Setting Up WFWG on a Workstation Without a Hard Disk

Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
Article ID: Q98551

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1

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:

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
```
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.
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.
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:

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.
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.
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.

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
   --------------------------------------------------------------

   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

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."

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
```

KBCategory: kbnetwork kbsetup kbhw kbfasttip
KBSubcategory: wfw wfwg
Additional reference words: 3.10 disk less hard-diskless hand offering
folder

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Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
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