************************************************************************* README.TXT for NetSwitcher for Windows 95 Version 1.9BETA ************************************************************************* Description of NetSwitcher: NetSwitcher is a utility which addresses a problem in Windows 95 which afflicts users who need to connect to more than one network. For example, if you regularly work in two different locations and use a notebook computer with an Ethernet card, you may need to have different IP addresses, netmasks, gateways, hostname, etc. Microsoft’s Network Control Panel allows you to change these but it is a manual, time consuming, and error prone process. NetSwitcher solves this problem by "memorizing" your networking setups and allowing you to restore them when you need to change hookups. If your new setup requires a reboot, NetSwitcher will prompt you to reboot. If, however, a reboot is not required, then unlike the Network Control Panel, no reboot will be requested. NetSwitcher also solves a problem with Microsoft’s Dial-Up Networking utility in Windows 95. If you have more than one ISP (Internet Service Provider) where you have to use a different domain name server (DNS) for each one, then NetSwitcher will change this part of your setup for you without requiring a reboot. You may say, "Oh, the Dial-Up Networking connection setup menu has a place for me to specify the DNS address for each connection. Why can’t I just use that?" Well, you can say that, and you can use that, but it doesn’t work! So you need to change your Network Control Panel settings each time you want to use a different ISP, and do a reboot for it to take effect. Or, you can use NetSwitcher to change this setting for you. ********************************************************************** Quick Start ********************************************************************** NOTE: Please follow these instructions even if you are just upgrading from an earlier version of NetSwitcher. 1) If you aren't running Windows 95, don't bother going any further. NetSwitcher work with, and only with, Windows 95. 2) UNZIP the files from the distribution archive into their own directory. C:\NETSW would be a good choice. EXAMPLE (if you use PKUNZIP): First start a COMMAND Shell. (Try double-clicking the MSDOS icon, or press the START Menu>Run and type in COMMAND) C:\WINDOWS>cd \ C:\>mkdir netsw C:\>cd netsw C:\NETSW>pkunzip \your_path\download\netswVVV.zip (where VVV above is the version number) 3) Change your working directory to wherever you unzipped it. (If you are not already there. C:\XYZ>cd \netsw C:\NETSW> 4) Execute NetSwitcher.Exe with the install option: C:\NETSW>netsw -install 5) After NetSwitcher starts, press the HELP button for more information. NetSwitcher is Copyright © 1996 J.W. Hance - All Rights Reserved ************************************************************************* Release Notes ************************************************************************* Release Notes for Version 1.9BETA 1) Fixed (hopefully for all cases this time) a problem with some ISA plug-and-play and PCMCIA ethernet adapters. 2) Added capability to handle multiple network adapters of the same type in the system. 3) Added the REGDUMP utility to help in extracting the relevant registry data for debugging any remaining cases where #1 above is still not working. Release Notes for Version 1.85BETA 1) Fixed problem which occurs when an network adapter is PCI or ISA plug-and-play. Note that if you have more than one network adapter of the SAME TYPE installed in the system, NetSwitcher will probably give you a message like: "Multiple Adapter Enumerations - See the file 'README.TXT'" If this happens to you, follow the instructions at the end of this file titled "Dumping your Registry". 2) Added "AutoApply" directive to the ".nsw" file. If present, and everything else is OK, NetSwitcher will change setups without even appearing on the screen. If a reboot is required, however, you will be prompted before it actually happens. I could add an auto-reboot option as well so someone could run NetSwitcher from a startup script or something. Let me know if this could be useful. Release Notes for Version 1.8BETA 1) Added ScopeID field needed for WINS servers. 2) Added Adapter line to config file which will automatically select that adapter when the .nsw file is loaded. 3) Renamed application to netsw.exe from netswitcher.exe as some users were having trouble unzipping the long filenames. Release Notes for Version 1.7BETA 1) I think the problem with failing to find the correct settings for a PCMCIA adapter has been fixed. 2) There seem to be problems reboot some computers. If you get a message about a failure in ExitWindowsEx(), please EMAIL me the error code. 3) Removed the -force switch and replaced it with the -install switch. 4) Added feature to remember the last selected adapter. 5) Added -noadapter switch to disable auto selection of last adapter. This might be useful if you swap out adapters and NetSwitcher fails to start. Release Notes for Version 1.6BETA 1) Problem finding the correct network adapter settings on a very few machines. Seems to be involved with portable computers having PCMCIA network adapters. 2) This version will "time out" after the 10-day evaulation period. After that time it will "nag" the user to register the program. 3) Added the -force switch to reregister the "nsw" file type with Windows 95 in case the user moved NetSwitcher's home directory. *********************************************************************** Dumping Your Registry *********************************************************************** NetSwitcher uses several settings in your Windows 95 registry to figure out what your current setup is and modifies these to make the changes you request. Unfortunately, Microsoft has chosen not to document much of this information. In developing NetSwitcher, I have tried to anticipate as much of what might be in the registry but it is not an exact science. If you get a message directing you here, please follow these instructions for dumping out the contents of your registry so that I can analyze it and correct NetSwitcher to take your situation into account. To dump the registry do the following: 1) Click the START menu, then choose Run... 2) Click the Browse button and navigate to the NETSW home directory. You should see the program "regdump.exe". 3) Double click on "regdump.exe" and click OK. 4) Regdump will ask you to input your EMAIL address. 5) Regdump will write it's output to a file called "regdump.out" in the NetSwitcher directory. 6) EMAIL the regdump.out (preferrably compressed with ZIP) file to me at: joe@bysnet.com.