Setting Up WFWG on a Workstation Without a Hard Disk
ID: Q98551
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3.10
WINDOWS
kbnetwork kbsetup kbhw kbfasttip
The information in this article applies to:
-
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups
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 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
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