Internetworking with DOS, OS2, and Windows 9x


Internetworking with DOS, OS/2, and Windows 9x

DOS and IBM's OS/2 operating system use the same fundamental networking functions as Windows 3.1, 95, 98, and Me. This fact shouldn't be a surprise, as Microsoft developed the networking software used on the original IBM PC, and its relationship with IBM lasted through the release of the first few versions of OS/2. IBM's LAN Server evolved directly from Microsoft's original MS-DOS LAN Manager product, whose name still appears here and there in Windows XP. You'll see the letters LM and the phrase LanMan used in some Windows networking components.

However, Microsoft has dropped support for the NetBEUI transport protocol on which the old Windows, DOS and OS/2 networking software depended. Ostensibly this is due to NetBEUI's archaic nature (although one might speculate that it's to force the remaining Windows and OS/2 holdouts to give up, or as retaliation for IBM's support for Linux). Whatever the reason, this is bad news for those who still depend on OS/2 or DOS-based computers.

If you're using OS/2 Warp, you might be okay because OS/2 Warp offers the option of using NetBIOS over TCP/IP. Check with the OS/2 system manager to see whether this option is enabled on your system. (Don't laugh. OS/2 is still running some industrial and HVAC systems, for instance.) If this is the case, there will be no internetworking difficulties.

Likewise, if you have computers running Windows 95, 98, or Me on your network, you also may be able to configure them to use only TCP/IP as their networking protocol. In practice, however, this usually leads to network problems, and often, the Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP computers won't be able to "see" each other. The solution to this is to install the NetBEUI protocol on every Windows computer.

So, you may find that you must use NetBEUI. You're in a precarious situation. In the initial release of Windows XP, the NetBEUI protocol is supplied on the installation CD-ROM but its use not supported. That is, if it causes problems or doesn't work, Microsoft will tell you to uninstall it, and that's the end of the story. You'll have to give up on internetworking between Windows XP and your older computers. Even if it does work, you're on borrowed time. There is no guarantee that Microsoft will continue to supply a functional NetBEUI in the future.

CAUTION

NetBEUI might disappear from future releases of Windows XP. You should begin now to find a way out of using it.


If it's absolutely necessary to continue using NetBEUI in your Windows XP computer, you can install NetBEUI with the following disagreeable procedure. The first seven steps copy the two omitted files into subfolders of your Windows directory.

1.

Insert your Windows XP Installation CD-ROM into your CD drive.

2.

Open Windows Explorer and select Tools, Folder Options. Select the View tab. Scroll down through the Advanced Settings and if it isn't already checked, check Show Hidden Files and Folders. Click OK. If you don't see the folder view in the left pane, click the Folders button.

3.

Browse into your CD-ROM drive into folder \VALUEADD\MSFT\NET\NETBEUI.

4.

Right-click NBF.SYS and select Copy.

5.

Browse into your hard drive's \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS folder. Select Edit, Paste from the menu.

6.

Browse back to the NETBEUI folder on the CD-ROM, right-click NETNBF.INF, and select Copy.

7.

Browse into your hard drive's \WINDOWS\INF folder (this folder is normally hidden). Select Edit, Paste from the menu. Close Windows Explorer.

8.

Open Network Connections by clicking Start, My Computer, My Network Places, View Network Connections. Right-click Local Area Connection, and select Properties.

9.

Select Install, highlight Protocol, and select Add. Select NetBEUI Protocol from the list and click OK. Then you may close Local Area Connection Properties.

After NetBEUI is installed, internetworking with DOS and OS/2 is quite transparent. Just be sure of two things:

  • Install the NetBEUI protocol on all computers on your network.

  • Do not apply a Windows XP security policy that prohibits the use of the LMHASH password encryption protocol. LMHASH is an old (and nearly worthless) encryption system used to encode passwords stored on servers and transmitted across networks. It was designed for LAN Manager and hence is used by OS/2 LAN Server. The encryption scheme used by Windows NT, 2000, and XP is more secure, so some network managers prevent the network from using LMHASH to gain protection. Doing so, unfortunately, makes it impossible to internetwork with DOS and OS/2.

If some Windows or OS/2 computers are missing from the list of all LAN computers in Computers Near Me or Entire Network in My Network Places, see "Some Computers Are Missing from Entire Network" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.





Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3rd Edition)
ISBN: 0789732807
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 450

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