Q98551: Setting Up WFWG on a Workstation Without a Hard Disk
Article: Q98551
Product(s): Microsoft Windows 3.x Retail Product
Version(s): WINDOWS:
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 17-SEP-1999
3.10
WINDOWS
kbnetwork kbsetup kbhw kbfasttip
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups
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The following article contains information on the use of Windows for
Workgroups with third-party products or configurations that have not
been tested and are not supported by Microsoft.
If the steps or procedures described in this article do not function
properly, contact the manufacturer of the third-party product for more
information or use a supported configuration.
SUMMARY
=======
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 is fully supported running on a
computer with one 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch high-density disk drive and a hard disk
with 9.5 megabytes (MB) available memory (14.5 MB is recommended).
This article contains information on installing Windows for Workgroups 3.1 for
use on workstations without hard disks. Microsoft does not support running
Windows for Workgroups with any type of "diskless" workstation.
Windows for Workgroups was not designed to be installed on workstations without
hard disks (that is, computers without hard disks that are connected to a
network). However, there is a workaround that may allow Windows for Workgroups
to be set up on such workstations.
NOTE: A true diskless workstation (one with no floppy disk drive or hard disk
drive) using a network adapter with a boot ROM does not work with Windows for
Workgroups. This is because the boot ROM establishes a network connection and
does not allow the Windows for Workgroups network drivers to coexist with the
boot ROM.
MORE INFORMATION
================
To set up Windows for Workgroups on workstations without hard disk drives that
are connected to a network, use the procedures below.
Setting Up and Sharing Windows for Workgroups on the Server
-----------------------------------------------------------
Select a computer with an 80386 or higher processor and at least 4 MB of RAM to
be the file server that shares the Windows for Workgroups program files. This
computer must run Windows for Workgroups whenever any other workstation is also
running Windows for Workgroups from the shared directory. This computer also
requires at least 22 MB free hard disk space, plus at least an additional 1 MB
of free disk space per user. To set up the server, do the following:
1. Install Windows for Workgroups using the SETUP /A command. When prompted for
the network directory, use the name WFWSHARE. This expands and copies the
Windows for Workgroups files to this directory. It does not set up Windows
for Workgroup itself; setup will be accomplished in the next step.
NOTE: Users upgrading from Windows 3.1 created with SETUP /A should remove the
Windows 3.1 shared directory before continuing. For more information on
upgrading a shared networked Windows directory, query on the following words
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
setup /n and attrib and sdl
2. Run SETUP /N from the WFWSHARE directory. Enter your computer name, workgroup
name, and confirm your network adapter. After this installation is complete,
you can restart your computer and run Windows for Workgroups by typing WIN.
Any errors from the CONFIG.SYS file, AUTOEXEC.BAT, or Windows for Workgroups
should be resolved before proceeding.
NOTE: Windows 3.1 directories created with SETUP /N can only be upgraded to
Windows for Workgroups with SETUP /N. Windows 3.1 installations created with
SETUP must be upgraded by SETUP.
3. Open File Manager and select the WFWSHARE directory from the directory tree.
Share the directory by choosing Share As from the Disk menu or choosing the
Share Directory button.
4. Create a user directory for Windows for Workgroups workstations without hard
disks. This directory may be named C:\WFWUSERS. Share the WFWUSERS directory
(as in step 3), but grant the users full access by selecting the Full Access
option button. This directory will be used to keep Windows for Workgroups
user directories for each workstation. For example:
C:\WFWUSERS\STEVE
C:\WFWUSERS\TERRI
C:\WFWUSERS\JOHN
Making a Workstation Boot Disk
------------------------------
A workstation boot disk contains the MS-DOS operating system and files necessary
to establish a network connection to the file server created in the steps above.
Once Windows for Workgroups is set up for each workstation, this boot disk will
no longer be needed. To create this disk, do the following:
1. Format a high-density 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch MS-DOS bootable system disk. The
disk size depends on the bootable floppy drive of your workstation. To format
and transfer the operating system to a floppy disk, open File Manager, and
choose Make System Disk from the Disk menu; or, type format "a: /s" (without
the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt.
2. Quit Windows for Workgroups on the file server. Using the disk created in the
previous step, reboot the file server and change to the drive and directory
where the WFWSHARE files are located.
3. Run SETUP /I /N from the WFWSHARE directory. Choose Custom Setup and change
the directory to C:\WFWTEMP. Select your temporary computer name, workgroup
name, workstation network adapter, and its settings.
NOTE: This temporary directory is needed only to create the workstation boot
disk and can be removed after the files have been copied and the
configuration files (AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS) have been updated.
During the setup process, the following error message appears:
Setup cannot find or cannot update your system files on drive A:. If you
started your system from a floppy disk, be sure to remove write-protection
from your system startup (boot) disk. Then insert the disk into drive A and
choose Retry.
To copy system files to your Windows directory choose Cancel.
This is normal. Choose the Retry button.
4. After Setup is complete, copy the SYSTEM.INI file from the WFWTEMP directory
to the network boot disk. Edit this SYSTEM.INI file and add the following
line to the [network] section:
[network]
AutoStart=full
The boot disk should now contain the following files:
Filename Size Date Time Function
-------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMAND COM 47845 04-09-91 5:00a MS-DOS Command Interpreter
NET MSG 70629 10-01-92 3:11a Message help file for NET.EXE
CONFIG OLD 22 02-18-93 12:24p Old CONFIG.SYS before setup
AUTOEXEC OLD 24 02-18-93 12:29p Old AUTOEXEC.BAT before setup
EMM386 EXE 110174 10-01-92 3:11a 386 expanded memory manager
HIMEM SYS 13824 10-01-92 3:11a Manages extended memory
RAMDRIVE SYS 5873 10-01-92 3:11a RAM disk device driver
SMARTDRV EXE 43609 10-01-92 3:11a Disk cache
PROTOCOL INI 636 02-18-93 2:34p Protocol initialization file
NETH MSG 104570 10-01-92 3:11a Message help file for NET.EXE
WORKGRP SYS 7268 10-01-92 3:11a WFWG real mode device driver
NET EXE 415252 10-01-92 3:11a WFWG redirector
PROTMAN DOS 21680 10-01-92 3:11a Protocol manager
PROTMAN EXE 13760 10-01-92 3:11a Protocol manager accessory
NDISDRVR DOS 24666 10-01-92 3:11a NDIS network adapter driver
(name depends on adapter)
PROTOCOL 000 0 02-18-93 2:34p Old PROTOCOL.INI
CONFIG SYS 204 02-18-93 2:38p New CONFIG.SYS
AUTOEXEC BAT 117 02-18-93 2:38p New AUTOEXEC.BAT
SYSTEM INI 3800 02-18-93 2:37p Copied from WFWTEMP directory
19 file(s) 883953 bytes 114343
251689 bytes free
The following lines should have been added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
files:
AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS
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A:\SMARTDRV.EXE DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS
A:\net start device=A:\protman.DOS /i:A:\
PATH=C:\WFWTEMP;c:\wfwshare device=A:\workgrp.sys
SET TEMP=C:\WFWTEMP\TEMP device=A:\NDISDRVR.DOS
STACKS=9,256
LASTDRIVE=Z
5. With all disks removed, reboot the file server and start Windows for
Workgroups by typing WIN at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER.
The workstation boot disk can now be used to start up workstations on the network
and set up Windows for Workgroups as instructed in the section below. If any
errors from the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT are reported, they should be resolved
before proceeding.
NOTE: If there are different types of network adapters on the workstations, the
steps 1-5 above may need to be repeated for each type of network adapter so that
individual workstations with different types of network adapters can access the
network.
Setting Up Windows for Workgroups on the Workstation(s)
-------------------------------------------------------
This process requires that you boot the workstation with the network boot disk
created in the section above, then replace the disk with a blank formatted
system disk before running Windows for Workgroups Setup. For more information on
formatting system disks, see step 1 under "Making a Workstation Boot Disk."
1. Start each workstation with a network boot disk. Confirm logon name and enter
a password. Verify the creation of password cache list file, which has the
extension .PWL.
2. Connect to the WFWSHARE and WFWUSERS directories on the file server by typing
the following commands at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER after
each
net use d: \\<servername>\wfwshare
net use c: \\<servername>\wfwusers
where <servername> is the name of the computer assigned in step 2 under
the "Setting Up and Sharing Windows for Workgroups on the Server" section. If
the connection was made successfully the message "Command Completed
Successfully" will appear for each command issued.
3. Replace the network boot disk with a formatted system disk in the floppy disk
drive. This system disk will be used as a permanent network boot disk for
this workstation.
4. Change to network drive D and run the SETUP /N command. Choose Custom Setup
and change the directory to C:\<NAME> (where <NAME> is the
workstation name). Select your computer name and workgroup name, then confirm
your network adapter.
5. After this installation is complete, return to the MS-DOS command prompt and
copy the SYSTEM.INI file from C:\<NAME> to your permanent network boot
disk. Edit this SYSTEM.INI file and add the following line to the [network]
section:
[network]
AutoStart=Full
NOTE: The value "Full" can be changed to "Basic" to save approximately 30
kilobytes (K) of the amount of memory used by the network redirector.
6. Reboot the workstation with your permanent network boot disk and log in and
verify the creation of password cache list file, which has the extension
.PWL. Connect to the WFWSHARE and WFWUSERS directories on the file server
with the following commands, pressing ENTER after each line:
net use d: \\<servername>\wfwshare
net use c: \\<servername>\wfwusers
where <servername> is the name of the computer assigned in step 2 under
the "Setting Up and Sharing Windows for Workgroups on the Server" section. If
the connection was made successfully, the message "Command Completed
Successfully" appears for each command issued.
You should now be able to run Windows for Workgroups on this workstation. Repeat
the above steps 1-6 for each workstation without a hard disk on the network.
NOTE: If there are different types of network adapters on the workstations, steps
1-5 under the "Making a Workstation Boot Disk" section may need to be repeated
for each type of network adapter so that individual workstations with different
types of network adapters can access the network.
Notes on Using Workstations Without Hard Disks
----------------------------------------------
- A workstation without a hard disk must meet the same system requirements for
running Windows for Workgroups 3.1 as a workstation with a hard disk. Note
that the RAM requirement may be greater if you are using a RAM drive.
- Since a SYSTEM.INI file resides on both the network boot disk and the user's
directory; changes made in the Networks dialog box in Control Panel do not
update the SYSTEM.INI file on the boot disk. If you make changes in the
Networks dialog box in Control Panel, you must recopy the SYSTEM.INI to the
boot floppy disk before changes can take effect.
- To share local workstations resources (such as floppy disk drives, printers,
and CD-ROM drives), you must create a RAM drive and change your SET TEMP
environment variable to its location. The RAM drive must be of considerable
size (2048K or larger) if you are planning to share a local printer because
Print Manager queues jobs into the RAM drive. To set up a 2-MB RAM drive, add
the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file:
device=a:\ramdrive.sys 2048 /e
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Keywords :
Technology : kbAudDeveloper kbWFWSearch
Version : WINDOWS:
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