Subject:  DOS Limitation      
Date:  1-1-89 
   
Several people have asked about a DOS pipe error that reads:   
"intermediate file error during pipe".  In addition to the items   
mentioned in the DOS manual, on the network, this is an issue of   
rights.      
     
The DOS pipe, |, is used with commands such as DIR to allow the  
output of one program to be used as the standard input for another 
program.  For example, if you want to sort a directory you can   
type DIR | sort.  The output of DIR is used as input to the DOS   
SORT program, the current directory is sorted according to the   
first character in the filename.  For a discussion of DOS pipes and 
filters see p.6-6 of the DOS Reference manual.      
      
In the original DOS design, the piping feature creates a temporary  
file in the root directory of the default drive. When the user is   
operating under DOS this works fine.  On the network, all users   
will not have rights in the root directory so the creators of   
NetWare made some adjustments, through the shell, to the behavior 
of utilities such as pipe.  The shell looks for the "\" that takes   
DOS to the root and takes it out therefore writing to the     
current directory.      
      
All of this works fine until a second command processor is loaded.  
The child process is different from the parent and we do not   
modify its behavior the way we modify the parent.      
     
So how does all this make any difference to us?      
      
If a user is running our menu utility and tries to run a pipe, he will
receive an "intermediate file error during pipe".  At the present   
time, there is no way to work around this.      
     
Obviously any other program that loads a secondary command   
processor, will behave in a similar fashion.      
     
If you would like to duplicate the problem, type "command" at the  
DOS prompt and then type "DIR | more".  You will receive the   
error.  To return to your original command processor type "exit".   

Hope this helps with the pipe errors.      
Subject:  Diskerror 88      
Date:  1-1-89 
      
Just to update you on what's been happening with the WordPerfect  
diskerror 88 problem.  We are continuing to look into the error.    
Preliminary investigation into the error indicates that diskerror 88  
is returned when the shell thinks that there is some type of a   
hardware problem.  Specifically, the errors being returned are a bad 
slot error, no slot available, bad network number, or a bad local   
address.     
   
The DE88 properly occurs when there has been a hardware error of 
some kind.  In a large number of the cases that we have seen, the  
solution has been finding an obscure hardware problem e.g.:  No   
terminators on a passive hub on an ARCNET system, a bad section  
of cable, a faulty network card etc.  Programmatically what is   
happening is that the shell loses (or thinks it loses) its connection, 
so we put an 88 in a register which is a DOS code which says   
there is a hardware problem.  We put a couple of other numbers in 
registers for programs to check so that they know what action to   
take.   WP looks at these numbers, takes the critical error handler 
and returns this message.  If the file server goes down, the   
workstation will get this error, and it seems that the file can be   
saved.  It is perfectly logical that one would get this error if the   
file server has gone down.  Where we are running into confusion is 
when the file server has not gone down.  Some of these cases have 
been faulty hardware, so rule #1:  MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT 
THERE ARE NO HARDWARE PROBLEMS.  Even if you think that   
everything is perfect, check your cabling, distances, cards etc.      
     
Another confusing thing is that other applications run fine on the  
faulty hardware.  We had a case of a DE88 here in one department 
and when it was investigated, a cable was causing a transceiver to  
short out.  Although there is some indication that there is a   
software problem, the error indicates hardware so CHECK IT OUT.  

Other things that we have found out:      
     
1.   An Ethernet is more likely to experience the problem than   
     other topologies.      
   
2.   In the case of 3Com Ethernet, load WP 5.0 with the /nc option. 
 
3.   In the case of receiving the error and the file server is still   
     active, wait about 2 minutes and press 1 to retry.  You should 
     be able to save your file.  Then you can reboot the   
     workstation; if you continue to work you will probably get the 
     error again.      
   
4.   If you want to pump information to us, call up FCONSOLE and 
     see if the file server still thinks the workstation is connected. 
     If the file server thinks there is a connection, does the   
     problem workstation have files open according to FCONSOLE?  
 
Some other things that have worked for some people ....      
     
1.   Use a different shell than you are currently using.     
2.   If you are running 2.12 IPX, run 2.11 Net3 and other 2.1,      
     2.11, 2.12 combinations.      
3.   Try running 2.11 IPX and 2.12 shell.      
     
Let me emphasize that while none of the above work in all cases,   
we have seen random changes in IPX and Net3 combinations solve   
the problem.... at least it is a work around.   
      
Another hardware check would be to see if the problem occurs after
a certain station on the bus or the ring--whichever is the case.    
Subject:  DOS 4.0 Path Problem      
Date:  1-1-89 
      
The other day we had a customer who was having problems with   
passing path parameters in DOS 4.0.  The problem occurs when a   
local path is set (for local DOS drives) before login.  As soon as   
they login the local path is wiped out.   Under DOS 3.3 the local   
path is appended to the search drives with no problem.      
Subject:  2.0a Configurable Shells      
Date:   1-1-89 
      
We had a customer the other day who was running NetWare for VMS
(VMS is at 
2.0a) that had VGA boards that were using IRQ 3. Well   
just about every Ethernet board uses IRQ 3.      
      
To get around this you need two things from 2.1X, the 2.1X   
configurable shell driver, and DCONFIG from the auxgen disk.  Then
do the following:     
      
1)   Rename the SHELL.OBJ file from 2.1X (the 3c501 card is called 
     ETHSH.OBJ) to SHELLDRV.OBJ      
      
2)   Copy this renamed file over the SHELLDRV.OBJ in the correct 
     sub-directory in the GENSH-1 disk      
      
3)   Generate the shell using standard 2.0a procedures.      
      
4)   Dconfig the shell as follows:A>DCONFIG ANET(X).COM   
     SHELL:(A),(O) where      

         (x)=DOS version number (either 2 or 3)      
         (a)=the node address of the board (this is optional)      
         (o)=the option number off of the list of different      
             configurations      
      
THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE!   
    
Subject:  NetBIOS UNDER v2.1X      
Date:  1-1-89 
      
Here are a couple of things about NetBIOS that need to be passed  
around.      
      
The first thing is if people are upgrading or installing 2.11 and they
are having problems, make sure that they have a SHELL.CFG file   
with a NetBIOS session command in it (see supervisor reference   
manual appendix B page 9).  If they are using 2.12 they will need   
the NB211.ARC file from NetWire.      
      
If they are still having problems a lot of programs that will run   
under NetBIOS under 2.0a have problems with the 2.1X NetBIOS   
emulator.  This is caused by the changes that where made to the   
emulator, one of which was to NetBIOS to pass through a bridge.  If
the end user is having these problems there are two things that   
they can do:      
      
           1)  Pray that the application has been re-written to     
               support 2.1X NetBIOS.      
      
           2)  Use the 2.0a NetBIOS emulator. IF YOU DO THIS IT 
               WILL NOT WORK ACROSS BRIDGES OF ANY KIND. 
 
Unfortunately, these are the only options that I am aware of at this
time.  If you know of any different solution PLEASE let me know.  
Subject:  CONFIG.DAT  
Date: 5-Jan-89  
    
Q:   The file CONFIG.DAT could not be opened, while downloading  
the Operating System to diskettes after generation on the hard disk 
or network drive.    
    
A:   Select "Review Selected Configuration" after "configuring   
drivers/Resources" in Netgen under Network Configuration options.  
The CONFIG.DAT file is only created when the "Review Selected   
Configuration" option is selected.    
Subject:  New Token Ring Card  
Date: 5-Jan-89   
   
FYI: There is a new Token Ring Card available from IBM.  It is a  
shorter version based on a VLSI design.    
   
Our operating system driver will not work with this card.  We    
believe that the reason for this is because it is patterned after the 
Token Ring II card which we do not currently support either.    
If our beliefs are correct, then this new board should work in   
workstations as the Token Ring II card does. This is because the    
LAN Support program or Tokreui does all of the interfacing with    
the board, where the operating system driver communicates    
directly with the board.    
    
If we can get the driver changed to support Token Ring II, it    
will probably support the new card as well.    
Subject:  Connections and the VAP      
Date:  1-1-89 
      
We have had several questions recently about the connections that  
the Btrieve VAP occupies.  Although on the monitor of the file   
server, only connection three shows with any activity, the VAP is   
actually occupying 4 connections.  The reason for this is that the   
VAP actually logs in as a user on the server.  It needs four   
connections to do it's magic.      
      
Applying this to the real world, users other than the VAP will start
at connection 5.  On ELS Level II which supports the VAP only   
four of the eight connections will be available to actual users.      
   Subject:  Model 50Z and 70  
Date: 13-Jan-89   
    
OS VERSION:  ELS Level I version 2.0a    
SHELL VERSION  :  2.01-3    
   
GENERAL INFORMATION  :    
Many customers have had questions about running ELS I on the PS/2
Model 50z and 70.  They need to get the 50z70.arc patch in order  
to allow these machines to be used as file servers.  The    
technical description for ELS I states that the only MCA card    
that is supported is the IBM PCNetwork Baseband card.  Any other 
Micro Channel cards such as Arcnet or Ethernet cards are not    
officially supported.    
  Subject:  Addendum to Technical Bulletin #139  
Date:  18-Jan-89  
   
OS Version:  2.1x   
Shell Version:  2.1x   
   
Problem:  Attaching IBM AT to SNet server running v2.1.   
   
Solution:  Run a debug patch.  The patch can be run on 2.1, but a  
different address needs to be accessed as follows:   
   
            DEBUG STARSH.OBJ EC52 <CR>   
            XXXX:30.10   
            W   
            Q   
   
Subject:  ELS Clarifications  
Date:  19-Jan-89  
   
FYI:   
ELS Level I will run only on the following machines:   
   
1.     PC or compatible (includes 386 machines that function as the 
       PC/AT).   
 
2.     IBM PS/2 Model 50, 60 or 80.   
   
ELS Level II dedicated mode will run only on the following   
machines:   
   
1.     PC/AT or compatible (includes 386 machines that function as 
       the PC/AT).   
 
2.     IBM PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70 and 80.   
   
Please note that the IBM PS/2 Model 30-286 is not included in any 
of these lists!!!!  None of the current ELS products have the disk   
driver for this machine!!!  It will be added at some future date.   
   
Q.  Why can't you run ELS Level II dedicated on a PC/AT or Model
50, 60 or 80?   Isn't it just dedicated 86 NetWare?   
   
A.  The dedicated version was designed to be used on the PC/AT,   
Model 30 or other (?) PC/AT compatibles only.   
  Subject:  Menu and Lotus  
Date: 3-Jan-89  
   
There is a conflict with the MENU.ARC (the 2.0a menu program that
was compiled to run on 2.1 and above) and Lotus 2.01, Lotus    
Symphony, Lotus Freelance, and other homemade programs.    
    
The problem occurs when exiting out of Lotus or one of these    
other programs.  The menu program should bring you back to the   
menu that the user created, however, it doesn't.  Instead it will    
return this:   
    
"Unable to execute command processor. (DOS extended error code=0) 
The status of the command was 9.    
Further execution not possible.    
Exiting to system."    
    
This does not happen with the 2.1 MENU.EXE program nor does it  
happen to my knowledge with the 2.0a MENU.COM on a 2.0a system. 

Q:  So why not use the 2.1 MENU.EXE?    
A:  Because it has problems executing batch files correctly, and    
still has problems in 2.15.    
    
Temporary Workaround    
    
The actual conflict seems to be with Lotus' main menu and our    
menu.  If you were to execute "123" instead of "LOTUS" using the  
menu utility, it would skip Lotus' menu and you would not get the  
error.  In other words, make a submenu with our menu utility that  
will do the same as Lotus' menu.  ie:    
 
123      PRINTGRAPH      TRANSLATE       INSTALL     VIEW  
 
EXIT    
    
These should all be put in a submenu and called up separately.    
This is a workaround for Lotus 2.01.   
Subject:  Novell RXnet Hit Nics  
Date: 4-Jan-89   
     
In the 2.10 RXNet Installation Supplement it talks about "Hit Nics". 
These are high impedance arcnet cards that can be cabled together  
without hubs.    
    
We were planning on selling these cards.  In fact we had started   
testing them and documented their features in the 2.10 manuals.  In 
the end we decided not to sell them after all, although the manual  
had already been printed and distributed.    
Subject:  NE2000  
Date:  4-Jan-89   
   
The NE2000 (a 16-bit AT bus board) is shipping as of about two   
weeks ago.  There seem to be no initial problems with the board or 
the drivers.  The kits are shipping with an extra pal that must be  
used when using a 386-based machine that is using the Chips and   
Technologies chip set.   
   
The remote reset prom is not released yet but should be available in
about two weeks.  The NE 1000 remote reset prom will not work   
with the NE2000.   
Subject:  Cordata AT-Desktop As A File Server  
Date:  January 24, 1989  
    
OS Version:  ELS-I    
Revision:  2.0a    
    
General Information:  ELS-I on a Cordata AT-Desktop 8Mhz machine 

PROBLEM:  The first attempt to install ELS-I on a Cordata AT-   
Desktop 8MHz machine was unsuccessful.   
    
SOLUTION: You must ensure that the BIOS is the Phoenix 3.07.3.   
The keyboard BIOS was 2.48 and you must use a 101 Keyboard.  The
extended memory board was a BOCARAM board with 1 MB of 
memory installed.   
   
COMMENTS: The hard disk used in this configuration was a Seagate
80 MB (ST-4096) with a XEBEC controller card.  The base memory
in the unit was 640K.   
Subject:  HP ESDI Drives  
Date:  1/19/89  
   
OS Version:  2.1 and above    
   
Problem:  Compsurf does not work with HP ESDI Drives; it bombs   
out every time.   
   
Solution:  Call HP and get the "ESDICOMV.EXE" patch.    
   
Comments:  It seems HP has done something different with their   
drives as far as the initialization.  This patch will convert the    
initialization procedure so that it is compatible with Compsurf.    
After you run this patch, HP recommends that you do 0 passes and 
0 random testing.    
Subject:  PS/2 and Local Mappings Being Lost  
Date:  January 13, 1989   
    
OS Version:  2.12 ADV ETC    
Shell Version:  2.12    
    
General Information:  On a PS/2, when the local path command is   
issued in the AUTOEXEC.BAT, then login to server, the local drives 
are made part of the other mappings.  The problem is when session 
is entered and you take a look at search mappings.  The (\)   
backslash is changed to a (/) forward slash.  Network drives work  
fine, but local drives are a problem.    
    
Problem:  On a PS/2, local drive mappings no longer work after   
looking at search drives in session.  They work on regular AT bus.  

Solution:  There is no solution yet.    
Subject:  NetWare for Macintosh with Ethernet  
Date:  January 12, 1989  
    
OS Version:  SFT NetWare 2.15    
Revision:    (12/11/88)    
   
Problem:  The 386A Server is configured for Ethernet (NE1000   
V2.30EC) IRQ=3, I/O base=300 ARCNET (SMC/PD V1.00) IRQ=2, I/O  
base=2E0, RB=D000:0  LocalTalk (nb hard wired to int5, etc.)     
   
The server will boot and run without Ethernet being connected or  
terminated until a MAC attempts to login via Chooser.  When this  
happens, the server will hang, any PC stations logged in will lose   
their connections and logging in a MAC will timeout after about   
120 seconds.    
    
Solution:  Terminate the Ethernet connection.   
    
Comments:  There is no documentation on this and no explanation as
to why it happens.    
   
For proper operation, you must always terminate an Ethernet board. 
Most Ethernet boards will not even initialize if they are not
terminated.  Our boards will initialize and the server   
will operate without them terminated, but it is risky, at best,   
to try to operate in this manner.     
Subject:  3c505 Errors  
Date:  27-Jan-89  
   
OS VERSION  : 2.1 Rev. 0 to 2.12 Rev. B    
   
GENERAL INFORMATION:  Since September 1988 the errors   
described below have been occurring at several different            
projects at Boeing.    
    
PROBLEM:  Abend: Timeout waiting for receive to complete on      
3c505 Etherlink adaptor.  The power must be turned off and back on
to restart.    
    
Abend: Invalid handshaking or data on command from 3c505. The   
power must be turned off and back on to restart.    
    
SOLUTION:  Generally the 1st listed error was causing the most   
problems.  After switching boards, checking the cable/tee   
connectors, terminators, and trying the most current 2012 drivers,   
Engineering came up with a new driver that has been running since 
12/21/88.  This driver can only be used with NetWare 2.1 Rev. D   
and above (it won't work with 2.1 Rev. 0 because the dynamic   
memory was slightly changed).  Since it has been implemented there 
hasn't been any further 3c505 errors.    
   
The new driver is running in servers with and without the Interlan 
TCP/IP Gateway.  In addition we have implemented this fix    
in file servers that were receiving the second error.  As of this   
writing this seems to be the most robust 3c505 driver.  NOTE: This 
fix is specifically for the first error; the second error hasn't    
officially been tested.    
    
    2012DRV.ARC      27640       1-19-89          9:30am    
    X2012DRV.OBJ      8551      12-19-88          4:5Xpm    
Subject:  ESDI Model 80 Driver  
Date:  27-Jan-89  
    
FYI:  Sometime ago, we reported a problem with the IBM PS/2   
Model 80 with a ESDI controller with dual drives.  It concerned a  
problem where the drive failures were not correctly handled.    
After conducting tests with the maintenance team, we have found   
that the OS (version 2.1x) does in fact handle the failure   
correctly, however, it takes about 7 to 8 minutes for the OS to   
shut down the drive and resume operation.    
Subject:  PCMOS/386 and Token Ring, MOSINF.CFG Parameters    
Date:  1/3/89 
    
OS VERSION:  Version 2.1 and above.    
SHELL VERSION:  PCMOS Interface (IPX.SYS, MOSNET)    
    
General Information:  The equivalent file for the DOS SHELL.CFG
for PCMOS is MOSINTF.CFG.  In this file you should be able to
pass the same parameters as in the SHELL.CFG.  However the only  
parameters that are mentioned in the README.DOC are (ipx   
sockets=<#>,spx connections=<#>, ipx retry count=<#>, max   
pcmos_tasks=<#>).    
    
PARAMETER              MIN         MAX             DEFAULT 
 
IPX SOCKETS             15         100               30    
SPX CONNECTIONS          5          30               10    
IPX RETRY COUNT        N/A         N/A               20    
MAX PCMOS_TASKS          1          16                5    
    
All of the above values are found in the README.DOC file on the  
PCMOS shell diskette.    
    
PROBLEM:  We have found that PCMOS/386 and MicroChannel   
Token ring cannot run together.  Everything appears to be working 
until you load MOSNET, the NET3 equivalent.  At this time you   
receive an error message stating "Internal Error #58, Invalid IRQ".  
This only happens with Micro Channel.    
    
SOLUTION:  The AT style Token Ring boards work fine after the   
patch in the README.DOC file sent out on the PCMOS shell   
diskette from Novell is applied.    
Subject:  Setting the Comspec in the System Login Script while   
Using the %Smachine, %OS_version to determine the DOS version   
Date:  1/19/89  
    
OS Version:  2.1 or above    
Shell:   PCMOS Interface (IPX.SYS, MOSNET)    
    
GENERAL INFORMATION:  This is a suggestion for combatting the  
COMSPEC problem with PCMOS.    
    
This is for sites that have both DOS and PCMOS workstations.  In  
the system login script use the following to set the COMSPEC:   
    
Map s1:=sys:public    
if %2="p" begin    
map s2:=sys:public/pcmos    
end    
if %2="d" begin    
map s2:=sys:public/%smachine/%os_version    
end    
DOS set comspec=y:command.com    
end    
.    
.    
.    
.    
    
    
This is only necessary if the customer uses the %smachine and   
%OS_version for setting the search drive to set the COMSPEC.    

The "p" and "d" must be after the login name with a space    
between them.  "P" signifies PCMOS and "D" signifies DOS.   
    
Example: login enterprise/supervisor d (for DOS) or p (for PCMOS). 
 