(Note: The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. Novell makes every effort within its means to verify this information. However, the information provided in this document is FOR YOUR INFORMATION only. Novell makes no explicit or implied claims to the validity of this information.)
TITLE: Windows 3.1 Compatibility
DOCUMENT ID#: FYI.P.6061
DATE: 04Dec92
PRODUCT: NetWare Lite
PRODUCT VERSION: All versions
SUPERSEDES: NA
SYMPTOM: NA
ISSUE/PROBLEM
Windows 3.1 Compatibility
Installing a Stand Alone version of Windows on a NetWare Lite Network:
If you are upgrading from a previous version of Windows to Windows 3.1, we recommend that you delete the previous version of Windows from your hard drive before you begin installation of 3.1. This is recommended because Windows 3.1 handles many of the settings in the initialization files (*.INI) differently than before, and will not always convert these parameters to the new format.
Follow the regular installation procedures to install Windows 3.1 as a stand alone version. To be able to access network resources, run the setup program and select "Microsoft Network (or 100% Compatible)" as the network.
For more information on running Windows 3.1 on a NetWare Lite network, refer to Tips for Running Windows 3.1 later in this document.
Installing a Network Version of Windows 3.1 on a NWLite server:
The following is intended for users who want to install windows in shared mode. Please refer to the Getting Started with Microsoft Windows booklet, pages 6-12.
1. Select the Server on which you want Windows to physically reside. Note: There must be approximately 16 MB of hard disk space available on the server to install a sharable copy of Windows 3.1.
2. Insert the Windows DISK #1 in the disk drive, and go to that drive (i.e. a: <enter>).
3. Type SETUP /A. When Windows asks for the path to which it should install, enter C:\WIN31. (If this directory does not exist, Windows will create it for you).
As you follow the prompts, a sharable copy of Windows will be installed on the server. Note: This will not create an executable copy of Windows. It merely creates a location where clients can pull the executable programs from once they have been setup (see steps for clients, below).
After the shared copy of Windows has been installed, the following steps must be taken to properly configure the network software on the server.
4. Enter the NetWare Lite menu utility, by typing NET, and pressing ENTER. Then select "Supervise the network" and then "Network directories." Create a network directory by pressing the INSERT key. Select the server where the WIN31 directory is located, type a name for the network directory, then enter the path as C:\WIN31. Hit escape to exit and save the changes.
5. Enter the NET menu utility and select "Supervise the Network" and then select "Server Configuration." The CLIENT TASKS option defaults to 10 at the time of NetWare Lite installation. Increase CLIENT TASKS=XX by 15 per machine connected.
6. When NetWare Lite is installed, the FILES=xx in the CONFIG.SYS file is set to be at least 30. This needs to be increased on the server by 20 per machine connected.
7. After you have performed these steps for the server, reboot the computer.
The following steps are for the client:
There are three ways to install Windows from the shared copy installed on the server, from the steps above. Please refer to page 7 in Getting Started with Microsoft Windows for a further explanation of the three methods.
The three ways are:
A. Copy all files to the Client machine's hard drive.
1. Load NetWare Lite by typing STARTNET. Map a drive to WIN31:
Net Map I: WIN31 <return>
2. Change to the I: drive
I: <return>
3. Type SETUP and press ENTER, and follow the prompts to install a copy of Windows to your local drive. When prompted to either run an Express Setup or a Custom Setup, choose Custom. This allows you to preview the changes that are being made to the different files on your computer. Refer to Windows documentation for questions regarding the installation.
You will now run Windows from your local drive, not from I:. Verify that the path on your local drive you selected in SETUP is in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, as you will need this to run Windows.
B. Custom configuration files are copied to the Client machine's hard drive. All other files will be run from the shared copy installed on the server in the steps above.
1. Load NetWare Lite by typing STARTNET. Map a drive to WIN31:
Net Map I: WIN31 <return>
2. Create a subdirectory on the Client's hard drive in which to put the custom files (i.e.: MD C:\DAVE <return>).
3. Go to the network drive containing the Windows files, by typing I: <return>
4. Type SETUP/N then follow the Windows installation instructions. When prompted to either run an Express Setup or a Custom Setup, choose Custom. This allows you to preview the changes that are being made to the different files on your computer. Note: At the prompt for the path of the Windows files, enter the subdirectory which you created in step 2 (i.e.: C:\DAVE). Also, at the configuration screen, select the Network option "Microsoft Network (or 100% Compatible)."
5. When Windows prompts you, choose to review and edit the changes in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Verify that your user subdirectory (C:\DAVE) and I: have both been added to your PATH statement.
6. Follow the prompts to continue the installation of Windows. Note: When prompted to install printers, select and install any printers you have connected. Make sure they are specified as connected to port LPT1.DOS, or LPT2.DOS, instead of the normal LPT1 and LPT2 ports. (see Question #3 at the end of this document). When installation is complete, exit to DOS and reboot the machine. When you reboot the machine, DOS will give you a message similar to the following (the message differs depending on the version of DOS you are using):
Search path contains invalid drive.
This message will occur any time you run a program and DOS searches your path. It does this because Windows inserted I: into your path when it was installed. When the machine is first booted, I: has not been mapped yet, so NWLITE is unable to locate it. Just ignore the message. When you map I: to WIN31, the message will no longer be valid. If you want the error message to disappear, append i: to the end of the path after mapping the network drive, or insert this message into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file before the path statement:
C:\DRDOS\SUBST I: C: (or type c:\name of dos directory\SUBST I: C:)
This line will make I: temporarily look at C:, thereby making it a valid statement in the path. As soon as your map command executes, I: will be redirected to a network directory.
Once you reboot, load the network by typing STARTNET. Then, once you have performed your drive mappings and printer captures, you can type WIN to enter Windows.
C. No files will be stored on the Client machine's hard drive. Instead, the custom configuration files will be stored in a subdirectory on a network server and all other files will be run from the shared copy of Windows installed on the server in the steps above.
1. Load NetWare Lite by typing STARTNET. Map a drive to WIN31:
Net Map I: WIN31 <return>
2. Create a subdirectory on the Server's hard drive in which to put the custom files:
MD C:\STEVE <return>
3. Create a network directory that looks at the user's subdirectory.
Enter the NetWare Lite menu utility, by typing NET, and pressing ENTER. Then select "Supervise the network" and then "Network directories." Create a network directory by pressing the INSERT key. Select the server on which you want to store your custom files, then enter the path of the subdirectory you created in step 3, such as C:\STEVE.
4. Map a drive to this network directory:
NET MAP G: STEVE
5. Go to the network drive containing the Windows files.
I: <return>
6. Type SETUP/N then follow the Windows installation instructions. When prompted to either run an Express Setup or a Custom Setup, choose Custom. This allows you to preview the changes that are being made to the different files on your computer. Note: At the prompt for the path of the Windows files, enter the drive you have mapped to the custom files network directory from step 4 above (in this example it would be G:). Also, at the configuration screen, select the Network option "Microsoft Network (or 100% Compatible)."
7. When Windows prompts you, choose to review and edit the changes in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Verify that G: and I: have both been added to your PATH statement.
8. Follow the prompts to continue the installation of Windows. When prompted to install printers, select and install any printers you have connected. Make sure they are specified as connected to port LPT1.DOS, or LPT2.DOS, instead of the normal LPT1 and LPT2 ports. (see Question #3 at the end of this document). After the installation has completed, choose Return to DOS, and reboot the machine. When you reboot the machine, DOS will give you a message similar to the following (the message will differ depending on the version of DOS you are using):
Search path contains invalid drive.
This message will occur any time you run a program and DOS searches your path. It does this because Windows inserted I: into your path when it was installed. When the machine is first booted, G: and I: have not been mapped yet, so NWLITE is unable to locate them. Just ignore the message. When you map I: to WIN31, the message will no longer be valid. If you want the message not to appear, append i: and g: to the end of the path after the network drives have been mapped or insert these messages into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file before the path statement:
C:\DRDOS\SUBST I: C: (or type c:\name of dos directory\SUBST I: C:)
C:\DRDOS\SUBST G: C: (or type c:\name of dos directory\SUBST G: C:)
This line will make G: and I: temporarily look at C:, thereby making them valid statements in the path. As soon as your map command executes, G: and I: will be redirected to network directories.
Once you reboot, load the network by typing STARTNET. Then, once you have performed your drive mappings and printer captures, type WIN to enter Windows.
TIPS FOR RUNNING WINDOWS 3.1:
Network Operations
Start the NetWare Lite environment before actually running Windows (i.e. make sure all drives are mapped, printer ports are captured, and network resources are set up.)
Using Windows to Perform Network Operations
If you have a connection to a server, either a captured port or mapped drive, you will be able to perform your network operations with no problems. The File Manager will let you access previously mapped drives without problems.
If you selected "Microsoft Network (or 100% compatible) in the Windows setup, the File Manager and Print Manager (as well as Printers in the Control Panel) will include options for capturing network printers and mapping network drives. Note: if you do not have a connection (either a mapped drive or a captured port) to a server before you enter Windows you will get a Network Error if you try to access it in the File Manager or Print Manager. If you get errors in Windows trying to perform drive mappings and printer captures, when you exit Windows, you will no longer be able to execute the NET MAP or NET CAPTURE commands until you reboot your computer.
Mapped Drives and Connections
Windows will display an error message if you try to access a drive on a server that has gone down. Any attempt to access that drive will fail. Under regular DOS, this error is trapped and the client saves enough information to automatically restore the connection to that network directory when the downed server returns to the network. Windows prevents regular DOS from trapping this error. To restore connections to your mapped drive, exit Windows and re-issue the NET MAP command when the server is back on the network. (See question #2 in the Q & A sections of this document for more information.)
Selecting Printers
If you want to print from Windows to a network printer, you must setup the printer in Windows as a printer on port LPT1.DOS (which replaces LPT1.OS2 in Windows 3.0) or LPT2.DOS, depending on which port is captured. This is to let Windows know that it is to use the information that DOS provides it (such as a NET CAPTURE command you may have issued to print to the network printer) to print to LPT1, instead of trying to go to its own physical LPT port. (Please see question #3 in the Q & A section for more information.)
Note: Do not use the print manager if printing from multiple windows. If the print manager is running, it will combine the print jobs into one document before it passes the information to NWLite.
Browse
The browse function does not work when trying to attach to servers or trying to capture printers.
NetWare Lite Messages
Messages sent to network users through NetWare Lite will not be received if the user to whom you are sending the message is in Windows.
Windows Modes
If you are experiencing a problem that only occurs when NetWare Lite is loaded and if the problem seems unsolvable, experiment with the other Windows mode to see if the problem is corrected. The Windows mode can be changed by using one of the following command line parameters:
Standard Mode: WIN /s
Enhanced Mode: WIN /3
(note that Windows 3.1 does not include an option to run in Real Mode, as did version 3.0).
Permanent Swap Files
Windows 3.1 has the ability to use swap files to enhance the performance of multiple tasks. By default, Windows will try to create a swap file on your hard disk at installation. DO NOT create a permanent swap file on a network drive. It will corrupt any other swap file that may be on that computer. If you do not have a local hard disk on which to store a permanent swap file, it is recommended you use a temporary swap file in your user subdirectory on the network. This will avoid conflicts between two users' permanent swap files. (note: if you are running a shared version of windows on the server, you should MAP drives to the network directories, and not use the DOS SUBST command. This is unique to Windows 3.1. In all other applications, using the DOS SUBST, command on a server, in place of the NET MAP command is recommended).
If you are using DR-DOS 6.0
If you are using DR-DOS 6.0, you must first install the December 1991 update followed by the April 1992 update (installed in that order) to run with Windows 3.1. Contact DRI technical support for questions regarding this issue.
Interrupts
VPICDA.386 is a patch written by Microsoft that fixes problems that arise when network cards are set to an interrupt of 2,3, or 9 and above, for use with Windows 3.0. Microsoft states that you no longer need this patch with Windows 3.1. If you encounter problems using these interrupts, check to see if you have a conflict with some other device using the same interrupt. (see fax document 212 for information on interrupt and i/o address conflicts).
Base I/O Addresses
I/O addresses below 300 should not be used for network cards on machines which also use Windows.
Changes to SYSTEM.INI
Make sure that the following line is in the Windows SYSTEM.INI file:
[386Enh]
UniqueDOSPSP = ON
This parameter controls the way Windows allocates memory to DOS applications running in Windows, and is recommended by Microsoft to be set if Windows is run on some networks. Setting this will solve occasional problems with applications that hang a Windows client.
There is another option that may need to be set in the SYSTEM.INI file depending on the type of network card you are using. If you have a network card that uses a shared memory address (RAM address or memory address), that address needs to be excluded from available memory so that Windows doesn't assign the address to another application. Excluding this address can be done in two ways:
1. In the CONFIG.SYS file, if you load the device driver EMM386.EXE, or EMM386.SYS, you need to set a parameter to exclude the memory address.
These are sample lines from the CONFIG.SYS file, where the address to be excluded is from nnnn to mmmm. nnnn is a hexadecimal number for the starting address of the network card. mmmm is the ending address to exclude. Most network cards use either 8k or 16k (sometimes less). The following are sample values for nnnn and mmmm based on the addresses that cards can usually use.
Starting address nnnn 8k 16k
C0000 C000 C1FF C3FF
C8000 C800 C9FF CBFF
D0000 D000 D1FF D3FF
D8000 D800 D9FF DBFF
CC000 CC00 CDFF CFFF
note: If you are not sure whether your network card uses 8k or 16k of memory, use the 16k value.
Based on these numbers, if your memory address for your network card is C0000h, and you are using MS-DOS 5.0, your EMM386.EXE line would have a similar format as: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE X=C000-C3FF.
2. If you don't have an EMM386.EXE or EMM386.SYS driver in your CONFIG.SYS file, you can either add it using step one as your example, or you can do the following:
Edit your SYSTEM.INI file (located in your configuration file directory if you are using a shared version of Windows, or in the Windows directory if you are using a stand alone version). Go down through the file until you see the section that starts with "[386Enh]" at the left margin. Add a line that says:
EMMExclude=nnnn-mmmm
Where nnnn is the starting address to exclude and mmmm is the ending address to exclude. See the table in step 1 for more information on these values.
Don't worry if you already have another EMMExclude line in the SYSTEM.INI file. Just add another one. Multiple lines in this format are valid and will not cause problems.
Changes to WIN.INI
There are several options you can set in the WIN.INI file for network control. NetWare Lite does not require using anything other than the default values for these options, unless you have a special need. Consult your Windows documentation for further information if you wish to change these options.
Speed Issues with NetWare Lite and Windows
See the fax document concerning the patches that have been released by Novell that increase printing speed. If your network printing seems slow, these patches could solve your problem.
Running a large application such as Windows as a shared version has the advantage of not using up as much hard disk space. However, running Windows as a shared version will slow it down somewhat, as many of the files will be in use by more than one machine at a time, and access across a network will be slower than access to your own hard drive.
NetWare Lite & Windows: Common Questions and Answers.
Question #1:
Why do I get Sharing Violations and/or lockups when I'm running Windows or Windows' applications?
Answer:
You might have forgotten to set all applications (.EXE, .COM and .OVL files) to read only using the attrib command. This can be done by executing the following commands in all directories that might be used across the network:
attrib +r *.exe
attrib +r *.com
attrib +r *.ovl
Question #2:
What happens if I lose connections while I am in Windows?
Answer:
If a client loses connections temporarily with a server while in DOS, then one of two things will happen:
1) The connection will be re-established by NetWare Lite, OR
2) The user will try to perform something that requires a connection and will get an A)bort, R)etry, F)ail error. If the user presses F) or R) then the connection will be re-established.
Unfortunately, Windows will not recognize this "critical error message" and so will not re-establish connections when attempting to perform a network operation such as printing to a network printer. The user must exit out to DOS and then perform a function that will re-establish connections once the server is back up (i.e., dir on a network directory) and then enter Windows again.
Question #3:
Why do I have to select LPT1.DOS and LPT2.DOS instead of LPT1 and LPT2?
Answer:
NetWare Lite is a peer-to-peer network, which means it runs on top of DOS. When a printer is captured, NetWare Lite tricks DOS into printing to another location (i.e. a printer on another machine.) This is why you can print from an application to LPT1, and the job will end up at another machine's printer.
Some applications (like Windows) bypass DOS and print directly to the LPT port. So, if you print an applications in Windows, it will bypass DOS which means it will bypass your capture command, and will try and print to a printer on your client (instead of where you want it to go). You can trick Windows, however. Go into the WIN.INI file and under the [Ports] section insert the following line:
[Ports]
LPT1.XXX= (The suffix can be any three letters.)
For example: LPT1.DOS=
Windows now thinks that there is a file called LPT1.DOS on your disk. And if you select LPT1.DOS in "printer setup" under Control Panel, Windows will try to print to this "file." When Windows sends a print job to the file "LPT1.DOS" to DOS, DOS strips off the suffix (DOS or XXX or whatever), and sends the job to the redirected printer.
Question #4:
Why can't I print using WordPerfect for Windows?
Answer:
If WordPerfect printer drivers are being used instead of Windows', the user needs to make some adjustments in order to make WordPerfect work correctly. The adjustments are similar to the ones made above to Windows. First, go into select printer. Rather than selecting lpt1 or lpt2, select file. Then enter in the name of a file which starts with LPT1 or LPT2:
For example: LPT1.DOS
This will cause Wordperfect to print to lpt1 correctly for the same reasons it enables Windows to work correctly.
Question #5:
Why in the File Manager do I sometimes get Network Errors, and my network directories appear to have no files in them?
Answer:
If you try to use the File Manager's features to connect to network directories on a server to which you don't have an active connection (either a mapped drive or a captured port) before you enter Windows, any attempt to connect to that server in the File Manager will result in these error conditions.
