 'c' drive.

From the management side though it is fantastic.  One istallation of
the software onto the server and it is available to all.  There is
no chance it can be corrupted modified or tampered and thus never a
need to re-install anything.  Of course the appropriate rights need
to be set, but these are self-evident.  The advantage to students is
that windows loads very quickly as it is almost always cached on the
server.

We even have Win-95 running in a boot ROMed environment although the
problem with it is the load time.  Where as 3.1 takes 15 seconds to
load, '95 may take up to 2min which is too long.  The solution would
be to go to a faster net, say 100M/bits as opposed to the 10M/bits we
have.

From our experience, Win on the lan with boot roms is great.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 16:20:45 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: WIN95BOO.TXT -> SETUP-ERROR

>I followed exactly the instructions in WIN95BOO.TXT to create a boot floppy
>to run WIN95 from a read-only Netware file server.
>Everything worked perfectly until the setup-routine wanted to copy the
>files to the directory f:\win95\user. After some seconds I got an error
>window.
>
>	SETUP
>
>	ERROR SU995014
>
>	Invalid File
>	(0x136)
>
>After that the setup routine finished an brought me back to c:\> !???
-----------
	Golly, I dunno. Is f:\win95\user open for your writing and creating
and the like? Note that hidden directories will exist within, so reveal
them to ensure everything was clean and available to begin with. Looking
at MONITOR to see which files are open is useful too.
	It's now been over six months since I fought this battle and the
fine details from failed attempts are no longer remembered. The registry
files need to be marked system/hidden else Win95 won't deal with them.
Have you looked in the Win95 Resource Kit to locate the error message? My
printed copy of it is long gone. End of grasping at straws.
	If you call MS Tech Support on the matter you might want to give
them a day or two to catch up. I was talking with MS this afternoon on
other matters and again reminded them of the win95boo.txt file.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 10:50:28 +0000
From: Eddie Priest <NOVELL@ML0.UCS.ED.AC.UK>
Subject: Re : WIN95BOO.TXT -> SETUP - ERROR

Instead of trying to create the Windows 95 user directory directly
underneath the shared copy of Windows 95 ala : WIN95\USERS, create
the USERS directory anywhere else. e.g. \USERS.

I had exactly the same error trying to create the directory under
WIN95 and changing the location solved it.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 16:19:35 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Win95 Server Based Installation Problem

>I am trying or actually failing to make windows 95 run of our
>netware 4.1 server from a machine booting from the hard disk. I
>read the notes in w95insps.zip and followed them (adapted them
>as much as I can to a hard disk booting).
>
>I think my problem is that somehow the windows 95 setup program
>is not accepting to recognise the existence of a msbatch.inf file
>at the command line since the setup behaves as if I want to do
>a local installation on the hard disk.  Actually this is what I
>end up getting: Windows 95 on my hard disk.  I suppose that my
>server based setup is succeeding since it results in:
>* Windows 95 does get copied to g:\win95 and its size is about
>  86.6 MB.
>* Ten folders are created suwin, system, command, inf,
>  progra~1 fonts, config, media, cursors, shellnew)
>PLEASE correct me if I am wrong assuming that the server
>based install succeeded.
>
>Did anyone encounter such a behaviour and what was the remedy?
>How can I make the setup program understand that it should read
>and "use" the information from the msbatch.inf file specified
>at the command line and which exists in the machine directory
>and the windows 95 directory?
----------
	The trick is this: have no, none, zero hints of any hard
drive nor controller, nor anything at all that resembles them including
RAM drives, for the entire installation process. Make the system diskless
(floppy is ok, however). Then follow my instructions to the letter in
w95inst7.zip. When done you have a bootable floppy; then move the contents
to the hard disk. Recall, my apparent "boot drive" ends up being
RAMdrive C: but it could just as well be a real drive, as my notes
indicate.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 18:44:36 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Win95 Server Based Installation Problem

[restatement of above message text deleted]

>Joe, she is not trying to do a harddisk-less setup of Win95...  The
>creation of the directories she mentioned is indication that the
>server installation was successful (which is all she is asking).
>
>You don't really want the Setup program doesn't need the MSBATCH.INF file
>until you've already made the server installation.  After that, you run
>(from the server's new Win95 directory) SETUP and supply MSBATCH.INF as a
>parameter to setup each of your workstations.
------------
	Maybe I misread the original message, maybe not.
	Msbatch.inf is used only during client installation, not the
original "server installation." By original server installation I mean
running netsetup.exe from a station which must have Win95 installed on its
hard disk. That's the system managers desktop. Netsetup creates files on
the server, but they aren't usable quite yet by clients. Again, that's
netsetup.exe, not setup.exe.
	A beware: the OEM version of Win95 shipped with machines does not
have the network installation procedures. Netsetup and friends are missing.
That means one must use the full retail version of Win95 to perform the
installation.
	Client installation procedes from a nearly bare DOS floppy, any
version of DOS 3.30 and up will do, and runs setup.exe located on the
server. The command line to run setup.exe is very particular:
	f:\win95\setup msbatch.inf /T:f:\user\temp
(change drive letters and user directory to suit local conditions). File
msbatch.inf must exist in the f:\user directory AND in f:\win95, as exactly
the same file. Execution of this line must be done from f:\user as the
default directory. Slide #8 had details on this and slide #5 has
msbatch.inf contents.
	Yes, we all know by now this is to set up a diskless client. Fine.
But it also is used to create disk-ful clients which run Win95 from the
server. The difference is where the "boot floppy" is stored after we are
all done and not before then. What is often not appreciated is to perform
the task at all there must be not a whiff of a hard drive on the client
during the client installation steps. Afterward a hard drive is just fine.

	I hope people also realize that in discussion of this topic
directions take on the tone of imperative instructions. That's partly the
result of much frustration and wasted time here, partly the absolutely
horrid software MS gave us to use for installation, and the usual people
syndrome of the smarter you are the less likely you are read, not to
mention follow, the written instructions. The smallest mistake can yield
unusable results. So after awhile I revert to absolute mode on instructions
to save the victim and myself. Follow the pictures in w95inst7.zip and it
should work, else it probably won't. That's not to say this is the only way,
but finding the other ways, if any, will be painful for all involved.
Attention to detail is a requirement here (see, here we go again, but it
really is a requirement, honest).
	If I've missed the point again someone please steer me in the
right direction.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Dec 1996 08:28:58 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: How can I bootup a diskless machine into win95 with BOOT ROM

>Can I boot a diskless machine into win95 with Boot Rom.
>Which is needed on server,and how to make the boot image?
---------
	1) Please read the FAQ. Seriously, not joking. Read the thing for
items of interest. To get started you can web surf to netlab1.usu.edu and
then pick one of the many Novell FAQ sites located around the world.
	2) Obtain files w95inst7.zip, w95insps.zip, msoff95.txt, drived.txt
from directory misc on netlab2.usu.edu (or pub/mirror/misc on netlab1.usu.edu).
Follow the instructions in w95inst7.zip to the letter and things should work.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 08:07:17 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Remote booting Win95

	I am receiving a growing stream of messages asking about the
remote booting of diskless clients to Win95. The guide available is file
w95inst7.zip (or it's Postscript printer version w95insps.zip) in directory
misc on netlab2.usu.edu (also on netlab1.usu.edu, pub/mirror/misc and
refererenced in the list's FAQ). See also papers msoff95.txt and drived.txt
in the same directory.
	That is for a read-only NetWare file server and clients using Novell
VLMs. Novell's Client32 (still) does not support remote booting.
	What I cannot help with is anything related to NT servers or NT
clients, or with Microsoft style networking. I don't touch these items
and my guesses are probably worse than yours. Please do not ask me about
support of NT. Instead please ask Microsoft, or see the Novell archives on
Novell shell components for NT.
	Sorry to bother the list on the matter.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 12:17:57 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Where to get info on BootRoms

>>>I'm considering converting some workstations that currently
>>>boot from floppy to use bootroms.
>>>
>>>Specifics:
>>>	They will use dos 6.22 and a novell menu
>>>	Also, they will need to have TCP/IP loaded
>>>
>>>Questions:
>>>	Where is a good place to get info on installing/using
>>>		these devices?
>>>	Will I have to have a DCHP server?
>>
>>Ah, that subject. Well, the matter is a bit of a mess, were the
>>truth be known. There are several kinds of bootroms, all different.
>>None has anything at all to do with DHCP; no relationship.
>
>My question on DHCP was regarding assigning IP address to the workstations.
>I'm not sure if the bootrom could handle a static IP address.
-----------
	See, I said this was Byzantine.
	Bootroms: think of them this way (which is really all they do).
The rom takes over the machine during cold boot time and sends query packets
to find a suitable bootrom-server (various protocols here). After handshakes
an image of a boot disk is dragged across the net and put into a temporary
area in memory (again, details on where and how vary). Control is then
passed to that area to continue the system boot process. Finesse is required
to get that bootrom stuff to let go of the machine and free memory.
	The disk image can hold anything you'd use to boot the machine from
a real floppy. In fact, it's made by copying just such a real floppy.
	This gives you a real mode operating system at the outset. What
happens afterward depends on what you stick on the boot floppy.

	DHCP requires a TCP/IP stack, and that requires lan drivers and
an operating system all going strong. That's not what bootroms concern
themselves with. Yes, I can imagine you read a bit of DHCP specs and noticed
the ancient "boot image file" material designed for booting real machines
in the paleolithic era. Again, a TCP/IP stack is required to deal with that,
and these days very few places use that old facility.
	Thus I recommend you separate the problems into remote booting and
DHCP, with a lot taking place between them.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 14:00:29 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: RPL Win95 question....

>I installed win95 on the server and built the diskette according to Joe's
>directions and the diskette booted fine.  Then I tried to dosgen the
>diskette and it doesn't work.  The image is created and i can 'ungen' it
>and it still works, but as an image it just displays the RPL info, node
>address and stops.  The image and bootconf.sys are both listed opened on
>the server. I've got the RPLKIT updates and confirmed versions.  We're
>running 4.1 and have intel TokenExpress cards w/RPL rom chips including
>the latest flash levels.  Image works fine by 'sys'ing the same diskette
>to a down level of DOS.  Any suggestions?
---------
	Time to put a wire snoop on the ring and see what is said by whom.
Don't forget that the server must play the IBM RPL game too, and if it is
not configured properly the conversation is a monologue. And you may need
the rplodi.com program in the boot image, but I have no Token Ring and
can't say what you need for sure. Finally, you may have to adjust the
lan adapter settings to achieve a conflict-free boot image on the client,
by implicitly moving where the temporary image of the boot rom code is stored
in memory (that's not the same as where the disk image goes).
	Booting the client from the real floppy is one test, but obviously
does not engage the remote boot part of things. A helpful hint is to remember
the boot image need not have any network material at all, particularly as
you test the remote boot procedures. It's just an image of any bootable
floppy disk, and just happens to be of the DOS flavor in our case. Our
production boot image does have networking material, of course, which is
the purpose of the exercise.
	There are many remote boot programs, different, and I am no expert
about them. I currently use "Old Novell" bootroms in NE-2000 clones and will
be moving to Lanworks Inc (Bootware) roms in Intel EtherExpress Pro 100B
boards.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 16:48:17 -0400
From: "Brien K. Meehan" <MEEHANB@DETROITEDISON.COM>
Subject: Re: NET$DOS.sys bigger than floppy

>I need to make and NET$DOS.SYS that does not fit in a floppy.
>Is possible to make a NET$DOS.SYS from a hadr drive directory?

I recently started a project with boot ROM's, and had the same need.
This is what I found out.  I couldn't get DOSGEN to make a boot image
from anything but a floppy...but there is a way to do what I wanted.

My boot ROM's came from Lanworks, and came with a utility called MAPGEN.
This utility makes a virtual floppy disk from a boot image, lets you
manipulate it, and then saves it as a boot image again when you're done.

Also, from their web site (www.lanworks.com), I downloaded "288_nw.zip,"
which is a ZIP'd 2.88MB floppy disk boot image.  I think their MAPGEN
utility is also available there.

So, with MAPGEN and 288MEG.SYS, I was able to create a bootable 2.88MB
image.  I could fit the Netware client AND the SCSI drivers in the boot
image - hooray!

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 09:00:33 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: RPL Win95 question....

>I installed win95 on the server and built the diskette according to Joe's
>directions and the diskette booted fine.  Then I tried to dosgen the
>diskette and it doesn't work.  The image is created and I can 'ungen' it and
>it still works, but as an image it just displays the RPL info, node address
>and stops.  The image and bootconf.sys are both listed opened on the server.
>I've got the RPLKIT updates and confirmed versions.  Were running 4.1 and
>have intel tokenexpress cards w/RPL rom chips including the latest flash
>levels.  Image works fine by 'sys'ing the same diskette to a down level of
>dos.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated....
---------
	You may want to contact Lanworks Inc (www.lanworks.com) for better
bootroms. You probably need to include RPLODI after loading LSL. Source
routing with Token Ring is always a worry, but because there is no TRN for
miles around here I can't offer words of advice on it.
	Joe D.

---------

Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 17:12:06 UTC+0200
From: Amador Hernandez <amador@ETSEIB.UPC.ES>
Subject: Re: RPL Win95 question....

Try to use BWLOADHI.COM from BootWare.  It puts all the NET$DOS.SYS
and executes it locally.  I had a similar problem and the file
BWLOADHI resolved it.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 09:11:52 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Installing Bootrom with Novell NW 3.11 (Help).

>I want to use the bootrom of my network card to connect the client to the
>server.
>I know how to do it with NW3.12, but that seems not to work with 3.11.
>
>From the server I load:
>
>LOAD RPL.NLM
>BIND RPL TO PNPODI
>
>I have enabled the bootrom.
>I have created a bootdisk with the files from the nwclient dir and a
>autoexec.bat with the networkdrivers and a config.sys with lastdrive=e
>Then I boot from the A-drive and after I logged in, I used the DOSGEN
>program. When I restart the pc, the Bootrom asked if I want to connect
>to the network. If I choose yes, the system won't startup and the light
>of the A-drive light up.
>
>I've heard that I have to create a RAMDRIVE with version 3.11.
----------
	First, make a boot floppy that works. I suspect you will find that
the lastdrive item needs to be equal Z. That means using VLMs, not obsolete
NETX. Then obtain a copy of archive file RPLKT4.EXE (in directory updates\
nwos\nw312 on ftp.novell.com and official mirrors such as my netlab2 and
netlab1.usu.edu machines). Read the docs in that file carefully and try
to match your particular bootroms with the instructions. Recall that IBM RPL
uses Ethernet_802.2 frames for booting.
	If things still fail part way through change the IRQ/PORT assignment
of the board and try again. And if things still fail consider using fancy
bootroms from Lanworks Inc (www.lanworks.com).
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 11:55:05 +1300
From: "Baird, John" <BAIRD2@WHIO.LINCOLN.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: Utility to edit Boot-Images

>>"mapgen.com" will allow you to open a boot image to a logical a:
>>drive.
>>
>>mapgen bootimage.sys a:
>>
>>You can then edit the files in the logical a: drive and save the new
>>file.
>>
>>Be sure to : Backup the image files before updating, flag all image
>>files and bootconf.sys as shareable+read+write after you are done.
>[Snip]
>
>	MapGen is not in Novell's KnowledgeBase.  Where can I get it?

Mapgen is a product of Lanworks Technologies Inc. Check out
http://www.lanworks.com.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 12:53:34 +0200
From: Neil Price <nprice@IAFRICA.COM>
Subject: RPL problems - Win95

I got around to attempting remote booting Win95 as per Joe D's docs.

Hit a lot of silly time wasting problems and generally my respect for Bill
hit new lows. The WRK is a crock of ....

But it mostly works - except for one major problem. I have to use the RPL
PROTECT parameter or else I get the message:

RPL-105. Attempt to overwrite disk emulator. RPL halted.

This happens before Win95 starts booting, apparently during the RPL
download. Making the disk image as small as possible (now smaller than my
DOS622 image, which works perfectly) does not help.

Same result with two different RPL ROMs. These are RPL, not the old remote
boot ones that Joe uses.

The problem with using the PROTECT parameter is that it reduces DOS memory
by some 60K.

---------

Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 10:33:14 -0700
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: RPL problems - Win95

>The problem with using the PROTECT parameter is that it reduces DOS memory
>by some 60K.
----------
	Only one suggestion. Move around the shared memory area used by the
RPL ROM. Normally such ROMs provide a list of IRQ/Port values where some
interfere with existing hardware and maybe one is clear. I had similar
difficulties with the classical "Old Novell" IPX bootroms. The ultimate
cure is to acquire Lanworks Inc Bootware roms which work vastly better
and can use up to 2.2MB images. www.lanworks.com, not exactly cheap but
worth it.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 16:17:48 -0700
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Windows 95 Clients with Remote Boot

>I have successfully booted Windows 95 remotely on my IntraNetWare
>Server (the conection is obtained with VLM Ver. 1.21).
>
>When I run Windows 95 I get a warning message that VLM support is
>limited and although I have tried various installation methods, I cannot
>seem  to install it completely and/or correctly (one of the errors when
>trying to install the Novell VLM client is not recognizing the shared
>Windows 95 directory)!
>
>I suppose this prevents me from installing Microsoft Office (I have
>tried the /F switch).
----------
	Locate Novell files VIPX.386 and VNETWARE.386. Place them in the
win95\system directory. Do NOT overwrite the NETWARE.DRV; use the original
Win95 item (smaller than the Win 3.1 item from Novell).
	You may also wish to visit MS and get VSHARE.386.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

