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- Unloading the Netware Shell
-
- There are times when it is necessary to free up the memory used by
- the NetWare workstation shell, whether it is to run a memory
- intensive application, such a Aldus' Pagemaker, or to load other
- network communications software, such as Digital Equipment Corp's
- DECNET DOS. Additionally, it would be nice to easily restore the
- workstation's path specifications, DOS COMSPEC (tells DOS where to
- find COMMAND.COM), etc., to the state they were in before logging
- in to the network. To accomplish these tasks most of us resort to
- the infamous <Ctrl><Alt><Del> keys. With the help of a couple of
- utilities, there is now a better way.
-
- SETCWD, from Cyco Software of the Netherlands, will set the
- environment variables CWD and DRV to the current working directory
- and current working drive. By using %DRV% and %CWD% in a batch
- file, you can return to that drive and directory.
-
- LASTDRIV, from Software Suprizes, determines the last valid drive
- available to a PC. If used after loading the NetWare shell and
- before logging in, LASTDRIV will locate the SYS:LOGIN directory on
- a file server.
-
- MARKNET and RELNET, part of TSR Utilities Version 2.8 from
- TurboPower Software, are specifically designed to release network
- communications software. (TSR stands for Terminate-and-stay-
- resident or RAM-Resident software.) The programs were written
- primarily to release the NetWare shell but seems to work with other
- LAN software as well, such as DECNET DOS.
-
- MARKNET writes a disk file in which it stores information about the
- system's status, then leaves a mark in memory 144 to 192 bytes in
- size. RELNET will release any RAM-resident software loaded after
- this mark.
-
- By using these utilities in batch files you can create a logout
- routine that will unload the NetWare shell files and restore your
- DOS environment to the state it was in before loading the shell.
- Here is one way to set this up:
-
- o Copy SETCWD.EXE, LASTDRIV.EXE, MARKNET.EXE and RELNET.EXE to
- the root directory of you boot disk (or the directory that
- contains your network boot files, including the SHELL.CFG
- file, if any).
-
- o If your boot files are in the root directory of your boot
- disk, add the command SETCWD to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file before
- any drive or directory change commands. SETCWD will set the
- variable DRV equal to the current drive letter (e.g., "C:"),
- and set the variable CWD to your current directory (if this
- is the root directory, then it would be "\"). Example:
-
- SETCWD
- PROMPT=$P$G
- PATH C:\;C:\UTIL;C:\DOS
-
- If your boot files are not in the root directory, use CHDIR
- (CD) in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to go to the directory
- containing your boot files. SETCWD should be the very next
- command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Example:
-
- PROMPT=$P$G
- PATH C:\;C:\UTIL;C:\DOS
- CD\NETBOOT
- SETCWD
-
- o If you want to load the shell and log in to a file server from
- your AUTOEXEC.BAT file add the following lines to the end of
- the file (after you have changed to the boot file directory
- and run SETCWD):
-
- MARKNET %DRV%\SHELL.MRK
- IPX
- NET3
- LASTDRIV
- LOGIN^Z *
-
- This will:
-
- o create the status file in the boot file directory of your
- boot disk)
- o load the shell
- o locate the SYS:LOGIN directory on the file server
- o run the LOGIN program.
-
- If you do not want to load the shell and log in to a file
- server from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, then create a separate
- batch file (such as NET.BAT) with the following lines:
-
- %DRV%
- CD%CWD%
- MARKNET %DRV%\SHELL.MRK
- IPX
- NET3
- LASTDRIV
- LOGIN^Z *
-
- This batch file will:
-
- o change to your boot disk
- o change to your network boot file directory
- o create the status file in the boot file directory of your
- boot disk)
- o load the shell
- o locate the SYS:LOGIN directory on the file server
- o run the LOGIN program.
-
- o Rename the LOGOUT.EXE program in SYS:PUBLIC LOGOFF.EXE. You
- will have to flag the program read/write before you change the
- name, then re-flag it read only.
-
- o Create the following batch file in the SYS:PUBLIC directory
- on your file server, name it LOGOUT.BAT, and flag it SRO
- (shareable read only):
-
- ECHO OFF
- IF NOT '%1'=='' GOTO END
- %DRV%
- CD %CWD%
- IF EXIST %DRV%\CLEARNET.BAT CLEARNET
- :END
- LOGOFF %1^Z *
-
- This file checks to see if you have entered a file server name
- as a parameter to the LOGOUT command. If you have entered a
- server name, you are only logged out of that file server, and
- the workstation shell is unaffected. If you have not entered
- a server name, and there is a CLEARNET.BAT file in the boot
- file directory of your workstation, control is passed to
- CLEARNET.BAT, which logs you out of all servers, removes the
- shell and all TSRs loaded after the shell and then resets the
- DOS environment. If there is no CLEARNET.BAT file, you are
- logged out in the normal manner.
-
- o Create the following batch file in the root directory of your
- boot disk and name it CLEARNET.BAT:
-
- LOGOFF
- RELNET %DRV%\SHELL.MRK^Z *
-
- This batch runs the re-named LOGOFF (formerly LOGOUT) to log
- you out of all file servers, then runs RELNET, which resets
- the DOS environment based on the information previously placed
- in the SHELL.MRK file by MARKNET.
-
- If you log out from a station that has MARKNET and RELNET set up
- properly, your shell will be unloaded and your environment reset.
- If the workstation is not setup, you will just have a normal
- logout.
-
- MAPMEM, which is part of TSR Utilities, will display memory usage
- in your PC. This can be used to make sure that the proper programs
- are removed from memory. The DOS SET command will tell you if the
- environment has been properly reset.
-
-
- * A Note on Batch File End-Of-File Markers: In these batch file
- examples the end-of-file marker (^Z) is placed at the end of the
- last line, rather than on the following line. DOS looks for
- another command to execute each time it encounters a carriage
- return in a batch file. This is what causes the double prompt
- displayed after the execution of batch files. By placing the end-
- of-file marker on the same line as the last command, the double
- prompt is eliminated, and DOS does not look to the boot drive to
- execute another command after running the NetWare login script.
-
-
- Patrick H. Corrigan
- The Corrigan Group - Information Services
- San Francisco, California
- Telephone: 415/296-9219
- Fax: 415/296-9421
- CServ: 75170,146
-
- June, 1989
-
- This file is from the companion disk to Building Local Area Networks
- With Novell's NetWare, by Patrick H. Corrigan and Aisling Guy. It was
- uploaded by Patrick Corrigan.
-