Internetworking with DOS, OS/2, and Windows 9xDOS 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.
After NetBEUI is installed, internetworking with DOS and OS/2 is quite transparent. Just be sure of two things:
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