NwDsk: NetWare Boot Disk (IP/IPX)

Version 3.17 by Erwin Veermans
Last updated on oct 29, 2004

Feel free to send feedback, questions, bug-reports, new drivers, feature requests, success stories by Email (or MailForm).
Please include info like NwDsk version, Host OS, Target OS and Nic-driver with your message.

NwDsk has now been listed on the famous Cool Solutions CoolTools array.
When you feel this tool serves you well, you are encouraged to support NwDsk by rating and commenting NwDsk at CoolTools.

Check out: newly released NwDskPe 2.7.8. A NetWare 4.x XP Client PE Builder plugin for WinPE/BartPE.
(WinPE is a stripped down Windows XP or 2003 running from bootable CDROM, AKA BartPE when created with PE Builder)

 New

• Fixed bug with FreeDOS Command.com (old Heap corruption bug)
• Added support for general UBCD Boot Disk.
• Added improved MsDOS 7.10 version (more room for utilities after removing embedded logo).
• Various optimizations.
• Added Arachne (DOS Browser/Email) image.
• Added USB support (facilitating imaging to/from your USB flash-disk).
    * Anybody out there with a Dell GX280 who figured out a configuration that does not break USB-keyboard/mouse? Please, email me.
• Fixed DPMI-problems with Ghost and Citrix (reverted to UMBPCI from EMM386).
• Fixed autologon invalid opcode on NetWare 5.x.
• Improved CONFIG.SYS menu (navigate by arrow or number).
• Updated many drivers.

• Added support for multiple NICs (option to ignore certain NICs when multiple NICs detected).
• Added FdNwd288.img Ultimate NwDsk (2.88 image for bootable CDROM).
• Added support for Citrix ICA Client for DOS (see FAQ 47).
• Added option to skip ramdisk when booting NwDsk from a harddisk (see FAQ 46).
• Added utility What1632 to check available PCI Nic drivers (see FAQ 9).
• Added support for>64MB memory (Himem).
• Added SROUTE.NLM (FDDI/TOKEN) support (see FAQ 8).
• Added high speed Ultra-DMA Harddisk support (UDMA.SYS) on FreeDOS for faster Harddisk access.
• Added FAT32 support to OpenDOS version (by Udo Kuhnt).
• Added CD-ROM cache on FreeDOS (CDRCACHE.SYS) for better CD-ROM performance.
• Fixed broken MSNET compatibility (FAQ 40 can be applied again).
• Added (improved) plug 'n play support for PCI PCMCIA/CardBus cards like Intel PRO/100 CardBusII (see FAQ 9).
• VNCviewer for DOS available (see SFX-images to download FD16VNC.EXE).
• Complete unloading and reloading of 16- and 32-bit Client (thanks to Pavel Novy) without needing to reboot.
  Use this to connect to different trees using different protocols or to debug your SLP configuration by multiple reloading of the Client without rebooting.
• NwDsk can act as a Pure IP Print Server to replace the old IPX-based NPRINTER.EXE (see SFX-images to download FD1632LP.EXE).
• Enhanced Bart's Network boot disk. Add Bart's Microsoft Network boot disk CABs to an NwDsk diskette and finalize ('/!') it to be able to use some of the enhancements developed for NwLan.
• Check out a couple of Screenshots of NwDsk 2.32.

 Introduction

• Features 32-bit (NLM) and 16-bit (VLM) NetWare client
• Supports TCP/IP (NLM) and IPX/SPX (NLM & VLM) protocol (even simultaneously)
• Supports 32-bit ODI Nic drivers (NLM) and 16-bit ODI Nic drivers (NLM & VLM)
• PCI Nic auto-detection (uses prΘ-saved list to speed up detection)
• ISA Nic auto-selection (selects single ISA Nic upon PCI Nic auto-detection failure)
• Multiple Nic detection support (option to exclude certain Nics)
• Supports multiple Frame types (including SLOT auto-detection with 32-bit ODI drivers)
• Autodetects Ethernet, Token-Ring (LSB/MSB/SROUTE), FDDI (SROUTE) topologies
• TCP/IP and SLP fully configurable by dialogs (SLP-diagnostics by SlpInfo.bat)
• Client fully unloadable and reloadable without rebooting (both 16- and 32-bit client)
• Packet Driver support on IPX (VLM & NLM) available (Wattcp, Ghost Multicast)
• Supports USB (facilitating imaging to/from your USB pen-drive/flash-drive)
• IP LPD print server module available (NDPS aware NPRINTER alternative)
• Minimum hardware requirements: 386, 16 MB Ram, Nic, 1.44 MB floppy drive
• Can be made to boot (without user intervention) from a bootable CDROM
• Fully automated by (timed) dialog boxes, choices can be saved to profiles on diskette
• All dialog boxes can be hidden from end-user
• Modular design (add/drop components as you wish)
• Very easy driver plugin support (user can build and add own driver modules)
• IP-address and/or MAC-address are captured into ENV-vars (IPADDR, MACADDR)
• Also in 8-char format (IPADDR8, MACADDR8) for conditional (short-name) mappings
• User can add NetWare login-scripts and/or batch-files which autorun after login
• Already-run detection available (NwDsk will not run twice in a row on same PC)
• User may allow/deny login per MAC/IP-address (in exception to the rule above)
• Integrity check available (immediate abort when diskette has been compromised)
• Scroll back console screens (press SCROLL-LOCK and ARROWS to scroll the screen)
• Supporting>64MB memory (Himem)
• UDMA IDE hard disk support (FreeDOS)
• Can also be used to boot from hard disk (skipping ramdrive)
• Fits on one diskette inluding Nic drivers and various add-ons
• Default diskette supports: Mouse, Cdrom, Ntfs-readonly, int.-Keyboard, NC-clone, ...
• Extra available modules: Linux-EXT2, Long File Name, FdAPM (suspends CPU), ...
• FreeDOS supported and included (much lighter & faster, but less compatible: try it!)
• OpenDOS (DrDOS) supported and included
• Absolutely free!

 Download NwDsk package

 Download ready-to-run NwDsk images

 Auto-create the boot disk from NwDsk package

1. Install the NwDsk package
   • First download the latest version of NwDsk
   • Launch the SFX NwDsk???.exe (it will install in dir '.\Nwdsk' on the default drive)
   • On W9x it is preferred to install it on 'C:' (to be able to run 'Sys A:')
   • Change dir to where you installed NwDsk (say 'C:\Nwdsk')
   
   
2. Create the default NwDsk Boot Diskette (see FAQ 3 which to choose)
   • Building directly on diskette:
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: Dos\Dos622' (MsDOS 6.22; or 'NwDsk.bat A: /6')
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: Dos\W98se' (W98se; or 'NwDsk.bat A: /7'; or 'NwDsk.bat A:' on W9x)
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: Dos\Freedos' (FreeDOS; or 'NwDsk.bat A: /8' or 'NwDsk.bat A: /@')
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: Dos\Opendos' (OpenDOS; or 'NwDsk.bat A: /9')
   • Or building first to dir, then transfer to diskette
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat d6nwd Dos\Dos622' and 'Mkdos622.bat A: d6nwd'
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat d7nwd Dos\W98se' and 'MkW98se.bat A: d7nwd'
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat fdnwd Dos\Freedos' and 'MkFdos.bat A: fdnwd'
     • Run 'NwDsk.bat drnwd Dos\Opendos' and 'MkOpndos.bat A: drnwd'
   
   
3. (optional) Add/remove Cabs
   • Add extra modules from 'C:\Nwdsk\Cabs' (see Cab listing)
   
   
4. (optional) Add/remove the Nic Cabs to fit your needs
   • Look in the setup-dir 'C:\Nwdsk\Cabs\Odi32' for extra 32-bit ODI drivers
   • Look in the setup-dir 'C:\Nwdsk\Cabs\Odi16' for extra 16-bit ODI drivers
   
   
5. (optional since version 2.30) Finalize the NwDsk Boot Diskette
   • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: /!'
     Starting with version 2.30 this second run is not necessary anymore.
   • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: /! /#' if you also want to optimize on space by joining cabs (gain: 20 to 70 KB).
   • Run 'NwDsk.bat A: /!!' if you only want to squeeze the last bytes out of the driver cabs.

• full NetWare 32-bit Ethernet client (IPX + IP, 16/32-bit driver support)
• 32-bit client Token-ring and FDDI support (not included on MsDOS 7.x and OpenDOS)
• packet driver support
• 7 drivers (32-bit: CE100B, SMCPWR2, RTSSRV, PCISRV, PCNTNW, 3C90XC; 16-bit: DC21X4)
• ramdrive
• atapi CDROM support
• cache (smartdrv, lbacache or nwcache)
• mouse support
• menu
• help
• command-line history (intrinsic or by Doskey)
• non-US (437) keyboard support
• Volkov Commander (full NC-clone) (not included on MsDOS 7.x)
• NTFS-readonly support (not included on MsDOS 7.x)
• FdAPM (for regulating CPU temperature and VMware support)
• intrinsic FAT32 read/write support (unless you used MsDOS 6.x)
• file-editor, memory lister (mem)
• scrollable console screen (press Scroll-Lock, navigate with arrows)
• xcopy, attrib, deltree (not included on MsDOS 7.x)

• Building to a directory instead of 'A:'
  For the 'A:' in the examples above you can also substitute a directory on your harddisk (say 'C:\NwDsk\MyNwDisk'. This way the creation of the disk will run much faster. Afterwards you can copy everything and make the diskette bootable by running 'MkW98se.bat A: C:\NwDsk\MyNwDisk' (MsDOS) or 'MkFdos.bat A: C:\NwDsk\MyNwDisk' (FreeDOS) from 'C:\NwDsk'. When you omit the dir ('C:\NwDsk\MyNwDisk') running those batchfiles will only rewrite the bootsector (no copying).
  As an example, to make a FreeDOS NwDsk:
  • Run: 'NwDsk.bat C:\NwDsk\MyNwDisk /@' (create disk)
  • Run: 'MkFdos.bat A: C:\NwDsk\MyNwDisk' (write to diskette)
  
  
• About the finalize (or optimze) parameter '/!' (optional)
  This '/!' performs a lot of optimizations in code (FreeDOS, OpenDOS) but also space. It will upgrade a couple of utilities and run a lot of .SED scripts (see in 'C:\Nwdsk\Bin' for these scripts). Mind that starting with version 2.30 all this already has been applied to the modules that are delivered with the full package and the SFX-images. Here is some more info:
  • press 'air' out .BAT (remove traling spaces, rem-lines, etc.)
  • ensure FreeDOS and OpenDOS compatibility (some workarounds need to be applied)
  • fix a couple of small errors
  • add debug-option
  • insert INIFILE and swap code with INI (smaller)
  • maximize compression for all EXE/COM/SYS that are not in a CAB
  • decompress all EXE/COM that are in a CAB (CabArc compresses better)
  • add autosave-code (no asking any more if diskette is writable)
  • join all .CAB in each subdir to gain extra space (by adding '/#')
  
  These optimizations can also be run on original modules from Bart like MsNet. In fact, whenever you want to include original modules (CABs) from Bart you will need to perform this finalize-run on your disk after adding the extra modules.

 Manually create the boot disk

 Create your own nic driver cab

First, check the list of network drivers if your driver is not already listed.

Second, run what1632.cab on your floppy (included with NwDsk) to detect which driver(s) you may use.

1. Craig's PCI diagnostic software
2. Consult the list found at: http://www.pcidatabase.com/
   Look up the Vendor ID and Device ID
3. Use PCIscan

• On your PC where you installed NwDsk, in directory '.\NwDsk\Source\' create a directory called 'mynic'.
  Put your ODI16 or ODI32 fileset into this directory.
  
• Open a command prompt in dir '.\NwDsk\' and run "make mynic".
  You should find your CAB-file in '.\NwDsk\Cabs\' as mynic.cab.

 Advanced user control

 FAQ

1. I get ENV-error(s) when I run the setup-routine NwDsk.bat on my W95/W98 PC.
   
   Increase your environment size:
   
   
   • On W9x you need to alter (or add) the 'shell='-line in C:\CONFIG.SYS to contain '/e:2048' like (or increase this number): 'shell=c:\command.com /p /e:2048'
     
   • On NT4/W2K/XP you need to alter (or add) 'shell=%systemroot%\system32\command.com /e:2048' (or '/e:4096') in CONFIG.NT located in '%systemroot%\system32'.
   
   
2. I do not succeed when I run the setup-routine NwDsk.bat and try to build a diskette in "A:".
   
   
   • Make sure you run 'nwdsk.bat' from the Windows GUI (it needs some Windows components).
   • Try to build your NwDsk first on your hard disk (example 'nwdsk.bat fdnwd dos\freedos') and then transfer it to diskette. You will find four (6.x, 7.x, FreeDOS, OpenDOS) batch files in the same dir as NwDsk.bat to transfer and make bootable: MKDOS622.BAT, MKW98SE.BAT, MKFDOS.BAT, MKOPNDOS.BAT (example 'mkfdos.bat a: fdnwd'). See here for more info.
   • Try a ready-to-run FreeDOS NwDsk image. Also look at the 'Script' here as an example how to build an NwDsk diskette by first building it to hard disk.
   • Completely remove the NwDsk-setupdir (ususally: 'C:\Nwdsk') and re-extract the full package. Then from inside the NwDsk-setupdir create a default FreeDOS NwDsk to a dir to assure that all utilities are unpacked and in working order ('nwdsk.bat fdnwd dos\freedos').
   
   
3. FreeDOS, OpenDOS, MsDOS, W98se. What kind of Dos should I choose for running NwDsk?
   
   A great effort (and I can assure it demanded a great effort ;-) has been made in keeping NwDsk compatible with MsDOS 6.22 (latest plain FAT16 MsDOS), W98se (latest FAT32 MsDOS; stay away from W98me!), OpenDOS 7.01 (Open-Source DrDos), FreeDOS (truly free Dos). Here we list some pros en cons:
   
   
   • FreeDOS (recommended)
     • pros: FAT32 support, very small footprint, very fast (shortest full NwDsk boot time by far), free (!)
     • cons: does not work with 16-bit Client (VLM), occasional compatibility issues
   • MsDOS 6.22 (recommended when you do not need FAT32 support)
     • pros: small footprint, highly compatible
     • cons: no FAT32 support, not freely available (you need Microsoft License)
   • W98se
     • pros: FAT32 support, highly compatible
     • cons: huge footprint (except when using the 'wengier' version), not freely available (you need Microsoft License)
   • OpenDOS
     • pros: FAT32 support, very compatible, free
     • cons: big footprint (except when you do not need UMB's and drop EMM386.EXE from A:\Bin)
   
   
4. When booting with my NwDsk diskette it seems to hang somewhere in the process. What to try next?
   
   
   • Retry without EMM386 (without UMB). See CONFIG.SYS menu choice when starting boot process.
     
   • When running 32-bit Client try using 16- or 32-bit driver (so try using the 16-bit driver instead of the 32-bit driver).
   • Try using a different target OS (so try FreeDOS or OpenDOS or MsDOS instead of what you used before).
   • Move all modules in A:\LEVEL1\ and A:\LEVEL2\ to A:\LEVEL0\ (so they will not autolaunch and interfere).
   • Delete IFSHLP.SYS from A:\BIN\ (needed for Microsoft-client and FAT32 ???).
     (and remove the corresponding lines from CONFIG.SYS)
   • Put the diskette in debug-mode to see exactly where it hangs (use Scroll-Lock if possible to navigate) and describe this in an email (see contact for address).
   
   
5. I cannot find a server (cannot attach) with my NwDsk running IPX (and I am sure my server speaks IPX).
   
   Check Frame type (prΘ NetWare 3.12 defaults to 802.3, NetWare 3.12 to NetWare 4.x to 802.2, NetWare 5.x and later does not use IPX at all except maybe compatibility mode!). For starters select all the Frame types by the Frame type dialog.
   
   
6. I cannot find a server (cannot attach), I cannot MAP with my NwDsk 32-bit client (NLM) running TCPIP (and I am sure my server speaks IP).
   
   
   • Do you have DHCP working properly? Correct IP-address, Netmask, Gateway, etc. assigned?
   • Try leaving Preferred Server blank, or enter a Preferred Server by its IP-address. Try to map using IP-address instead of server name.
     When you succeed when using IP-address and fail when not, your SLP is misconfigured (at least on the client side).
   • Provide proper SLP configuration as needed by your network by editing the "SLP configuration" dialog.
   • Starting with NetWare 6.0 check to see if SYS:LOGIN has RF rights for [Public] as needed by the Dos Client.
   • Increase timeout before loading CLIENT32.NLM by adding P_CLNTTI=10 (or higher) to your profile or global.set.
   
   
7. I suffer poor performance running TCPIP on 32-bit client (NLM) (especially with Ghost).
   
   Read TID 10061307 or TID 10071852 and then type on your server console (on 6.x and 5.1 sp3 or later):
   
   SET TCP DELAYED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT = OFF
   
   or (on 4.x, 5.0 and prΘ 5.1 sp3):
   
   SET TCP DELAYED ACK = OFF
   
   
8. My NwDsk does not work with 32-bit client (NLM) with Token-Ring or FDDI topology.
   
   Do you need LSB (Least Significant Bit) or MSB (Most Significant Bit) on Token-Ring? On the Frame type dialog select LSB or MSB.
   
   Or maybe you need SROUTE? Copy SROUTE.CAB from 'NWDSK\CABS' (included with full package) to 'A:\LIB'. When working with FDDI or Token-Ring and SROUTE.CAB is present it will always be loaded. When you want to prevent that for certain profiles add "P_NOSROUTE=1" to your profile. Optionally add command-line parameters to SROUTE by including them in 'A:\ETC\SROUTE.LDR' (see Novell Documentation for parameters).
   
   
9. PCI Nic auto-detection? PCI PCMCIA autodetection? ISA/PCMCIA Nic auto-selection? Multiple Nic support?
   
   
   • PCI Nic auto-detection:
     In automatic Nic detection mode, the 16-bit Client will search for a matching 16-bit (ODI16) driver. The 32-bit Client will (if NW3232.CAB is present) first look for a matching 32-bit driver (ODI32). If not availbale it will (if NW1632.CAB is present) look for a matching 16-bit driver (ODI16).
   • PCI PCMCIA autodetection:
     When no matching PCI Nic driver is found and a Point Enabler for a PCMCIA or CardBus Nic is found, the Enabler will be activated and PCI detection starts again. For this to work put your CAB containing your Enabler in \LEVEL1. With some cards like the Intel PRO/100 CardBusII, the enabler (CBCOMBO) will activate the PCMCIA/CardBus slot thus making the PCI Nic visible to the system. This way your Intel PRO/100 CardBusII will be auto-detected by NwDsk. To provide extra commandline parameters for the Enabler, put them on one line in a file named after the enabler with extension LDR and put it in \ETC (example CBCOMBO.LDR). When adding 'P_PCMCIA=1' in your profile or GLOBAL.SET the enabler will fire immediately and not just after a first failed PCI-detetction round.
   • ISA/PCMCIA Nic auto-selection:
     When no matching PCI Nic driver is found and there is precisely one ISA or PCMCIA Nic driver available, it will be automatically selected. As long as you have no more than one type of ISA or PCMCIA Nic besides your PCI Nics, you will be able to serve all your network machines with one (pseudo) plug 'n play NwDsk diskette.
     Add 'P_NOAUTOISA=1' to GLOBAL.SET or your Profile to skip the auto selection of an ISA card when PCI auto-detection fails.
   • Multiple Nic support:
     When there are 2 or more Nics autodetected, a selection list will pop up to let the user choose which one to use. After a timeout the first one will be auto-selected. You may alter this behaviour in 2 ways. First is to use 'P_NICMULTI=2' in your profile or GLOBAL.SET. Now the second driver will be auto-selected after the timeout (Use 'P_NICMULTI=0' to prevent this popup from showing alltogether). Second (and more meaningfull) is to add 'P_NICSKIP=DRIVER1 DRIVER2' to your profile or GLOBAL.SET (substitute driver-names seperated with a space for 'DRIVER1', 'DRIVER2', 'DRIVER3', ...). In case of multiple Nics being detected the drivers mentioned here will be ignored. Use this for instance to rule out an onboard-Nic when you would like to use your company approved Nic instead of the manufacturer supplied onboard-Nic.
   • Check PCI Nic driver availability
     Copy what1632.cab (*new*) to A:\LEVEL2 of your floppy to detect which PCI drivers are available for you nic.
   
   
   
10. I want to attach to a NetWare server but not login. How to proceed?
    
    Put an asterisk '*' (no quotes) under 'Username' in the 'Identification Settings' dialog. Now it will walk right through (if you did put a timeout there) and it will skip the login (but it will also skip your global/profile- batch files: see item below for an example when you would still like to add a batch file).
    
    Attach but not login was used a lot with the old NPRINTER.EXE to install a remote Network Printer by using IPX/SPX on a plain MsDOS PC (see also IP alternative for NPRINTER).
    
    You can also put '!' (no quotes) under 'Username' in the 'Identification Settings' dialog. Now it will not load the full client but only the protocol stacks(s) (no VLM, no TRANNTA, SRVLOC, CLIENT32). This might be usefull when you do not need the full requester like when using packet driver (WATTCP) for Ghost Multicast, or (with 32-bit client) when you only only need IP-stack with Storage Manager. Obviously it will save you on memory consumption and time.
    
    
11. I would like to fully control the login process myself instead of NwDsk. How to proceed?
    
    Apply the asterisk-thing from FAQ 10. Now move Nwlan.cab from A:\LEVEL3\ to A:\LEVEL2\. Put Autorun3.cab (see under Utilities optional) in A:\LEVEL3\ instead. Add a batch-file Autorun3.bat with your own login procedure in A:\ETC\. Here is an example for Autorun3.bat (ENV-var LANDRV holds your first network drive):

    @%landrv%
    @echo put_my_password_here | login.exe put_my_username_here

    or simply:

    @f:
    @login

12. My password is not saved to my profile. Everything else is saved.
    
    Because the password will be saved in plain text, you are asked to acknowledge that you know what security risk you are taking here, by marking a check-box ("save password") in the "save profile" dialog. By doing that the current password will be saved (note that each time you want to save your profile and include your password you need to check this "save password" check-box).
    
    
13. There appears to be a mysterious parameter '/W' that sometimes is used with NIOS.EXE (32-bit client). What does it do?
    
    

    /W: Force load in Windows 95 command prompt (MS-DOS) mode. You cannot enter the Windows 95 graphical user interface using this option.

    I think this is rather obsolete.
    
    
14. What are the minimum system requirements to boot with NwDsk?
    
    A 386 with 16 MB Ram with a Nic (from the Nic-list) and a 1.4 MB floppy drive.
    
    
15. I want to remove the NwDsk floppy as soon as possible when booting from it. At what point can it be safely removed?
    
    First you need to make joined cabs (perform a finalize run with '/#'). That will assure that every module will be extracted right at the beginning of NwLan. Now after the Nic driver is detected and extracted it is save to remove the diskette.
    When you use the Do-not-run-twice-on-the-same-PC-option (see next item), the last read/write access takes place a little bit later, just before login when the IP and/or MAC-address is checked.
    
    
16. After a successfull run of NwDsk I do not want it to run over and over again with each reboot. How to proceed?
    
    Add your own HALT.TXT or STOP.TXT with your own descriptive text to A:\ETC\. Now when the same PC boots twice in a row, NwDsk halts and prints the contents of HALT.TXT or STOP.TXT to the screen. With HALT.TXT your only option is to reboot after pressing 'OK'; with STOP.TXT there is also a 'Cancel' button that allows you to cancel the reboot and continue with the login-process (see PrΘ NetWare Client).
    
    The mechanism behind it is simple. When HALT.TXT or STOP.TXT is present in A:\ETC\, the MAC- and/or IP-address are compared with the ones from the PC that last booted this NwDsk diskette. When one of them is the same NwDsk halts. Just before login NwDsk saves the last used MAC/IP address as A:\ETC\%MACADDR8%.___and/orA:\ETC\%IPADDR8%.___. Previous files ending with extension '___' are all deleted.
    When A:\ETC\%MACADDR8%.YES or A:\ETC\%IPADDR8%.YES is found then this PC will never be halted (pass always).
    When A:\ETC\%MACADDR8%.NO or A:\ETC\%IPADDR8%.NO is found then this PC will always be halted (pass never).
    
    Completely revoke the possibility to run NwDsk on a PC by typing the command 'allow no' (create the 'NO' files), or grant unlimited concurrent access by typing 'allow yes' (create the 'YES' files). Typing just 'allow' will reset any grant/revoke on the current PC (delete all 'YES', 'NO' and '___' files).
    
    When you want checking MAC-address only add 'P_CHKPC=0' to your profile.
      (possible motivation: you are not using fixed IP-addresses on your network).
    When you want checking IP-address only add 'P_CHKPC=1' to your profile.
      (possible motivation: you did not include NWIPX32.CAB with your IP NwDsk).
    
    Although NwDsk needs to write the last used MAC/IP-address to diskette in these scenarios, you still can apply the integrity check explained in the next item since this MAC/IP-writing is ignored when calculating the CRC.
    
    
17. I have a prefetched diskette to provide to end-users for specific operations. Is there a way to make sure the NwDsk diskette is not tampered with?
    
    First boot your NwDsk on your PC. Configure it and hide all possible config screens for the end-user. Now add a a file HALTCRC.TXT or STOPCRC.TXT with your own descriptive text to A:\ETC\ (see PrΘ NetWare Client). Then run (from the booted diskette) 'crc a: a:' (lowercase). Now a CRC is written to the diskette and will be checked each run. Whenever NwDsk detects a change to the diskette it stops and prints the contents of HALTCRC.TXT or STOPCRC.TXT (just like the item above). When No HALTCRC.TXT or STOPCRC.TXT is found a default text will be shown. (It is recommended to start this procedure with an NwDsk diskette with joined Cabs: 'NwDsk.bat a: /! /#')
    
    To unlock simply erase or overwrite the volume label of A: or rebuild the diskette. Be aware that this integrity check is relatively simple to break. It will work with the average user but not with students that might read this site just as you do. Also the code on floppy is all in batch-files. So the method used here is public knowledge.
    You can however use it as a means to be sure that the diskette is still uncompromised when it is returned to you. When the CRC is not checked anymore, someone tampered with it. When it is not the same anymore (as you wrote down for yourself) but the diskette works fine, someone changed the diskette and wrote a new CRC signature, so the user that handled it might deserve some surveillance ...
    
    
18. I have several profiles. I want to be able to choose a profile but when timed out a default profile should be auto-selected. How to proceed?
    
    Select "config" on the first dialog ("goto config?"). Then select "settings" on the dialog "global settings". In "global settings" enter a non-zero time-out and enter your default profile next to "Use a fixed profile:". Leave all check-boxes blank (including the check-box before "Use a fixed profile:"!) and select "save" and then quit. Next time you boot NwDsk (or restart by typing "nwlan"), the default profile you just entered will be selected after the time-out period you specified unless you intervene and select a profile yourself.
    
    
19. Does the NwDsk boot disk run in a VMware virtual machine?
    
    Yes, it does! Check that you have the AMD Pcnet driver (PCNTNW.CAB, see NicList) present on your NwDsk.
    Make sure you activate FDAPM by IDLE.CAB to prevent CPU-hogging.
    
    
20. Est-ce qu'il y a un version en franτais?
    
    Oui! Voilα la traduction par SΘverin Terrier.
    
    
21. Can I make the Remote Boot Disk from the very interesting German NetWare Faq (Auf Deutsch) with NwDsk?
    
    Well, it might work. Build a ODI32 (NLM) NwDsk. Add 'bwloadhi.com' from .\NWDSK\BIN\ to your config.sys. Check out how to handle the various COMSPEC settings, add 'subst.exe' to A:\BIN\ and put a batch file NIOS.BAT in A:\ETC containing:
    

    subst O: A:
    O:\Windows\nios.exe
    subst O: /D
    

    I would welcome any feedback on this. I cannot verify this myself.
    
    
22. How can I easily check the contents of the cab-files? How can I inspect a driver-cab?
    
    You could just unpack a .CAB with cabarc.exe or extract.exe, but you could also get yourself a copy of Total Commander (AKA Windows Commander) and register it when you continue to use it (yes, I am a big fan of Total Commander). With Total Commander you can just step into any archive (ZIP, CAB, etc.) by clicking on it and view (press F3) the contents of a file without having to unpack the whole archive first. You can comfortably check the supplied driver-cabs as an example.
    
    
23. FreeDOS Kernel glitches: NIOS.EXE, WINNT.EXE (W2K/XP installer), what's the story here? (fixed!)
    
    Until the release of NwDsk 2.40 Kernel 2026b was used, because the first (interim-) release following 2026b (2027test) broke the 32-bit NetWare Client ("Invalid Opcode" with NIOS.EXE). A lot of enhancements and fixes were included with all newer releases of the Kernel but, due to this incompatibility with NIOS, out of reach for NwDsk. Frustrated by this I conducted a source code check between 2026b and 2027test and luckily could identify the problem (NIOS did not like disabling the A20-line) resulting in a special patched 2031 version for use with NwDsk. From NwDsk 2.43 on we are back in line with the official FreeDOS Kernel (2032a).
    
    However Kernel 2027test did introduce another nasty problem. It broke the Windows Installer WINNT.EXE used by Windows 2000 and XP ("cannot install windows boot loader"). Fortunately this also has been fixed in the "current" (post 2032a) Kernel so I included the december 3 2003 version of the Kernel with NwDsk 2.50.
    
    Microsoft decided to give everyone a hard time who wants to install XP from non-Microsoft DOS. If SMARTDRV.EXE is not loaded (without any added parameters) the Installer will pause for upto 4 (!) hours (see Q296814). So you are forced to add SMARTDRV.EXE (or SMARTDRV.CAB from an MsDOS NwDsk) yourself when you want to install XP with WINNT.EXE from a FreeDOS diskette (is it legal to add SMARTDRV.EXE?, is it legal to be forced by Microsoft to add SMARTDRV.EXE?). For this reason Smartdrv.exe is included with the full package (starting with version NwDsk253.exe) and SMARTDRV.CAB will be autogenerated into dir CABS whenever you build a NwDsk. So you may copy it to your NwDsk diskette if needed. BTW, my experience with the pause mentioned above is that it will last 2 to 6 minutes when using SMARTDRV.EXE from W98se.
    
    
24. My NwDsk diskette works. What about all those utilities on the diskette. Do I need them?
    
    After booting with your NwDsk diskette, type (if available):
    • 'help' for a (very) simple explanation of the utilities on board
    • 'menu' to launch the menu
    • 'vc' (or 'nc') to launch the very powerfull Volkov Commander for you NC-veterans out there
    • 'ntfs' to install read-only NTFS support (not XP I think)
    • 'doslfn' to install long file names (watch out in combination with NTFSDOS)
    • 'set' to see your IP and/or MAC address in the ENV table for further use
    • 'mem' to see your memory usage
    And do not forget to use your mouse (mouse driver on board) and CD-ROM (installed).
    
    If you do not need them, just remove them from your diskette. See the overview for the space you gain by this (mind that it will decrease total boot time also).
    
    
25. My nwDsk diskette works. How to optimize for space?
    
    
    • Delete modules you do not need. Could you do without packet driver, token-ring, fddi, 16-bit support for 32-bit client? Delete those modules. Could you do without CD-ROM support, NTFS support, VC, ...? Delete them. In fact you can safely remove all CABs from dirs LEVEL0, LEVEL1, LEVEL2 except UTILS and UTILZ. However it is usually unwise to remove the cache (LBACACHE, SMARTDRV, NWCACHE). See the overview for more info or look at the scripts used with the images for ideas.
    • Delete Nic drivers you do not need. Do you need 16-bit ODI drivers or 32-bit ODI drivers at all?
    • Do you use the default American (437) keyboard? Then delete A:\LEVEL1\KEYB.CAB because it is not needed.
    • Finalize the diskette with '/#' (join cabs). Especially when using many 32-bit client components you might gain a substantial amount of space (as an example: the image fd1632.exe would not fit without running '/#').
    • Use MsDOS 6.22 or FreeDOS as your OS for NwDsk (or OpenDOS without EMM386, see below).
    • When using the 32-bit client you might delete EMM386.EXE from A:\BIN\ (not with FreeDOS). Your penalty on memory consumption will not be substantial when you only use few add-on programs. Do not forget to change the default menu option in A:\CONFIG.SYS.
    
    When you still would like to add more stuff to your overpacked NwDsk, then build a (multi-)boot CD using 2.88 MB diskette images (see FAQ 41).
    
    
26. I do not see the red Novell banner when I logon. Where did it go?
    
    It is suppressed. Add 'P_LGNBN=1' to your profile or GLOBAL.SET and the banner will not be suppressed anymore.
    
    
27. Can I alter the two timeouts in the 32-bit client (before loading TCPIP.NLM and CLIENT32.NLM)?
    
    Add 'P_CLNTTI=3' to your profile or to GLOBAL.SET to shorten both timeouts to 3 seconds. Add 'P_CLNTTI=0' to skip the timeouts completely. These timeouts where added to prevent some Nics from hanging (in certain scenarios), or to to fix issues where no server could be found to attach to. If you are experiencing these problems try incresing this timeout.
    
    
28. How can I enter debug mode so I can refer to the exact offending lines when experiencing problems with NwDsk?
    
    Hit a couple of times on [ESC]-key to stop NWLAN. then type:
    
    'set xtrct=verbose' (this will prevent hiding screen output when extracting cabinets)
    'set debug=y' (this will prevent all 'echo off'-statements from firing)
    
    And now type 'nwlan' to start NWLAN again. Now press [SCOLL-LOCK] and navigate with the [ARROW]-keys to scroll back your screen and try to find back the offending lines (good luck ;-)
    
    You can also set both in your A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT. Just add 'y' (any token will do) to 'set debug=' and uncomment the line containing 'set xtrct=verbose'.
    
    You can also add 'P_PAUSE=1' to GLOBAL.SET or your Profle. This will pause NWLAN just before launching the Client. Like that you might abort with [CTRL+C] and inspect all Client settings in A:\LAN\ (NET.CFG, MYNIC.BAT) and relaunch NWLAN again by typing nwlan.
    
    
29. How to adjust XMS memory assignement (cache, ramdisk)?
    
    In the top of AUTOEXEC.BAT on your NwDsk diskette there are some settings you could tweak to change XMS memory consumption. On a machine with 32 MB or higher a ramdisk of 8192 KB and a cache of 8192 KB is installed.
    
    To change the size (in KByte) of the ramdisk change this number (advised minimum 6144, smaller might cause trouble with EXTRACT.EXE):
    set ramsz=8192
    
    To change the size (in KByte) of the scroll-back buffer (PERUSE) change this number (minimum 16):
    set persz=256
    
    To change the size of the cache uncomment the cachesz-line. The cache size is dynamically choosen by NwDsk between 2048 KB and 6144 KB depending on the amount of XMS memory present. Only when you want to overrule this, uncomment the above mentioned lines and alter the numbers as you whish. When you set 'cachesz=0' it implies that your cache will be loaded without any parameters (thus using intrinsic defaults). With FreeDOS you can prevent diskette-caching when you set 'tickle=0', and you can alter the CD-ROM caching when you set 'cachecd=2048' (default: 2048 KByte) or disable it when you set 'cachecd=0'.
    
    Final advise is not to eat to much XMS memory before loading the 32-bit Client. For instance NIOS.EXE will not load with a 8192 KB ramdisk and 16394 KB cache installed (regardless of available XMS memory).
    
    
30. I am attached to a server and I can login. How about mappings?
    
    You should always provide a mapping to SYS:PUBLIC upon logging in for access to basic NetWare commands. Usually this is done in the container login script. When you specify "No LoginScript" in the "Identification Settings" dialog this login script will not fire, but a default login script will be automatically saved on your diskette (A:\ETC\AUTOEXEC.SCP) containing a search mapping to SYS:PUBLIC to ensure that this mapping will be performed. Of course you can edit this file as you like, and even drop the mapping from it.
    
    You are able to add additional mappings by launching NWLAN again after login (just type "nwlan").
    
    Next to that there is also included a batch file M.BAT that works as a wrapper around MAP.EXE to ensure that the PATH and default drive are retored after running MAP.EXE (MAP.EXE drops the local part of the PATH when running and changes default drive). Type "m" for help on this. M.BAT will do nothing when it cannot find MAP.EXE (in case you are not logged in yet or there is no mapping to PUBLIC).
    
    On the same basis "LO.BAT" is available. "LO.BAT" is a wrapper around LOGOUT.EXE and will restore your PATH after logging out.
    
    Of course you can just use NetWare's MAP.EXE when you do not need access to the NwDsk utilities on your boot diskette anymore.
    
    
31. After logging in, logging out or performing mappings NwDsk utilities do not work anymore. How come?
    
    When running MAP.EXE (usually included in your login-script) or logging out, NetWare destroys your local PATH. Thus all NwDsk utilities cannot be found anymore. You can easily restore it by running REPATH.BAT from the ramdisk Q: ("Q:\Repath.bat"). You can also use the alternatives "M.BAT" and "LO.BAT" (see FAQ 30) for instantly fixing NetWare's destructive habit of destroying the local PATH.
    
    
32. How to unload the NetWare Client?
    
    When loading the modules of the NetWare client (16- or 32-bit) an unload batchfile UNNWLAN.BAT is written in reversed order to be able to unload everything starting with the last successfully loaded Client component. When something goes wrong (like a wrong NIC-type has been manually selected) NWLAN automatically calls UNNWLAN to unload the partially loaded Client. You could, for instance, add the missing driver to your diskette and relaunch NWLAN without having to reboot the diskette. Also when you need to attach to different trees using different protocols it can come handy to be able to quickly unload and reload the client (UNNWLAN.BAT and NWLAN.BAT), or when you are debugging your SLP-settings. Even after a successfull login with NwDsk you can free memory by removing the client (do not forget to logout first!!!) when you need the memory for something else. Just run UNNWLAN.BAT.
    
    The 16- and 32-bit client will completely unload with UNNWLAN and can be reloaded and unloaded multiple times in a row. However unloading the 32-bit client occasionally might result in a freeze when trying to unload NIOS.EXE under W98-DOS with EMM386.EXE loaded.
    
    Unloading the 32-bit client has been made possible with SNAP by Pavel Novy (to unload NIOS.EXE including XMS).
    
    
33. A mapping in my loginscript overrides the RamDrive. How to assign a different RamDrive?
    
    Look in the top of AUTOEXEC.BAT on your NwDsk diskette for the line 'set ramltr=q:'. Change the 'q' (use lowercase).
    
    
34. How can I suppress saving the NIC list? (might be needed when burning NwDsk on CDROM using virtual 2.88 MB diskette format)
    
    Add 'P_NONICSAV=1' to your profile or GLOBAL.SET to prevent NWLAN from saving the NIC-list (it will be only kept on ramdisk for the duration of the session).
    Add 'P_NONICBLD=1' to your profile or GLOBAL.SET to prevent NWLAN from rebuilding the NIC-list (notice that you need to take care yourself that the current NIC-list reflects the NIC drivers on board of your NwDsk diskette or you will encounter errors). I would advise to stick with the P_NONICSAV option if that suffices.
    
    
35. How can I use global settings for all my profiles?
    
    You have to copy the settings you want to globally apply manually from your profile to A:\ETC\GLOBAL.SET. Mind that a setting in a profile will always override a global setting.
    
    
36. What are all the extra (not editable by menu) settings I can add to GLOBAL.SET or my Profiles?
    
    
    • P_SLOW=50
      When SLOWDOWN.COM is present in dir \BIN\ on the Ramdisk it slows down the CPU to 50% (relic from MSNET)
    • P_NOAUTOISA=1
      No ISA auto-selection upon PCI auto-detection failure (see FAQ 9)
    • P_NICSKIP=E100BODI SIS900
      Skip certain nics when multiple nics on board (see FAQ 9)
    • P_NICMULTI=2
      Auto-select second nic when multiple nics on board (see FAQ 9)
    • P_CHKPC=0
      'P_CHKPC=0' Check only MAC address for possible reboot detection
      'P_CHKPC=1' Check only IP address for possible reboot detection
      'P_CHKPC=' Check both MAC address and IP address for possible reboot detection (default)
      (see FAQ 16)
    • P_LGNBN=1
      Do not hide Novell's red login-banner (see FAQ 26)
    • P_CLNTTI=3
      Alter the wait time (to 3 seconds, use 0 to skip waiting) before loading TCPIP.NLM and CLIENT32.NLM (see FAQ 27)
    • P_PAUSE=1
      Pause just before Client loads (see FAQ 28)
    • P_UNLOAD=0
      'P_UNLOAD=0' Never try to automatically unload the Client upon error
      'P_UNLOAD=1' Only try to automatically unload the Client upon error when no MARK/RELEASE needed (default)
      'P_UNLOAD=2' Always try to automatically unload the Client upon error
      (see FAQ 32)
    • P_NONICSAV=1
      Prevent NWLAN from saving NIC-list (see FAQ 34)
    • P_NONICBLD=1
      Prevent NWLAN from rebuilding NIC-list (see FAQ 34)
    • P_TCPFRAME=1
      Also offer the Frametype selection dialog when using only TCPIP on 32-bit Client
    • P_PKT3232=1
      Allow packet driver with TCPIP on 32-bit Client using 32-bit ODI drivers (non-functioning!)
    • P_XPSMARTDRV=1
      Call xpsmart.bat to load SMARTDRV for XP unattended (if found and not loaded yet)
    • P_NOSLOT=1
      Skip SLOT detection on 32-bit ODI drivers with 32-bit Client
    • P_PCMCIA=1
      Force any Point Enabler (PCMCIA/CardBus) to fire immediately and do not wait if PCI detection fails first (see FAQ 9)
    • P_NOSROUTE=1
      Skip SROUTE if applicable (see FAQ 8)
    • P_NICLOW=1
      Force loading low of NIC drivers (can sometimes prevent "hangs")
    • USB_NODISK=1 (only in GLOBAL.SET)
      Prevent the USB Mass Storage Driver from loading when using USBASPI
    • USB_NOCD=1 (only in GLOBAL.SET)
      Prevent the USB CDROM Driver from loading when using USBASPI
    
    Please do not edit GLOBAL.SET or your profiles unless you are confident that you know what you are doing. Use an editor to insert each statement you want to add, each on its own seperate line. Do NOT use spaces around the '='. After booting with your NwDsk diskette, you can also launch 'edit.com' (the onboard editor) to edit GLOBAL.SET (in A:\ETC\) or your Profiles (in A:\ETC\PROFILES\). Please reboot your NwDsk diskette to activate your new settings.
    
    
37. What are all the settings I can alter in my AUTOEXEC.BAT (and CONFIG.SYS)?
    
    Look for 'Start of User Configurable Items' in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
    
    
    • Debugging mode, or very very verbose mode (see FAQ 28)
    • Ramdrive size (see FAQ 29 to change or FAQ 46 to skip ramdrive)
    • Ramdrive letter assignement (see FAQ 33)
    • Cache size (see FAQ 29)
    • Disable "Tickle.com" with "LbaCache" on FreeDOS (see FAQ 29)
    
    Please do not edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT unless you are confident that you know what you are doing.
    
    The only settings in your CONFIG.SYS you could consider changing are the default choice and timeout of the menu presented in the top of the file.
    
    
38. I need some special/exotic/antique stuff to load with my Client. What can NwDsk do for me here?
    
    NwDsk will include the following components when loading the Client, if it finds them present in dir \LAN\ on the Ramdisk when NWLAN.BAT starts:
    • Odihlp (only applicable when running Packet Driver)
    • Netbios (only applicable with 16-bit Client)
    • Spx_skts (only applicable with 32-bit Client running IPX)
    
    Alternative downloads: Odihlp, Netbios, Spx_skts. Or browse by Ftp (or Ftp) to download example CABs for these components to add to dir A:\LEVEL0\ on your NwDsk diskette.
    
    
39. Is it true that NwDsk can server as a Pure IP Print Server (LPD) to replace NPRINTER (fully addressable by NDPS)?
    
    Yes! A print server daemon PPRD 2.01 was included as LPPRD.CAB in the package for a long time now, but was never documented. Here is how to build a DOS NwDsk-LPD for your IP network:
    
    
    • Create a basic NwDsk boot disk running IPX that includes Packet Driver support (and add your Nic driver).
      You can use any SFX-image except FD32E0.EXE or create the default disk (FreeDOS or MsDOS 6.22) from the full package.
    • Move NWLAN.CAB from A:\LEVEL3\ to A:\LEVEL2\.
    • Add LPPRD.CAB from your NwDsk setupdir NWDSK\CABS\ (you need to download the full package for this).
      You might need to make some space first by dropping some unneeded CABs or Nic drivers.
    • Boot the NwDsk diskette on a networked PC with a printer attached to the parallel port.
    • Configure NWLAN to run IPX with Packet Driver Support (edit your static IP or use DHCP with fixed lease). and enter "*" (or even better "!") as 'username' on the 'identification settings' dialog (see FAQ 10), and save the profile.
    • When LPPRD starts choose "config" and name the printer in the 'configuration' dialog and save this.
    • Now you are running a TCPIP Print Server (LPD) on DOS.
    • Read the PPRD manual from pprd200.zip to fine tune your PPRD configuration.
    
    Most of this has been prepared already on a special SFX-image FD1632LP.EXE (see Images). This NwDsk-LPD includes both 16- as 32-bit Client (obviously overkill!), LPPRD.CAB and a lot of drivers.
    
    How to print on the NwDsk-LPD?
    
    Printing directly to the NwDsk-LPD can be done with any LPR-client by refering to the IP address and printer-name of the NwDsk-LPD. On W2K and XP LPR is built in. For NT4 you might need to add the 'TCP/IP Printing' service, and for W9X you need to add a third party solution. There is some good LPR-setup documentation on USC and on NMU (XP/W2K, W9X).
    
    But we are focused here on NetWare so we want to incorporate the NwDsk-LPD in NDPS to be able to use it as a full blown NDPS printer:
    
    
    • Apply TID 10060125 "STEP 4", item 2 ("Create the NDPS printer agent ...") using your NwDsk-LPD IP address and printer-name.
      
    • Now configure your clients by NDPS to start using the NwDsk-LPD printer or configure the newly made NDPS printer object to serve an existing printer queue (see TID 10012857).
    
    Is NwDsk necessary to build a print server with PPRD.EXE? No it just needs a Packet Driver interface. However NwDsk takes away most of the setup issues.
    I did not write PPRD.EXE 2.01, I just recompiled version 2.00 with a more recent WATTCP-library to be able to use DHCP instead of BOOTP. And I also added echoing the IP address when launching PPRD and incorporated the functionality from TCPINFO (type 'pprd -x' for diagnostics) and PING (as an example type 'pprd -z192.0.34.163' or 'pprd -zwww.icann.org' for testing). Full credits for PPRD.EXE go to Ken Yap, and for WATTCP, TCPINFO, PING to Erick Engelke.
    
    I am running a DOS IP Print Server like this in a production environment for years now without any problems. Actually I even like it better than the old NPRINTER since this construction is unaffected by a NetWare Server reboot. NPRINTER always needed a reboot when PSERVER.NLM was restarted. Also, PPRD produces some console feedback.
    
    See Novell CoolTools article on using PPRD as pure IP Nprinter replacement.
    
    
40. What is the gain when building Bart's popular Microsoft Network boot disk with NwDsk?
    
    First let us build Bart's Network boot disk on the NwDsk base:
    • Start with an NwDsk boot diskette (take a SFX-image or build your own)
    • Make some room for Bart's modules (do not touch A:\BIN\ and A:\LEVEL0\UTILS.CAB and A:\LEVEL0\UTILZ.CAB)
    • Download Bart's MSNET.CAB, MSCLIENT.CAB, (optional MSTCP.CAB, MSNWLINK.CAB) and NDIS driver-CABs
    • Put MSNET.CAB in A:\LEVEL3\ (remove NWLAN.CAB, or move it to A:\LEVEL0\)
    • Put MSCLIENT.CAB (optional MSTCP.CAB, MSNWLINK.CAB) in A:\LIB\
    • Add a dir A:\LIB\NDIS\ and put the NDIS driver-CABs there
    • From NwDsk-setupdir run 'Nwdsk.bat A: /!' to finalize the diskette (and modify MSNET for NwDsk usage)
      See here for more info on building an NwDsk diskette with '/!'
    • Done!
    
    Now here is the list of additional NwDsk (NwLan) features that are now also applied and available to MsNet with this NwDsk based MsNet diskette:
    • Some Pauses removed (only pause with failure, no pause with success)
    • No questions when writing to diskette (only ask when diskette is write-protected)
    • FreeDOS compatibility ensured
    • MAC address in ENV-var
    • Combined settings in GLOBAL.SET (CDROM, KEYB, IDLE)
    • ISA NIC auto-selection upon PCI auto-detection failure (see FAQ 9)
    • Auto-skip login when 'username=*' (see FAQ 10, FAQ 11)
    • Not-run-twice-in-a-row-on-same-machine detection by MAC address only (see FAQ 16)
    • Integrity check (see FAQ 17)
    • Auto-selection of default Profile (see FAQ 18)
    • Debug mode (see FAQ 28)
    • Adjust XMS memory assignement (see FAQ 29)
    • Suppress saving NIC-list when running from CDROM (see FAQ 34)
    • Use global profile settings (see FAQ 35)
    • Add P_SLOT=0 to (global) profile to prevent SLOT-detection (SLOT detection sometimes fails)
    • Add P_NOLOW=1 to (global) profile to prevent loading low of NET.EXE (FreeDOS)
    
    Do not use Bart's MODBOOT.CAB or UTILS.CAB on this diskette. For use with NwDsk these modules are slightly modified so only use them from the NwDsk package.
    
    
41. How can I build an NwDsk bootable CDROM?
    
    Grab the 2.88 Ultimate NwDsk image (Fdnwd288.img) and insert it in your (multi-)bootable CD. Optionally adjust (extract, edit, inject) the global- and profile-settings with an ISO-utility like WinImage or UltraISO.
    
    There are some very good sites to help you along on this track:
    • Bart's Bootable CD's
      All sorts of CDROM tools, multi-boot CDROMs, using virtual 2.88 MB boot image, Corporate ModBoot
    • Ahmad Hisham's 911 Rescue CD
      A very complete CDROM including Bart's network boot disk and (older version of) NwDsk
    • For help on these bootable CDROM projects visit their Forum
    
    When building a bootable NwDsk CDROM take note of FAQ 34 (might also be usefull for Bart's network boot disk on CDROM). Another thing to consider is to perform a 'Nwdsk.bat A: /#' (join CABs) to optimize on space (see 'Finalize').
    
    
42. I would like to automate some scripts after login. How to proceed?
    
    Look at the post login section for some options you have on automated login-scripts or batch-files. Simplest approach would be to write a dos batch-file with your commands and copy that as AUTOEXEC.LAN to \ETC\.
    
    You could also move NWLAN.CAB from A:\LEVEL3 to A:\LEVEL0 and add AUTORUN3.CAB to A:\LEVEL3 and create your own script file A:\ETC\AUTORUN3.BAT which contains all your DOS commands and calls NWLAN.BAT somewhere in there according to your strategy.
    
    
43. Imaging and Unattended OS install with NwDsk as your NIC-independent base diskette. What is the catch?
    
    NwDsk works fine with imaging products like Ghost, Deploy Center, Storage Manager and Drive Snapshot. It gives you a ready to run diskette with plug 'n play support for a wide variety of Nics and can autolaunch your image software. Some remarks:
    • When using the 32-bit Client take note of the TCPIP performance issue.
    • When using Ghost Multicast (IPX with packet driver support) or Storage Manager (32-bit TCPIP) it is usually not needed to login (use '*' for username) or not even needed to fully load the client (use '!' for username).
    • Portlock claims that Storage Manager works best from a Win98se diskette (I am not in the position to verify this).
    • For optimal hard disk performance make sure you use the FreeDOS NwDsk version with the new UDMA support.
    • On FreeDOS NwDsk you may use the AspiUSB module to access your USB pen-drive/flash-drive for imaging (read/write).
    
    Also for autolaunching an Unattended installation of your client OS from a NetWare Server, NwDsk can play the role of the versatile boot diskette with plug 'n play Nic support. Some remarks:
    • When installing W9x from FreeDOS NwDsk use extra setup switches: 'setup.exe /is /nm'. Otherwise Windows Setup might refuse to load.
    • When installing XP check out FAQ 23.
    • Often one would like to (re-)partition the hard disk of the target machine just before launching the Unattended installation of the client OS. I would recommend Aefdisk for this. Aefdisk can put the total size and the unpartitioned size of your disk in ENV-vars. You can compare these numbers (use VarSet to compare ENV vars in batch files) with some sort of decision table how to partition a disk of a certain size. Then Aefdisk can delete partitions, create partitions (primary, extended, logical) of any type (FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ...) and it is able to fast-format any FAT partition on the fly. All this (and more) is done by commandline options, so it is perfect for automation. The free downloadable version is included in an extra Cab (Bootutil) for download. The full version can be bought online for a small fee and adds, among things, dynamical sizing of partitions (say: 40% primary FAT, 60% extended, and of that extended 100% for one logical FAT32). I used Aefdisk myself for a fully automated Unattended NT4 setup where disks of all sizes were partitioned in FAT and NTFS partitions according to some prefetched scheme, and then converted to NTFS by the NT4-installer.
    
    
44. A VNC viewer CAB is available. What about it?
    
    An experimental VNC viewer for DOS has been made available some time ago by Marinos Yannikos (see DosVnc). It is built using WATTCP, so it works with both 16- and 32-bit Clients (IPX with packet driver). You can find the CAB here, or use the ready to run SFX FD16VNC.EXE.
    
    The product is compiled with an old version of WATTCP so it will not work with DHCP. Thereby you will have to enter IP-address, Mask, etc. in the "packet driver" dialog of NwDsk by hand. Take note that VNCviewer wants to run in the same resolution as the target server. So your clients graphics card should be capable of running the same resolution. If not try lowering the color depth on your server. When having booted NwDsk running IPX with packet driver, you can connect to a VNC server by running 'vnc.bat ip-address' (put your server's ip-address in there). When your server uses a non-default display-nr add it to the ip-address seperated by a colon (example: 'vnc.bat 192.168.1.123:15'). Stop VNCviewer by pressing CTRL+ALT+BREAK, send CTRL+ALT+DEL by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+BREAK.
    
    
45. Can NwDsk access SCSI devices?
    
    Yes, optional. Copy Bart's ASPI.CAB module (included with full NwDsk package) to A:\LEVEL1\, create dir A:\LIB\ASPI and download SCSI ASPI CABs from Bart's Scsi Boot Disk and copy them to A:\LIB\ASPI. Please note that his module has not been optimized for unattended runs (might require user interaction).
    
    
46. How to boot NwDsk from my harddisk (and disable the ramdisk)?
    
    First make sure that your harddisk is bootable for your flavour of DOS (by booting your DOS diskette and run 'A:\>SYS C:'). Now copy the NwDsk diskette (of the same DOS flavour) to C:. Skip the use of the ramdisk by setting the ramdisk size to 0 ('set ramsz=0') in the top of C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT (look for 'User Configurable Items').
    
    
47. Citrix DOS Client (ICA) and NwDsk?
    
    One user reported that he uses NwDsk (32-bit TCPIP stack) as the base for the Citrix ICA Client for DOS because it does a better job enumerating servers than when he used Microsoft's DOS Client. Here are his steps (roughly):
    
    
    • Create an NwDsk diskette with 32-bit Client TCPIP from Fd32e.exe
    • Configure a profile choosing IP and enter "!" at the username (see FAQ 10)
    • Apply FAQ 46 to disable using the ramdisk
    • Apply FAQ 11 with A:\ETC\AUTORUN3.BAT containing:

      @echo off
      c:
      cd \wfclient
      wfclient
      

    • Now create some script or procedure to repeat the following for each PC
      • Copy the contents from this diskette to a clean bootable harddisk
      • Install the Citrix DOS Client (ICA) to C:\WFCLIENT
      • Configure ICA
    • Reboot and start a Citrix session
    
    
    
48. What about the 16-bit Client (VLM) and FreeDOS?
    
    It was broken with the introduction of Kernel 2.0.27 and is still broken (Invalid Opcode when login in). Due to this the SFX-images Fd16.exe and Fd1632.exe have been withdrawn. Use MsDOS or OpenDOS if you want to use the 16-bit Client. When you only need the stack (like with Fd1632lp.exe and Fd16vnc.exe) it works fine.
    
    
49. Does NwDsk support USB drives?
    
    Yes, by using module ASPIUSB.CAB containing the famous "Motto Hairu" driver. The USB support by ASPIUSB.CAB consists of 3 files: USBASPI.SYS (USB to ASPI/SCSI converter), DI1000DD.SYS ("Motto Hairu" Mass Storage Driver), USBCD.SYS (CDROM driver). To access USB CDROMS also normal CDROM support is needed (CDROM.CAB) and this should be loaded after running ASPIUSB.
    Be carefull with the option to include USB 2.0 support in USBASPI: when your USB-device or BIOS is not fully compatible with USB 2.0 chances are high that your PC will "hang" on the driver. To prevent the USB Mass Storage Driver ("Motto Hairu") to load put "USB_NODISK=1" in GLOBAL.SET. To prevent the USB CDROM driver to load put "USB_NOCD=1" in GLOBAL.SET. Extra parameters like the mysterious /noprt can be set in GLOBAL.SET using "USB_EXTRA=/noprt".
    For best performance only use "/e" (only select "EHCI USB 2.0"). Selecting one of the others (UHCI, OHCI) or nothing at all will default to low USB 1.1 speed. For highest compatibility do the other way around (select UHCI and OHCI and NOT EHCI).
    When you are booting a machine with USB keyboard/mouse it might happen that USBASPI.SYS disables the keyboard/mouse. If so please try the undocumented switches of USBASPI.SYS (see URLs below) and report me your success stories. If in vain you will have to skip ASPIUSB by configuring it to skip installing or by removing the CAB from your floppy.
    
    These USB drivers seem to be working on most but not all hardware. Also it is advised to use plain FAT formatted (no FAT32 or NTFS) USB flash-drives for best results.
    
    One of the first (and still valid) guidelines on USB for DOS appeared on Computing.net (original thread) and it went public with the article in the Inquirer (check also here for DOS USB/Firewire resources).
    
    What can we do with it? Well, for instance, just plug your USB flash-drive and boot from an NwDsk diskette with ASPIUSB and load or save (if it is not too big) an image of your local hard disk from/to your USB flash-drive. You may also load an image from your USB-CDROM.

 Credit

• Everybody who sent me feedback and/or drivers. Thanks, it helped evolve NwDsk!
• University of Groningen (a renowned Novell bastion) for providing testing facilities and hosting the primary download site.
• FreeDOS maintained by Jim Hall (faster, lighter, richer and more versatile than that other DOS). Binaries and source code of FreeDOS components (mostly licensed under GNU GPL) used with NwDsk are available here (or at ibiblio):
  • Kernel 2.0.35a-041006 (32) (FreeDOS Kernel) by Bart Oldeman
  • FreeCom 0.82pl3ak-040821 (FreeDOS Command.com) by Steffen Kaiser
  • Himem.exe 3.12 (041019) (XMS manager) by Tom Ehlert and Michael Devore (Also check out Tom's Drive Snapshot; an intelligent disk image backup/restore solution)
  • UDMA 7.0 (UDMA Hard Disk support) by Jack Ellis and Luchezar I. Georgiev
  • FdAPM 15sep2004 (power manager, CPU idle) by Eric Auer
  • LbaCache 01sep2004 (readonly floppy/harddisk cache) by Eric Auer
  • CdrCache 13may2004 (CD-ROM cache) by Eric Auer
  • Format 0.91s by Eric Auer
  • CuteMouse 1.9.1 (tiny mouse driver) by Daniel Nagy (Also check out his Aefdisk; an enhanced fdisk for your rescue-bootdisk!)
  • Shsucdx 2.1a (CDROM redirector) by Jason Hood
  • Mem 1.6c (FreeDOS mem.exe) by Bart Oldeman
  • Attrib 2.1 (attributes lister/changer) by Brian Reifsnyder
  • Deltree 1.02e (delete files 'n dirs) by Charles Dye
  • Xcopy 1.1 (copy files 'n dirs) by Rene Ableidinger
  • mKeyb 0.39 (international keyboard support) by Tom Ehlert
• Dos/Batch by Horst Schaeffer (a set of powerfull nano-utilities (yes, they are that small!) a serious Batch-file programmer cannot live without)
  • Wbat 2.42 (dialog box tool)
  • Varset 1.2, Lmod 1.3, Find 2.3, Inifile 1.2 (set variables, line and list modification, find tools, INI file read/write)
  • Fpath 1.1, Dready 2.2, Wait 1.4, Linex 1.2, Crc32 2.1, Kpush 2.0, El! (locate PATH, disk ready?, timeout, extract lines, crc32 check, set errorlevel)
• Snap 1.01 (tiny TSR releaser capable of releasing Nios.exe including XMS) by Pavel Novy (Thanks Pavel !)
• Devload 3.14 by David Woodhouse (patched by Eric Auer, silenced by Erwin Veermans)
• UmbPci 3.57beta8 (very fast memory manager) and some more memory utils by Uwe Sieber
• XmsDsk 1.9i (ramdisk) by Franck Uberto
• DosKey 1.8 (enhanced DosKey) by Paul Houle
• PciScan 1.10 (detect Nic ID, Slot number) by Bart Lagerweij
• Ettool 1.4 (CDROM El Torito status) by Bart Lagerweij
• Bfi 1.0 (Build floppy image) by Bart Lagerweij
• Mkbt 2.0 (Make drive/image bootable) by Bart Lagerweij
• Eltorito.sys 1.4 (CDROM driver for bootable CDROM) by Bart Lagerweij
• Terse 1.5 (tiny text editor) by Joseph (Yossi) Gil
• DosLfn 0.32ojmh (long file name support) by Henrik Haftmann (and Jason Hood)
• MacAddr (MAC address grabber) by PerSoft Inc.
• Ntfsdos 3.02R+ (read-only NTFS support) by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell
• Ltools 6.9 (Linux EXT2 read/write support) by Werner Zimmermann
• SedMod 1.0 (small SED scripter) by Eric Pemente
• ReadBoot 1.21 (boot sector writer) by Christoph Hochstaetter
• Peruse 1.00 (scroll back console screens) by Bob Flanders and Michael Holmes
• Volkov Commander 4.99.08a (better and much smaller than Norton Commander) by Vsevolod V. Volkov
• Zip 2.3/UnZip 5.51 (ZIP packer/unpacker) by Info-ZIP
• Unp 4.12b (executable decompressor) by Ben Castricum
• Upx 1.25 (executable packer) by Markus Oberhumer & Laszlo Molnar
• Lha 2.55 (archiver) by Haruyasu Yoshizaki
• Volume (set volume label) by Anonymous
• Arachne 1.77 (DOS Browser/Email) by arachne.browser.org and Glenmmc
• PPRD 2.01 (IP LPD Printer Daemon) by Ken Yap (see original PPRD 2.00) modified by Erwin Veermans
• BaseCvrt 1.2 (convert integers from/to base 2, 8, 10 and 16 optional leftpadded with zeroes) by Erwin Veermans
• SameDat2 1.2 (copy date and time stamp from file to file) by David Kirschbaum, Toad Hall, Erwin Veermans
• Tee 1.1 (split STDOUT to STDOUT and STDERR) by David Kirschbaum, Toad Hall
• Screen Capture 2.01 (copy screen to file) by Jem Berkes
• MakeDir (Make multiple subdirs at once) by Mares and Company
• Xgrep 1.03 (Grep: search within files with regular expressions) by Robert Nordier
• Vide-cdd 2.14 (CDROM driver) by Acer
• UsbAspi 2.06, UsbCd 1.00 (USB Aspi driver and USB CDROM driver) by Panasonic (Japanese)
• DI1000DD 2.00 ("Motto Hairu" USB Mass Storage driver) by Novac (Japanese)
• OdiPkt 3.1 (ODI packet driver) by Dan Lanciani
• OpenDOS 7.01, DrDOS 7.03 by Caldera (read their License)
• Udo's 7.01.07 29-09-2004/24-10-2004 (DR-DOS/OpenDOS Enhancement Project) by Udo Kuhnt (adding FAT32 support)
• CabArc, Extract (archiver/unpacker) by Microsoft
• Ifshlp (for FAT32 and Microsoft Client) by Microsoft
• MsDOS 6.22 by Microsoft (selected files from SvrCops)
• MsDOS 7.10 by Microsoft (special edition by wengier)
• NetWare clients (16-bit and 32-bit) by Novell updated from various sources (see TID 2910293, TID 2963117, articles by Jerry Jennings, Denny Hopkins, and similar Boot Disk by Jon Gerdes and Steve Willis, and various W9X client fixes/servicepacks)
  • NetWare VLM 16-bit client 1.21: vlm121_1.exe, vlm121_2.exe, vlm121_3.exe, vlm121_4.exe, vlm121_5.exe, vlm121_6.exe
  • NetWare NLM 32-bit client 2.71e: dw271e.zip, dw271i1.exe
  • NetWare NLM 32-bit IP server connection utility: srvinst2.exe

 Contact, License