From: jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Subject: Re: Windows Configuration Blues : (
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 15:05:51 GMT

macdonak@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Kevin MacDonald) writes:

>I'm using windows 3.1 which has been preinstalled on almost
>all of the machines I administer at work and I'm having the following problem:

>When you execute Command.Com - either via the MS-DOS icon, or by running
>a DOS app, NONE of the system information gets passed along to the shell.

>The dos prompt looks like C>
>None of the path information in intact
>None of the SET parms are intact either

>My hunch is that Windows is configured improperly in some way
>Can anyone shed some light on this?  Reinstalling Windows IS
>an option - but I'd like to know if there's an easier way...

Two bits says you've got a network connection to the machine and Windows
doesn't know about it.

For reasons which aren't at all clear, the DOS interface in windows gets
screwy if you don't tell Windows that there is a network interface in 
the system.  Your symoptoms exactly match what I've seen this cause.

The following is an internal bulletin I wrote on the subject; it's 
aimed at users of our standard configuration but it explains how to 
fix the problem.  (Our corporate system (PRISM) supports NetWare and
the note is directed at NetWare users; I don't know if it properly
applies to other network designs.)

Joe Morris / MITRE

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Q&A # 3.0 7/9/92

Question:

I'm running under Windows 3.1.  The Windows applications seem to be
running reasonably well, but strange things happen when I attempt to
execute a DOS application (like the "PING" command which is part of
the PathWay Ethernet interface).  I also get odd error messages
while running a DOS window.


Answer:

      Note: this Q&A applies to systems which use the Novell NetWare system
      to provide access to file servers and remote printers.  Novell is the
      only such system which is supported by PRISM; if your department uses
      some other network system please check with your local network
      specialist to see if the procedures in this note apply to you.

There is an undocumented and unexplained problem in Windows (both versions
3.0 and 3.1) if you have not correctly told Windows that you are using
a Novell NetWare interface to the Corporate Ethernet system.  The
symptoms can range from the catastrophic (locked system or possible file
damage) to the bizarre (inappropriate error messages).

If your DOS system was not talking to the Novell network when you loaded
Windows, the Windows configuration will assume that no network exists and
will set up its interfaces accordingly.

Assuming that you are connected to the Corporate Ethernet and have the
NetWare interface installed (these are components of the PRISM PC Standard
Configuration) you can easily check your system to see if it is properly
configured for NetWare by issuing the command:

   c:\netware\netx /?

This will tell the NetWare shell NETX.COM to report its release number.  The
first line of the output will look like this:

   NetWare V3.26 - Workstation Shell (920211)

The release number reported by the above line is 3.26; the numbers at the
end of the line are the release date.

(If you are using the PC Standard Configuration version 5 or below, you
may be using NET5 or XMSNET5 under DOS version 5.  If so, just substitute
the appropriate program name where the instructions call for NETX.  For
most users, if NETX exists on the PC the current version of the NetWare
initialization batch files will use it.)

Start Windows version 3.1.  From the Program Manager screen, click the
MAIN program group, then click the Windows Setup icon.  The Setup program
will display a dialog box showing the current configuration for the PC's
display, keyboard, mouse, and network.

The text in the "network" display window may be truncated on the right, but
it most likely will contain one of the following lines:

       No Network Installed
       Novell NetWare (shell versions below 3.01)
       Novell NetWare (shell versions below 3.21)
       Novell NetWare (shell versions 3.21 and above)
       Novell NetWare (shell versions 3.26 and above)

Use the version number reported by the NETX program to select the appropriate
option from this list.  If this is the line which is displayed by the SETUP
dialog box, you are correctly configured.  If the SETUP dialog shows some
other text, you need to update your configuration:

 1. Close any open applications.  At the end of this procedure you will
    have to restart Windows.

 2. From the Windows Setup dialog box, select the OPTIONS menu, then
    click on CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS.  A new dialog box will appear
    showing the current configuration settings.

 3. Click on the arrow at the right side of the NETWORK window.  The
    system will display a scroll box with various network options.

 4. Select the correct option by clicking on it, then clicking on the
    OK button.

 5. You may be instructed to insert one or more of the Windows installation
    diskettes into your PC disk drive.

 6. You may be told that the change to the NetWare interface requires a
    special driver, but that your system already contains a copy of that
    driver and the Setup program needs to know if you want to load a new
    copy from the disk.  Click the button to tell Setup to load a new copy
    from the disk.

 7. When the reconfiguration is complete, a dialog box will appear to tell
    you that you need to restart Windows.


Joe Morris

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