INF: Creating a Bootable LM 2.1 Enhanced RAS Workstation Disk

ID Number: Q79254

2.10

MS-DOS

Summary:

LAN Manager version 2.1 with the Remote Access Service (RAS) is

primarily intended to run on machines with a hard disk drive. However,

it is possible to create a high-density, bootable LAN Manager 2.1

Enhanced RAS MS-DOS workstation floppy disk. The following steps

describe the procedures and directory structures required.

More Information:

NOTES

=====

Because RAS cannot be installed to a floppy disk, it is necessary to

first install a LAN Manager 2.1 enhanced workstation with the Remote

Access Service (RAS) to a workstation with a hard disk drive.

Additionally, RAS must be configured for the modem type found on the

machine for which this disk is being prepared.

Also, this document assumes that LAN Manager will be installed to the

C:\LANMAN.DOS directory. If this is not the case, substitute the

appropriate directory.

INSTALLATION STEPS

==================

Create a bootable high-density floppy disk (FORMAT A: /S), using

either a 3.5-inch (1.44 MB) or 5.25-inch (1.2 MB) disk. Once the disk

is formatted, copy the files listed below to the same directory on the

floppy disk. The tree structure of this disk is as follows:

A:\

COMMAND COM

CONFIG SYS

AUTOEXEC BAT

A:\LANMAN.DOS\

LANMAN INI

MODEMS INF

RASPHONE MSG

RASDIAL MSG

RASHELP MSG

COMDEV INI

PHONE INF

PROTOCOL INI

A:\LANMAN.DOS\NETPROG\

CHKNET EXE

MINSES EXE

NETBIND COM

LOAD COM

OSO001 MSG

NET MSG

NET HLP

NET EXE

NETWKSTA EXE

RASLOAD BAT

RASPHONE EXE

VCOMMIOD EXE

WANTSR EXE

A:\LANMAN.DOS\DRIVERS\PROTMAN\

PRO MSG

PROTMAN DOS

PROTMAN EXE

A:\LANMAN.DOS\DRIVERS\PROTOCOL\ASYBEUI\

ASYBEUI EXE

A:\LANMAN.DOS\DRIVERS\ASYNC\

ASYMAC DOS

A:\LANMAN.DOS\SERVICES\

MSRV EXE

ENCRYPT EXE

NETPOPUP EXE

A:\LANMAN.DOS\LOGS\

MESSAGES LOG

In all cases, the files listed are copied from the hard disk directory

to the identical directory on drive A.

There is an alternative to copying the files directly from the hard

disk to the floppy disk that involves deleting files from the hard

disk installation before copying to the floppy disk. In this

circumstance, all files in the LAN Manager tree not listed in the

above description are deleted, leaving only the structure as listed.

At that point, XCOPY the structure to a formatted system floppy disk

(note: include the subdirectory switch with XCOPY). For example:

xcopy c:\lanman.dos a:\lanman.dos /s

The disadvantage of the installation technique just described is that

it will leave the LAN Manager tree on the hard disk workstation

without all of the functionality of the original installation.

MODIFICATIONS TO SYSTEM FILES

=============================

Once the files have been copied to the appropriate directories, make

the following modification to the lanroot entry in the [workstation]

section of LANMAN.INI:

lanroot = A:\LANMAN.DOS

Modify CONFIG.SYS to update the LAN Manager driver devices to look to

drive A, as well as set the location of the shell to A:\. For example:

FILES= 30

BUFFERS=10

SHELL=A:\COMMAND.COM /P /e:256

DEVICE=A:\LANMAN.DOS\DRIVERS\PROTMAN\PROTMAN.DOS /i:A:\LANMAN.DOS

DEVICE=A:\LANMAN.DOS\DRIVERS\ASYNC\ASYMAC.DOS

It is also necessary to modify AUTOEXEC.BAT by setting the comspec,

path, and LAN Manager path extension to point to drive A. It is also

possible to autostart RASPHONE by including it at the end of the

AUTOEXEC.BAT file, after calling RASLOAD. For example:

@ECHO OFF

PROMPT $P$G

SET COMSPEC=A:\COMMAND.COM

PATH A:\;

REM ====== LANMAN 2.1 === DO NOT MODIFY BETWEEN THESE LINES ===== LANMAN 2.1

===

SET PATH=A:\LANMAN.DOS\NETPROG;%PATH%

NET START WORKSTATION

CALL RASLOAD

REM ====== LANMAN 2.1 === DO NOT MODIFY BETWEEN THESE LINES ===== LANMAN 2.1

===

Note: The above are minimal configurations. Options can be added at

any time, and are limited only by available disk space.

OPTIONS

=======

If the modem is sufficiently fast, it is possible to locate the

majority of the MS-DOS and network executables on the network, and

allow them to be accessed across the modem connection. Please note

that even with the fastest of modems, workstation performance will be

seriously degraded. The steps necessary for creating this situation

include the following:

- Create a share on the server that contains MS-DOS and a full LAN

Manager 2.1 Enhanced MS-DOS RAS workstation.

- Create a batch file, called LOGON.BAT, to logon to the server. The

usage is identical to the NET LOGON command currently used. The

batch file (LOGON.BAT) will resemble the following:

@ECHO OFF

REM Logon to server and transfer control to the LM share

net logon %1 %2 /y

net use A: \\<servername>\<share>

REM This connects us to the LM share

- The structure of the directories on this share should be identical

to that listed above.

- Access to the boot floppy will be disallowed. However, on a machine

with only one floppy disk drive, the boot floppy disk can still be

accessed via the MS-DOS drive mapping capabilities. Therefore, the

disk drive can be referenced by accessing B:. MS-DOS will map this

to the one physical floppy disk, allowing access.

- Similarly, a batch file for logging off must be constructed. It

should resemble the following:

@ECHO OFF

REM Logoff from server

B:

NET LOGOFF /Y

A:

Using this method may result in some harmless error messages of

missing batch files and possibly a missing NET.MSG at logoff time.

This is to be expected and the messages can be ignored.

Given this configuration, it is possible to create a bootable LAN

Manager 2.1 Enhanced MS-DOS RAS floppy disk. The important points to

note are that it is required to first install the configuration to a

workstation with a hard disk. The installation must be made for the

hardware that is to be booted from the floppy disk, regardless of what

is on the hard disked workstation. There should be sufficient room on

the floppy disk for the most commonly used MS-DOS utilities.