# networking DOS operating system



## yankeesfan (Jan 4, 2007)

I was wondering how difficult it would be to network a computer with only dos as the operating system. I know that there is a ISA slot available but not sure if they make a card that is compatible? 
Any suggestions...


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

_Posted via Mobile Device_
you would have to find an old card. I would look for an old 3com card. I know I have an old one in my basement that has dos drivers for it.


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## yankeesfan (Jan 4, 2007)

_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## yankeesfan (Jan 4, 2007)

So I found some arcnet cards for my dos computer. It requires a BNC connection, and I read somewere something about token ring. Does anyone know how establish a network?


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## TheOutcaste (Aug 8, 2007)

Arcnet is not the same as Ethernet. It will only network with other Arcnet systems. While Ethernet has a version that uses coaxial cable (aka 10Base-2 or 10Base-5), the cabling is different. Ethernet uses 50 ohm cable, Arcnet uses 93 ohm cable.

Token Ring is also a different animal. You'd need a MAU (Media Access Unit), and another system that also has a Token Ring card.

Best bet is to find an Ethernet card that has DOS drivers. Many do.

This site might be the easiest way to go. It's not supported any longer, but there are drivers for many network cards there, and an automated method to create a boot floppy. Once the floppy is created, you can transfer the files to the hard drive, just need to change the drive letter as needed. The makedisk program will run under Win2K/XP
Bart's Network Boot Disk

Or you can create it using the Microsoft Client, but I doubt if this will work on 2K/XP/Vista, at least not without messing up your system, so you'd need a Win9X system.

This is a 3Com document that shows how to create a DOS boot floppy that will connect to an ethernet network using the NetBEUI Protocol. NetBEUI can be installed on XP, but is not supported on Vista. If you want to use TCP/IP, you'll also need to download this disk:
* ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/clients/msclient/dsk3-2.exe*
Extract it into the same folder as Disk 1; there are 2 duplicate files, *AVEXTRA.TXT* and *LICENSE.TXT*. You can overwrite or not, they are the same file.
Then, in step 12, after removing IPX, choose TCP/IP instead of NetBEUI. It will be configured to use DHCP. If you need to manually specify addresses, select the TCP/IP Protocol and select the Change Settings option.
The procedure will work for any card that has DOS drivers, if you don't install the driver during this procedure, you just need to edit the files to change the names as needed to match the card.

I haven't tried installing the Microsoft Network Client version 3.0 on an XP system, so I don't know if that would work.


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Creating a Dos Client Boot Disk using Microsoft Network Client version 3.0

NOTE: The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of 3Com; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability. This document is provided as a courtesy and is not supported.


If you don't have access to an NT Server to create a bootable client disk, you can use the following procedure to create one manually on a system running Windows 95/98 by installing Microsoft Network Client version 3.0 onto your Win9x machine, then copying the necessary files onto a floppy disk.

Make backup copies of the following files (if they exist) on your system, as installing Microsoft Network Client version 3.0 may modify them:

[LIST]
[*] C:\Autoexec.bat
[*] C:\Config.sys
[*] C:\Windows\Protocol.ini
[*] C:\Windows\System.ini
[/LIST]
 
 1. Create a bootable floppy disk for your system:
    a. Insert a blank floppy into your A: drive
    b. In My Computer, right click the 3.5" Floppy, then choose [B]Format...[/B] from the shortcut menu
    c. Make sure [B]Copy System Files[/B] is checked under [B]Other Options[/B], then click [B]Start[/B]
    d. When the disk is formatted, create a new folder named [B]NET[/B] on the floppy

 2. Create a new folder in the root of your hard drive named [B]MSCLIENT[/B].

 3. Download disk 1 of the Microsoft Network Client version 3.0 from Microsoft's FTP site into the [B]MSCLIENT[/B] folder. This file is at the following URL:

[B] ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/clients/msclient/dsk3-1.exe[/B]

 4. Double click on [B]dsk3-1.exe[/B] to extract the setup files into the [B]MSCLIENT[/B] folder.

 5. Double click on the [B]setup.exe[/B] file in the [B]MSCLIENT[/B] folder to begin the Microsoft Network Client version 3.0 setup program.

 6. When the setup program starts, press [B]enter[/B].

 7. Press enter to accept the default installation path (C:\NET), or enter a different path.

 8. When the Select an adapter screen is displayed, choose 3Com Etherlink III from the list and press enter
    a. Alternately, choose "[B]Network adapter not shown on list below...[/B]",
    b. Insert the disk containing the DOS drivers for your card.
    c. Enter the path to the DOS driver setup information file, usually A:\
    d. Choose your card from the list, and press enter.

 9. Press [B]Enter[/B] or [B]C[/B] as desired on the [B]Set Network Buffers[/B] screen.

10. Enter a user name to use for the client computer.

11. On the next screen, select [B]Change Names[/B] and press [B]Enter[/B].
    a. Enter the correct workgroup and domain name for the client to use.
    b. Enter a unique computer name (may be the same as the User Name).
    c. Select "The listed names are correct." and press [B]Enter[/B].

12. Once the correct names are set, choose [B]Change Network Configuration[/B] and press [B]Enter[/B].
    a. Remove the [B]NWLink IPX Compatible Transport[/B]. The [B]Select Protocol[/B] screen will appear.
    b. Choose [B]Microsoft NetBEUI[/B] and press [B]Enter[/B]
    c. Select [B]Network Configuration[/B] is correct and press enter.

13. Select [B]The listed options are correct[/B] and press [B]Enter[/B].

14. Setup will copy files to the [B]C:\NET[/B] folder. When it is finished, press [B]F3[/B] to exit setup.

15. Copy the [B]C:\Autoexec.bat[/B] and [B]C:\Config.sys[/B] files to the bootable floppy.

16. Restore your original system files:
C:\Autoexec.bat
C:\Config.sys
C:\Windows\Protocol.ini
C:\Windows\System.ini

17. Copy the following files from the [B]C:\NET[/B] folder to the [B]A:\NET[/B] folder on the floppy:[INDENT]IFSHLP   SYS
NDISHLP  SYS
NET      MSG
NET      EXE
NETH     MSG
PROTMAN  DOS
PROTMAN  EXE
PROTOCOL INI
SYSTEM   INI
WFWSYS   CFG
[/INDENT]18. Copy the following 2 files from the [B]C:\Windows[/B] folder to the [B]A:\NET[/B] folder:
    Himem.sys
    Emm386.exe

Now all that's left to do is to modify the system files for the card you are using if needed, and copy the DOS driver file into the [B]A:\NET[/B] folder. If you installed the drivers for your specific card, this shouldn't be needed.

Copy the appropriate DOS driver file for your card as shown in the driver table below.

Edit the [B]SYSTEM.INI[/B] file in the [B]\NET[/B] directory of your disk and change ONLY the line marked [B]Netcard=elnk3.dos[/B] in the [B][Network Drivers][/B] section to match the driver file for your card (See Below.)
12) Edit the [B]PROTOCOL.INI[/B] file in the [B]\NET[/B] directory of your disk and change ONLY the line marked [B]drivername=elnk3$[/B] in the [B][MS$ELNK3][/B] section to match the driver file for your card (See Below.)
**PCMCIA NOTE: If you are running a 3C562 you will have to add 3CELCM.EXE. If you are running a 3CxEM556X  you will need to add emenable.exe from disk #2 of the set.  If you are running any other Megahertz cards add  ENABLE.EXE and ENABLE.INI to this disk to make it work, the enable settings are outlined in additional 3Com documentation.  If you are running a 3C589 or a 3C574 PCMCIA card without DOS level Card and Socket Services, then add a new line "PCMCIA_ENABLER=YES" below the line in step 12.
Modify the protocol.ini file and the system.ini file, replacing "elnk3" with the appropriate name from the driver table below, being sure to match case.

NOTE If you used the driver disk for your card in step 8 above, the dos driver file is in the [B]C:\NET[/B] folder. Also, the [B]Protocol.ini[/B] and [B]System.ini[/B] files should already be modified for your card.

Sample CONFIG.SYS:
    REM The following 2 lines may or may not be necessary depending on your system.
    REM Device=A:\NET\Himem.sys
    REM Device=A:\NET\emm386.exe
    FILES=20
    device=A:\NET\ifshlp.sys
    LASTDRIVE=Z

Sample AUTOEXEC.BAT:
    SET PATH=A:\NET
    A:\NET\net start

Sample SYSTEM.INI
    [network]
    sizworkbuf=1498
    filesharing=no
    printsharing=no
    autologon=yes
    computername=whatevernameyouchose
    lanroot=A:\NET       [B]<--Change this from C:\NET[/B]
    username=whatevernameyouchose
    workgroup=whatevernameyouchose
    reconnect=yes
    dospophotkey=N
    lmlogon=0
    logondomain=whatevernameyouchose
    preferredredir=full
    autostart=full
    maxconnections=8

    [network drivers]
    netcard=elnk3.dos    [B]<--Change this to match your card[/B]
    transport=ndishlp.sys,*netbeui
    devdir=A:\NET        [B]<--Change this from C:\NET[/B]
    LoadRMDrivers=yes

Sample PROTOCOL.INI
    [network.setup]
    version=0x3110
    netcard=[COLOR=Blue][B]ms$elnk3[/B][/COLOR],1,[COLOR=Blue][B]MS$ELNK3[/B][/COLOR],1
    transport=ms$ndishlp,MS$NDISHLP
    transport=ms$netbeui,MS$NETBEUI
    lana0=ms$elnk3,1,ms$netbeui
    lana1=ms$elnk3,1,ms$ndishlp

    [protman]
    DriverName=PROTMAN$
    PRIORITY=MS$NDISHLP

    [[COLOR=Blue][B]MS$ELNK3[/B][/COLOR]]           [B]<--This name must match the names above[/B]
    DriverName=ELNK3$    [B]<--Change this to match your card[/B]

    [MS$NDISHLP]
    DriverName=ndishlp$
    BINDINGS=MS$ELNK3

    [MS$NETBEUI]
    DriverName=netbeui$
    SESSIONS=10
    NCBS=12
    BINDINGS=MS$ELNK3
    LANABASE=0

NOTE: Microsoft Network Client version 3.0 adds the above sections to your existing Protocol,ini file. You'll need to remove the sections that were there before installing Microsoft Network Client version 3.0. A copy of the original file is saved in the C:\NET folder as Protocol.001. You can use this file as a guide to remove the original sections.



Network Card Driver Reference Chart.
3Com         DOS         PROTOCOL.INI       SYSTEM.INI
Card         NDIS Driver  DRIVERNAME=       netcard=
3C503        ELNKII.DOS   ELNKII$           elnkii.dos
3C562/563    ELPC3X.DOS   ELPC3$            3celcm.exe,elpc3x.dos     (must be loaded before the DOS ODI or NDIS driver)
3C5x9        ELNK3.DOS    ELNK3$            elnk3.dos
3C589        ELPC3.DOS    ELPC3$            elpc3.dos 
3C59x        EL59X.DOS    EL59X$            el59x.dos
3C90x        EL90X.DOS    EL90X$            el90x.dos
3c574        EL3C574.DOS  EL3C574$          el3c574.dos
XJEM/CCEM and all Megahertz Combo Cards
             MHZEM.DOS    MHZEMX$           mhzem.dos
XJ10Bx/CC10Bx and all Megahertz LAN only Cards
             MHZLAN.DOS   MHZX$             mhzlan.dos
3CxEM556X    EM556N2.dos  EM556N2$          emenable.exe, em556n2.dos (must be loaded before the DOS ODI or NDIS driver)


Drivers are on the etherdisks in one of the directories below:

3Com cards:    There will be an \NDIS\DOS or \NDIS2\DOS directory on one of the 2 Etherdisks with one of the above .DOS files.
Megahertz & 3C574 and the cards:    The .DOS file is in the \NDIS2 directory
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The TCP/IP section from the Protocol.ini file will look like this for a DHCP setup:
[TCPIP]
NBSessions=6
SubNetMask0=255 0 0 0
IPAddress0=0 0 0 0
DisableDHCP=0
[ndishlp$]
DriverName=ndishlp$
Bindings=DC21X4$

HTH

Jerry


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