To support Windows 95 remoteboot clients, you must install Server-Based Setup (SBS) on a server, install the first Windows 95 client, and then install subsequent clients.
For greater technical detail about SBS servers, see the Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit. When you set up an SBS server, you can use the server for remoteboot and for other purposes described in the Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit.
You will need a Windows 95 installation compact disc (not floppies) and a Windows 95 client computer.
To install an SBS server
1. On the server that will contain SBS files, create a shared directory with 90 MB of space available. The shared directory can have any name.
As you share the directory, assign read-only permission for regular users and full access for administrators. For example, use Server Manager to focus on the shared directory and set read-only permission for the Users group and full permission for the Administrators group. In File Manager, click Share As on the Disk menu, not Permissions on the Security menu.
2. Install one regular Windows 95 client on the network or use an existing one.
You will use this client to configure the SBS server.
3. Log on to the Windows 95 client using an account that has write access to the shared directory on the SBS server.
4. Put the Windows 95 compact disc in the client's CD-ROM drive. In Windows Explorer, switch to the Admin\Nettools\Netsetup directory.
5. Double-click Netsetup.exe.
Note that you must run Netsetup.exe at a Windows 95 client. It will encounter errors on a computer running Windows NT.
6. In the Server-Based Setup dialog box, click Set Path, and specify the path to the SBS server; then click OK.
You can type a drive letter for a mapped drive, a network name for a server (for example, \\server1\sharedir), or a network path to a specific directory (for example, \\server1\sharedir\rpl\win95).
The button name becomes Change Path if a server was defined previously.
7. Click Install.
Server-Based Setup presents a series of dialog boxes so that you can complete these actions:
This is the path to the compact disc on the client.
Setup scripts for Windows NT remoteboot installation require special settings.
Server-Based Setup copies Windows 95 files to the SBS shared directory.
8. At the remoteboot server, put the compact disc or floppy disk containing the Windows NT remoteboot for Windows 95 files into a drive. Change to the drive and then change to the Update\Win95 directory. Run win95srv.bat to update the Windows 95 files for remotebooting. For example:
where <dest> is the shared directory on the SBS server.
9. If you are updating from version 3.51 or earlier of the Remoteboot service, start the Remoteboot service at the remoteboot server if it is not already started. Then, run the rbootsrv.bat program to update the remoteboot files and database for Windows 95 remotebooting. At the server's command prompt, type:
where:
10. At the remoteboot server, start Remoteboot Manager.
11. On the Configure menu, click Check Configurations to activate the new configurations.
Installing the first Windows 95 client requires booting that client first to MS-DOS 6.2x, running Windows 95 Setup on the client, and then copying selected files from the client's machine directory to the remoteboot server. Once you have installed this first client, you can easily install subsequent clients by using SBS to make a modified copy of the original machine directory without having to run Windows 95 Setup again.
Each remoteboot client has a "machine directory," a directory on a server that contains client-specific configuration information and data. For example, the machine directory contains the following:
Machine directories can reside on the remoteboot server, on the SBS server, or on any designated server on the network. You may want to spread the load of machine directories across servers. The only qualifications for a machine directory server are sufficient disk space and running the NetBEUI protocol. To create a location for machine directories, simply make a shared directory on a server and share it with a name that does not contain spaces. For example, on a computer running Windows NT Server that will contain machine directories, type:
Note
The machine directories may not be subdirectories of the SBS directory.
Assign permissions to a machine directory so that only the users or administrators who will use the client have read and write permissions in the directory. If the machine directory is on an NTFS partition, assign permissions directly to the machine directories. If the machine directory is on a FAT partition, assign permissions to the shared directory containing the machine directories.
To install the first Windows 95 client
1. Boot the new client to MS-DOS 6.2x, using procedures in "Adding a New Client" earlier in this chapter.
You will need to run Windows 95 Setup while the client is booted from the Remoteboot service rather than when the client is booted from a floppy disk or hard drive.
2. Use the net logon command to log on using an account that has read access to the SBS server and write access to the shared directory that will contain this client's machine directory.
A good example is the account of someone who will use this client because they will need this access anyway.
3. Synchronize the time and date settings of the client, the SBS server, and the remoteboot server. Differing settings can interfere with Windows 95 Setup.
4. Use the net use command to map drive letters to the SBS server and machine directory location, and then determine the highest drive letter in use on the computer.
C: is a virtual hard drive mapped to parts of the remoteboot server. Each local hard drive partition (if any) takes another drive letter after C: (for example, D: and E: for two partitions). One more drive letter is reserved for use as a RAM drive during the Windows 95 boot process. Drive letters after that are available for use.
For example, if you have a local hard drive with one partition, C: will be mapped to the remoteboot server, D: will be the local hard drive, E: is reserved for use as a RAM drive, and F: and higher are available for use. You would type:
5. Change to the drive letter mapped to the SBS directory.
6. Run the Windows 95 Setup program by typing:
where /t: is required and temppath is a path to a directory in which to store temporary files during installation. For example, if G: is mapped to the shared directory containing the client's machine directory, you could type:
to store temporary files on that server.
Do not delete the t:\temppath directory until you have completed Step 12. Also, if you are installing two Window 95 clients simultaneously (for example, to support clients with different network adapters), choose separate temporary directories for each client.
Make the following decisions during setup:
Exclude as many hardware types and items from autodetection as possible. If autodetection crashes, run Setup again and exclude more items from autodetection. One problem could be that your network adapter is on IRQ2 or IRQ3; this conflicts with serial port detection with some network adapters.
If there are no network adapters shown, you must add and configure your network adapter.
If you add your network adapter, you must confirm the resource settings for the adapter. Select the adapter name in the Network Configuration dialog box, click Properties, and then click the Resources tab. Check that the settings displayed are correct (for example, the interrupt level). Then, click OK to force the Setup program to accept the settings; do not click Cancel.
For details about protocols on Windows 95 remoteboot clients, see "Supporting Multiple Network Adapters and Protocols" later in this chapter.
When the Windows 95 Setup program is done, reboot the client. The client will not yet boot to Windows 95; however, you must complete more steps first.
7. At the remoteboot server (or a client running Remoteboot Manager focused on the remoteboot server), start Remoteboot Manager.
8. Create a profile for the Windows 95 client. In Configuration, click the Windows 95 configuration corresponding to the client's network adapter type.
If you are not sure which configuration to choose, check the profile that is currently associated with this client for booting MS-DOS and use the equivalent Windows 95 profile.
9. Edit the client's workstation record to assign the client to the Windows 95 profile.
10. At the remoteboot server (or a client with write access to the remoteboot server's Rpl directory), run the Rpl\Bin\Win95clt.bat program by typing:
where:
For example, you could type:
The Win95clt program copies client-specific Windows 95 real-mode (also identified as MS-DOS 7.0) boot files from the client's machine directory to the Rpl\Rplfiles\Profiles\<profile_name> directory on the remoteboot server.
11. At the SBS server (or a client with write access to the SBS directory), edit the Machines.ini file in the SBS directory and add the following lines for the new client:
where:
For example, you might add the following lines to Machines.ini:
Reboot the Windows 95 client.
The client will now boot to Windows 95 and complete the Windows 95 Setup program.
Once you have installed a single client, subsequent clients of the same type will be much easier to install. These subsequent clients do not have to be exactly the same as the first, but they must use the same type of network adapter and the same adapter settings (IRQ, I/O address, etc.).
If you need to install a Windows 95 client that does have different configuration settings, you must treat the installation as a fresh installation; see "Installing the First Windows 95 Client" earlier in this section.
To install subsequent Windows 95 clients
1. Boot the new client to MS-DOS 6.2x, using procedures in "Adding a New Client" earlier in this chapter.
2. Log on to a regular Windows 95 client (for example, the one you used to run netsetup when you established the SBS server).
Use an account that has write access to the shared directory on the SBS server and to the shared directory containing machine directories.
3. Put the Windows 95 compact disc in the client's CD-ROM drive. In Windows Explorer, switch to the Admin\Nettools\Netsetup directory.
4. Double-click Netsetup.exe.
5. In the Server-Based Setup dialog box, click Set Path, and specify the path to the SBS server; then click OK.
You can type a drive letter for a mapped drive, a network name for a server (for example, \\server1\sharedir), or a network path to a specific directory (for example, \\server1\sharedir\rpl\win95).
The button name becomes Change Path if a server was defined previously.
6. Click Add.
7. In the Set Up Machine dialog box, click Set Up One Machine and then type the following information:
For example, you might type the following values:
8. Click OK.
You may see an error message about creating the machine directory. Check that the directory was created and that it contains several files; if so, then disregard the error message.
9. At the remoteboot server (or a client running Remoteboot Manager focused on the remoteboot server), start Remoteboot Manager.
10. Edit the client's workstation record to assign the client to the same Windows 95 profile as the first client.
11. Edit the Machines.ini file in the SBS directory. Add the following lines for the new client:
where:
For example, you might add the following lines to Machines.ini:
12. Reboot the Windows 95 client.
The client will now boot to Windows 95 and complete the Windows 95 Setup program.
When you boot the client, a remoteboot logon prompt appears:
This asks for the account name and password associated with the client computer itself, not for your own user account name and password.
Windows 95 then prompts you twice for your username and password: once from a command prompt and again in a dialog box. At both of these prompts, enter your user account name and password.
Once Windows 95 has started, the C: drive is unassigned; it was assigned during the remoteboot process and is no longer needed. Each local hard drive partition takes another drive letter after C: (for example, D: and E: for two partitions). One more drive letter was used as a RAM drive during the Windows 95 boot process; you can now use it as a RAM drive for your own purposes. Two more drive letters, usually the next two drive letters in sequence, are mapped to the SBS server and to the shared directory containing the client's machine directory. When setting up the client, you choose exactly which two drive letters to map and they will always be the same for this client. Do not unmap or remap these drives elsewhere.
For example, if you have a local hard drive with one partition, C: is unmapped, D: is the local hard drive, E: is a RAM drive, F: is mapped to the SBS server, and G: is mapped to the shared directory containing the client's machine directory.