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- Installing MS-DOS 5.0:
-
- In general, the user should follow the instructions for installing MS-DOS 5.0
- that are provided in the "Getting Started" booklet included in the 5.0
- upgrade. For most PCs, this is as easy as putting the DOS Upgrade Disk #1 in
- the floppy drive and typing "a:setup" at the DOS prompt.
-
- When running SETUP on a LANtastic Network, there are three issues to be aware
- of:
-
- 1. SETUP cannot be run while the LANtastic SERVER program is running on a
- PC. If this is attempted, SETUP reports: "SETUP detected an error in
- identifying the hard disk partition you system starts up from" and indicates
- that it cannot install MS-DOS 5.0 on the hard drive. To run SETUP on a
- SERVER, bring the PC up without the SERVER program running and run SETUP as
- documented. SETUP will run correctly on a LANtastic workstation (a PC
- running the REDIR program but not running SERVER).
-
- 2. Chapter 3 of the "Getting Started" booklet is titled "Updating Networks
- for MS-DOS Version 5.0." This chapter includes documentation for upgrading
- to MS-DOS 5.0 when LANtastic versions 2.5x through 3.01 are also installed on
- the PC. These notes indicate that DOS will display two "Incorrect DOS
- version" messages when running these LANtastic versions after installing
- MS-DOS 5.0 and attempting to install the LAN software. These error messages
- are actually generated by the redir and server programs, not by DOS.
-
- However, by following the instructions in the booklet, the user can
- utilize the new DOS SETVER command to eliminate the error messages and run
- the LAN software normally. The SETVER command does not need to be used with
- LANtastic versions 3.02 or higher. For more information on the new SETVER
- command, see the 'new features of MS-DOS 5.0' section below and Chapter 15 of
- the "Microsoft MS-DOS User's Guide and Reference."
-
- 3. If DOS's EMM386.EXE Expanded Memory Manager is included in the
- CONFIG.SYS and the PC has an Artisoft 2Mbps or Enhanced 2Mbps (E2Mbps)
- adapter installed, the RAMBASE address of the card must be excluded from use
- by EMM386.EXE. This also applies to LANtastic/AI installations with adapters
- that use a RAMBASE address, such as the WD80x3 adapters and some ARCNET NICs.
- To exclude the RAMBASE, use the "X=mmmm-nnnn" switch in the DEVICE command
- for EMM386.EXE in CONFIG.SYS. See the "Notes on EMM386.EXE" section below
- and Chapter 15 of the MS-DOS User's Guide for further information on
- EMM386.EXE.
-
-
- New Features of MS-DOS 5.0
-
- This section is not intended to completely document MS-DOS 5.0's new
- features, but to provide a brief overview for experienced DOS users. MS-DOS
- version 5.0 introduces some powerful new abilities and commands as well as
- improving on many of the familiar DOS functions.
-
- On 286, 386 and 486 machines, MS-DOS can now be relocated to the high
- memory area (HMA), making more conventional memory available for applications
- to use. On 386 or higher based machines, it is also possible to load some
- device drives and memory resident software in upper memory. Utilizing the
- new LOADHIGH (or LH) command, all of the version 3.03 or higher LANtastic NOS
- TSRs can be loaded into upper memory (assuming that there is enough available
- upper memory), reducing the NOS overhead to 0K and providing more space for
- LAN applications to execute in conventional memory.
-
- The MS-DOS Shell (DOSSHELL) has been improved and now includes a task
- switcher which allows you to swap between DOS applications. Since it uses
- the same task switching conventions as when running Windows in Real mode, it
- is possible to use the DOS Shell task switcher on a LANtastic non-dedicated
- server.
-
- Microsoft has licensed several disk utilities from Central Point Software
- (PC Tools): unformat, undelete, and mirror. Mirror stores information about
- the hard drive (it is NOT disk mirroring software) and can be used to track
- file deletions for use by undelete and unformat. Mirror, undelete, and
- unformat cannot be executed on a PC that is running as a LANtastic server or
- on a redirected (network) drive, but will run on the local hard disk of a
- LANtastic workstation. Mirror can also be used to take a 'snapshot' of the
- hard disks on a server if it is included in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file at boot
- time. If the NOS is loaded in AUTOEXEC.BAT on a LANtastic server, mirror
- must be run before the SERVER command is executed and cannot be loaded in its
- TSR form.
-
- Help is available through the new "help [command]" command. Help for all
- DOS commands can also be invoked at the DOS prompt by typing the desired
- command followed by /?.
-
- MS-DOS 5.0 provides the MS-DOS Editor (edit), a new full screen, CUA
- compliant ASCII file editor.
-
- Support for disk partitions up to 2 gigabytes in size. MS-DOS 5.0 no
- longer requires SHARE to be loaded for partitions greater than 32 MB.
- However, any PC that functions as a LANtastic server must still use SHARE for
- network file and record locking support.
-
- It includes DOSKEY, a TSR program that allows the user to recall commands
- previously typed at the DOS prompt in order to re-issue and/or edit them.
- DOSKEY also has a macro feature that enables easy recall of frequently used
- command sequences.
-
- The SETVER command is provided to allow programs that expect a specific
- version of DOS to run under MS-DOS 5.0. This command can be used with the
- LANtastic version 2.5x through 3.01 SERVER and REDIR programs to permit them
- to run under MS-DOS 5.0. For this function to work correctly, CONFIG.SYS
- must contain "device = c:\dos\setver.exe"; and the commands SETVER REDIR.EXE
- 4.0 and SETVER SERVER.EXE 4.0 must be run. SETVER only needs to be run one
- time each for REDIR and SERVER, thereafter DOS will remember what version
- number to report to the programs.
-
-
- Notes on Using EMM386.EXE
-
- MS-DOS 5.0 provides enhanced support for loading DOS into high memory and for
- loading device drivers and other TSR programs into upper memory. When
- installing MS-DOS 5.0 on a 286 or higher machine which has more than 640K of
- RAM, the SETUP program automatically alters the CONFIG.SYS to include two
- statements that will load DOS into the high memory area (HMA). The two lines
- are:
- device=c:\dos\himem.sys
- dos=high
-
- This allows DOS to be loaded in HMA, but does not allow for device drivers
- and TSRs to be loaded into upper memory. MS-DOS 5.0 considers these separate
- issues, and in order to load programs into upper memory, upper memory blocks
- (UMBs) must be created by invoking EMM386.EXE. To do this, CONFIG.SYS must
- contain these statements:
-
- device=c:\dos\himem.sys
- dos=high,umb
- device=c:\dos\EMM386.EXE noems
-
- Note that EMM386 will only work on 386 or higher processors. The above
- commands will cause DOS to be loaded in HMA and tells DOS to make UMBs
- available for applications to use. The NOEMS switch tells EMM386 create and
- manage the upper memory area only and not to simulate any expanded memory.
- If expanded memory simulation is desired, the noems switch would be replaced
- by the RAM switch so that EMM386 will both manage the upper memory area and
- emulate expanded memory. Which switch is used depends on the applications
- that will be run on the PC. For example, if a user wishes to run Windows in
- 386 Enhanced mode (which requires extended memory), load device drivers and
- the LANtastic E2Mbps NOS TSRs into UMA, and load DOS into HMA, the following
- lines would be added to CONFIG.SYS:
-
- device=c:\dos\himem.sys
- dos=high,umb
- device=c:\dos\EMM386.EXE noems x=D800-DFFF
- devicehigh=c:\ansi.sys
-
- Then, in the STARTNET.BAT (or other batch file that loads LANtastic NOS), the
- LOADHIGH, or LH, command would be inserted on the command lines for the NOS
- TSRs. For example:
-
- lh lanbios2 irq=15 rambase=D800
- lh redir host logins=10
- lh share
- lh server
-
- LOADHIGH will load a TSR in UMA if there is enough memory available,
- otherwise the program is loaded in conventional memory. Unfortunately,
- LOADHIGH does not report where it loaded the program. MS-DOS' MEM command
- can be used to find out where the TSR was loaded by entering MEM /C at the
- command prompt. MEM /C will display all device drivers and TSRs that are
- loaded into conventional memory and upper memory. Note that the DEVICEHIGH
- command is used in CONFIG.SYS to load device drivers into UMA.
-
-
- Conclusion
- MS-DOS version 5.0 is compatible with the LANtastic Network Operating System
- versions 2.5x through 4.0, and provides new utilities and services that were
- previously only available through
- third-party manufacturers.
-
- Vendor Information:
- Microsoft Corporation
- One Microsoft Way
- Redmond, WA 98052-6399