How to Configure DOS for Remoteboot In Windows NT 4.0

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SUMMARY

This article covers the steps required to install and configure Microsoft DOS on a Windows NT 4.0 Remoteboot server. This article assumes you are using MS-DOS version 6.22 in all examples.

MORE INFORMATION

Installing DOS

1. Verify that the Winnt\Rpl\Rplfiles directory is being shared on the remoteboot server with a share name of Rplfiles. If your system does not have this share, then you either have not installed remoteboot properly or have stopped sharing this directory. To resolve this problem, stop and restart the Remoteboot Server service. After the service has restarted, the Rplfiles share should be recreated. If the share fails to create, your remoteboot service is not operating properly, and you must remove and reinstall the Remoteboot service.

2. From an MS-DOS client (running the version of MS-DOS you want to support on the Remoteboot server), log on to the network as Administrator and connect to the Remoteboot server's Rplfiles share by typing:

         net use M: \\NTSERVER\RPLFILES
   

         where NTSERVER is the name of the Remoteboot server.
   

3. Copy all the MS-DOS files to the M:\Binfiles\Dosxxx directory by typing the following commands. You will need to replace the xxx with the appropriate DOS version (eg. DOS622 for DOS version 6.22).

         COPY C:\DOS\*.* M:\BINFILES\DOS622
         ATTRIB -S -H C:\IO.SYS
         COPY C:\IO.SYS M:\BINFILES\DOS622
         ATTRIB +S +H C:\IO.SYS
         ATTRIB -S - H C:\MSDOS.SYS
         COPY C:\MSDOS.SYS M:\BINFILES\DOS622
         ATTRIB +S +H C:\MSDOS.SYS
   

   The files Msdos.sys and Io.sys must have the hidden and system attributes removed prior to copying them to the server. Once the copy has been completed, remember to reset the hidden and system attributes on the client computer (not on the Remoteboot server) for the DOS system to boot properly.

   NOTE: The hidden and system attributes should not be set on the Remoteboot server. If these attributes are set, then the DOS Remoteboot client will not boot properly and will display an error:

         Non-System Disk error or disk error
   

4. If you copied DOS files other than MS-DOS, you must rename the input/output system file to Io.sys and the Disk Operating System to Msdos.sys. The following example is based on IBM's PC-DOS.

         Rename Ibmdos.com Msdos.sys
         Rename Ibmbio.com Io.sys
   

Activating the DOS Version

1. From the Windows NT remoteboot server, start the Remoteboot Manager.

2. Select Configure from the menu bar, and then click Check Configurations. This will check the remoteboot system for all available operating systems and make them available for the clients.

Creating a Remoteboot DOS Client Profile

1. From the Windows NT Remoteboot server, start Remoteboot Manager.

2. Select Remoteboot from the menu bar, and then click New Profile.

3. When the New Profile dialog box appears:

         Type a Profile Name: MSDOS622
   

         Select the Configuration: DOS 6.22 3Com Etherlink II
   

         For the Description: Type any descriptive comments
   

   NOTE: Any comments typed prior to selecting a configuration or changing a configuration will be over-written with default comments.

4. Click OK to save the new profile.

Assigning a Profile to a Remoteboot Client

1. Connect the Remoteboot client to the network, and power the system on. The client should start searching for the Remoteboot server. The retries counter should increase at a steady pace.

   NOTE: If your remoteboot client has a hard disk drive and the network interface card's Remoteboot PROM does not take control of the boot process, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

         ARTICLE-ID: Q158453
         TITLE     : How to Enable Remoteboot on a Client's Hard Disk
   
   

2. From the Windows NT Remoteboot server, start Remoteboot manager.

3. Select the workstation name corresponding to the client's media access control address. The client will have registered its address automatically with the server.

1. Select Remoteboot from the menu bar, and then click Convert Adapters.

2. When the convert Adapters dialog box appears:

         Type a workstation name for the client.
   

         Type a detail description for the client computer.
   

         Type a password if desired. A blank or Null password allows
         the Remoteboot client to connect to the RPL server without any
         operator intervention after the power is turned on.
   

         Select the Configuration type:
   

            Shared: the client can share its profile with other clients
            Personal: the must have it own unique profile
   
         Select the desired Workstation Profile
   
         Select TCP/IP DHCP / TCP/IP SETTINGS. If you select TCP/IP settings,
         consult your network administrator for proper configuration.
   
         NOTE: If you are not using TCP/IP, then select the TCP/IP DHCP
         option.
   
   

3. Click ADD. The Remoteboot system will then create a user account for the computer, and the Remoteboot client will continue the startup process using the assigned profile.

For more information on Remoteboot, see the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit. Specifically, refer to the Server Networking Guide Help File.