TECHNICAL BULLETIN LANZTIPS LANtastic Z zero slot LAN 08.07.91 Installation trouble shooting tips Page 1 of 5 LANtastic Z has been tested in-house and is compatible with all other LANtastic networks. This bulletin should replace all other notes generated from this office to date. While claiming LANtastic Z and other LANtastic networks are compatible, Artisoft is not responsible for the compatibility of any other application(s) running over LANtastic networks. The following information is based on in-house testing of LANtastic Z. If you are not a registered LANtastic owner, your questions should be directed to our technical sales staff at (602) 293-6363. Any questions or comments on this bulletin may be forwarded by FAX (602) 293-8065 or mailed to : Artisoft Inc., 575 East River Road, Tucson, AZ., 85704 ATTN: LANtastic Z Support GENERAL HINTS AND TIPS FOR TROUBLESHOOTING LANTASTIC Z If you are experiencing difficulties in making two computers communicate using LANtastic Z, there are a few basic "rules of thumb" to follow. The first of which is to eliminate all possible sources of interference. 1> The file CONFIG.SYS in both computers should be as simplistic as possible : Example CONFIG.SYS - FILES=50 BUFFERS=32 LASTDRIVE=Z FCBS=16,8 DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE [for DOS 5.0 ] INSTALL=C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE [for DOS 4.01 ] DEVICE=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS [optional ] 2> The file AUTOEXEC.BAT in both computers should be temporarily renamed so as not to be executed at boot-up. This can be done with the command REN AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.SAV 3> Re-boot both computers. At the DOS prompt type PROMPT $P$G (so you can see which directory you are working in). 4> Use only the cable supplied by Artisoft (included in the LANtastic Z package)*, and connect the two computers together. *If you are attempting to establish communications via modem connections, please refer to Testing Communications Using The Modem Connections on the following pages. TESTING COMMUNICATIONS USING THE PARALLEL CONNECTIONS SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS : 1> The parallel port being used must be capable of bi-directional communications. Generally, very inexpensive parallel cards do not have this capability. 2> IBM PS/2 Microchannel computers generally will not communicate using LPT2, due to the fact that both parallel ports LPT1 & LPT2 share IRQ 7 (interrupt request channel). 3> Some laptop computers have the ability to control an external floppy disk drive using the parallel port. On these machines, the parallel port must be set for PRINTER. The documentation for these machines can be confusing in the fact they state that FDD is for bi-directional communication, and PRINTER is for uni-directional communication. Ignore this documentation. 4> Multi-function I/O cards which have a parallel port, serial port, game port, and disk controller on one board, generally do not have bi- directional communication capabilities, therefore will not be able to communicate using LANtastic Z. TEST PROCEDURE : 1> Type CD\LANTASTI at both computers 2> Type PPORT PORT=LPTx at both computers. 3> Type AILANBIO at both computers. 4> Type LANCHECK MAIN at the main computer 5> Type LANCHECK REMOTE at the other computer. At the MAIN computer, you should see a screen resembling this : A# NAME NODE NUMBER MINUTES RUNNING STATUS ERROR (INDEX) _______________________________________________________________________________ 0 MAIN 00008293312 3 LOCAL 0 (0%) 0 REMOTE 00009344872 2 ACTIVE 0 (0%) At the REMOTE computer, the screen should look the same, with the NAMEs reversed. If these are the results you obtain from this test, the two computers are communicating properly. Restore the original AUTOEXEC.BAT, and CONFIG.SYS files, reboot the computers, and run STARTNET P. If the two computers will not communicate, isolate the item which is causing the interference by removing one line at a time from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and re-trying until successful. If either computer only sees itself as LOCAL, chances are the parallel card in that computer is not capable of bi-directional communications. Replace the parallel card and re-test. If both computers only see themselves as LOCAL, verify that the cable is plugged into the correct LPT port by plugging the cable into the other port (while LANcheck is running). If that does not effect anything, both computers may have non bi-directional parallel cards. Replace both parallel cards and re-test. TESTING COMMUNICATIONS USING THE SERIAL CONNECTIONS SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS : 1> Whenever possible, use the COM1 or COM2 ports for testing purposes. COM3 and COM4 share the same IRQ channels with COM1 and COM2, possibly causing a hardware conflict. 2> Some IBM PS/2 microchannel computers have weak serial ports, thus rendering them incapable of establishing communication with the serial connections. However, this does not mean that all PS/2 computers will exhibit this incompatibility. 3> Multi-function I/O cards which have a parallel port, serial port, game port, and disk controller on one board, generally will not support communication using LANtastic Z. TEST PROCEDURE : 1> Type CD\LANTASTI at both computers. 2> Type SPORT PORT=COMx at both computers 3> Type AILANBIO at both computers 4> Type LANCHECK MAIN at the main computer 5> Type LANCHECK REMOTE at the other computer At the MAIN computer, you should see a screen resembling this : A# NAME NODE NUMBER MINUTES RUNNING STATUS ERROR (INDEX) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 MAIN 00008293312 3 LOCAL 0 (0%) 0 REMOTE 00009344872 2 ACTIVE 0 (0%) At the REMOTE computer, the screen should look the same, with the NAMEs reversed. If these are the results you obtain from this test, the two computers are communicating properly. Restore the original AUTOEXEC.BAT, and CONFIG.SYS files, reboot the computers, and run STARTNET S. If the two computers will not communicate, isolate the item which is causing the interference by removing one line at a time from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and re-trying until successful. If either computer only sees itself as LOCAL, either the cable is plugged into the wrong port, or the serial card is incompatible. Plug the cable into the other serial port (if there is another serial port) while LANcheck is running. If that does not effect anything, replace the serial card, and re-test. If both serial ports are verified as working, and communications cannot be established, there is a possibility of a defective cable. Contact Artisoft Technical Support, LANtastic Z department for further instructions. TESTING COMMUNICATIONS USING THE MODEM CONNECTIONS SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS : 1> Whenever possible, use two alike modems (same brand, same model). 2> Whenever possible, use the COM1 or COM2 ports for testing purposes. COM3 and COM4 share the same IRQ channels the COM1 and COM2, possibly causing a hardware conflict. 3> Both modems must be configured the same. Set the following modem switches (where applicable) according to the users manual for your particular modem. These switches typically may be set through software using any terminal emulation program, and utilizing the AT command sets Some modems have hardware switches (either DIP switches or internal jumper sets) that may be set. A. Carrier Detect (CD) follows true carrier (not always on) B. Auto Answer (AA) set to ON C. Data Terminal Ready (DTR) set to state 2 D. Clear To Send (CTS) and Ready To Send (RTS) set to ON -or- E. Modem set for Bi-Lateral CTS/RTS flow control F. Data Set Ready (DSR) set to ON G. Data Compression set to OFF H. Transmission speed (BAUD rate) set the same on both modems TEST PROCEDURE : 1> Type CD\LANTASTI at both computers 2> Type MPORT PORT=COMx BAUD=xxxx at both computers 3> Type AILANBIO at both computers 4> Type REDIR SERVER at the main computer 5> Type SERVER at the main computer At the computer that will be initiating (dialing) the call, perform the following steps : 1> Type Z_MGR 2> Use the cursor keys, highlight TERMINAL EMULATION, hit 3> At the terminal emulation screen, type ATDTxxxxxxx (where xxxxxxx = phone number) At this point, the modem will dial the number, the other modem will answer and report CONNECT 2400 (or 9600 if using 9600 baud modems). If the error message "Modem not online, cannot communicate with COM port" occurs, the switches described in SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS above are not set properly. Approximately every 2 to 4 seconds, the terminal emulation screen should show some unreadable graphic-type characters followed by "group-LANtastic| SERVER". At this point, tap the F4 key, then tap the ESC key to go to the DOS prompt, and type REDIR REMOTE. After the redirector installs, you should be able to go to the NET menu, login to the SERVER computer, and redirect drives and printers to the server. After completing this test, remember to ABORT the Network Connection using the Z_MGR menu. If, in terminal emulation mode, the SERVER's name is visible, but the login attempt returns a "Cannot locate network name" error, generally the modem's flow control is set incorrectly. Set both modems to use a different form of CTS/RTS flow control, and re-test. If, in terminal emulation mode, the only thing visible is a series of zeroes and right pointing triangles, the flow control again needs to be adjusted to a different form of flow control. If, in terminal emulation mode, there are no readable characters at all, generally one of the modems is running at a different transmission speed (baud rate) than the other. Verify modem configurations are set the same on both modems, and re-test. If none of the above symptoms occurs, and no communication can be established, call Artisoft Technical Support, LANtastic Z department for further assistance. After successfully completing this test, the two computers are communicating properly. Restore the original AUTOEXEC.BAT, and CONFIG.SYS files, reboot the computers, and run STARTNET M. If the two computers will not communicate, isolate the item which is causing the interference by removing one line at a time from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and re-trying until successful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ARTISOFT, Inc. makes no warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of this document. LANtastic is a registered trademark of ARTISOFT, Inc. Brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.