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Q76819: Installing MS-DOS 5 Upgrade on NetWare Diskless Workstation

Article: Q76819
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:5.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 26-NOV-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system version 5.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Because Microsoft MS-DOS 5 Upgrade requires that a previous version of DOS is
bootable from a disk before it can be upgraded, it is not readily apparent how
to upgrade a diskless workstation running Novell NetWare. The following
information explains how to upgrade the version of DOS running on this type of
LAN workstation.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Following the standards set by BIOS routines written for IBM and compatible PCs,
the ROM loader will typically first check drive A for a bootable copy of DOS,
and if one is not available, it will search drive C. With NetWare, it is
possible to boot a workstation using the combination of a Programmable Read Only
Memory (PROM) chip and a specialized file stored on the server called
NET$DOS.SYS. PROMs are often located on the network adapter, and in such cases
are specific to both the adapter and the LAN operating system. The NET$DOS.SYS
file is often referred to as the "boot image."

NET$DOS.SYS contains a complete image of a bootable disk that can be used to
start MS-DOS on the workstation. The image includes all three necessary boot
files (IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM) as well as any additional utilities
and drivers needed to optimize the workstation such as CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT,
*.SYS files, and so on. To log in to NetWare sequentially, the appropriate shell
utilities are also included, such as IPX.COM and NET5.COM.

To create NET$DOS.SYS on the server, first create a bootable MS-DOS 5.0 floppy
disk that would be appropriate if the workstation used a floppy drive. Next, run
the NetWare utility DOSGEN, which uses the entire physical floppy disk just
created to build NET$DOS.SYS. The file should be placed in a globally accessible
server directory, such as \LOGIN, and flagged as read-only.

In the case where unique boot image files are required for specific workstation
configurations, DOSGEN is still used, but in a slightly different way. In this
case, DOSGEN creates two files: a customized boot image file (which has no
specific name requirement) and a text file called BOOTCONF.SYS, which contains
information that links specific adapter addresses to the customized boot image
file.

For a workstation where it would not be appropriate to use NET$DOS.SYS because of
configuration differences such as video adapter or adapter IRQ settings, it will
use a boot image file specifically made to match the specific address of the
workstation's network adapter. Should a specific workstation adapter address be
unknown, NetWare provides the utility TRACKON, which is run from the server
console, to identify workstation adapter addresses.

Additional information on Novell NetWare programs and utilities mentioned herein
can be found in the NetWare reference and user guides.


Additional query words: 5.00 noupd

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS500
Version           : MS-DOS:5.0

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