Chapter 6 - Managing Windows 3.1 on Your VINES Workstation
This chapter discusses issues involved with managing Windows on your workstation.
The Control Panel is a Windows application that lets you customize your environment. The Network icon in the Control Panel provides VINES software and user information.
Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main group window. The Control Panel window appears.
Double-click the Network icon. The Network window appears.
The Network window lets you:
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View status information. ![]()
Set options for network messaging. ![]()
Edit your StreetTalk user profile. ![]()
Change your password.
Click Status from the Network window to view information about the network version, routing server, and VINES Files mapping. The Status window appears.
Click Options from the Network window to set preferences for network messages. The Options window appears.
The Options window lets you:
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Set preferences for network message notification. ![]()
Edit your StreetTalk user profile. ![]()
Change your password.
Setting Message Notification Options
The Messages area in the Options window lets you set your message notification preferences. Network messages are sent by other users or generated by network printers and servers. For example, a message informing you that your document is printed appears in a dialog box on your screen as a network message.
Note: The SETMSGS statement in your user profile determines how you are notified of messages. Any changes you make through the Message Popup Options dialog box are valid for your current login session only.
The Messages area dialog box has four options, described in Table 6-1.
Editing Your StreetTalk User Profile
If you are not authorized to edit your StreetTalk user profile, this button appears dimmed in the Options window.
Click the Edit StreetTalk Profile button in the Options window to edit your user profile. Changes made to your profile take effect the next time you log in to the network.
Your StreetTalk user profile appears in a window. Edit your profile as you would using the Windows application NotePad.
Changing Your Password
To change your password, click Change Password in the Options window. The Change Password window appears.
Follow these steps to change your password:
1. With the cursor in the top text box, enter your current password and press ENTER. The cursor moves to the next text box.
2. Enter your new password and press ENTER. The cursor moves to the bottom text box.
3. Enter your new password again and click OK.
Click Cancel at any time to stop the operation and return to the Options window.
Click Help at any time to view on-line information about changing your password.
Note: Depending on the security enforced at your site, VINES system software maintains a record of the last 10 passwords you use, and may not let you change a password to one used previously. An error message appears if you try to enter an old password. Consult your system administrator for information.
This section describes some issues involved with running Windows on a VINES network. In particular, this section describes:
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Protected network connections ![]()
Creating PIF files ![]()
Running Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs ![]()
PC Dial-in support ![]()
PCPRINT support ![]()
NetbiosTM and Named Pipe applications support
Protected network connections are connections to file and print services that cannot be deleted. These connections were set by your administrator to prevent users from deleting standard connections.
For example, certain applications might require specific connections to network drives in order to run successfully. Protecting these connections ensures that users will not accidentally change these connections.
Protected network connections are marked by a shield icon in the Network Connections dialog box. If you try to remove a network connection through File Manager or Print Manager, the Remove command is dimmed.
Creating PIF files for non-Windows applications is documented in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide. Though you adjust memory parameters to suit your own needs, you can use the default settings for such VINES programs as OPERATE, SETARL, and VINES Mail.
Note: Application memory requirements can change with upgrades and patches. PIF files you create at one point for applications (whether they are VINES applications or others) might need updating. Otherwise, problems may result.
Many Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs that feature pop-up windows are incompatible with Windows. This incompatibility exists because of the way TSRs write to the screen, and the way they contend for memory and interrupts.
VINES TSRs (such as STDIRECT or R3270.) that write to the screen work under Windows if you load these TSRs before you run Windows. Always access these TSRs in the MS-DOS window.
To use the PC Dial-in option under Windows, log in to VINES before running Windows. For best performance, run Windows from your local hard disk.
Running Windows in enhanced mode disconnects your modem connection. Windows in enhanced mode "virtualizes" your COM1 port as it runs, thereby causing the disconnection.
Run PCPRINT before running Windows in any mode. PCPRINT runs correctly on Windows workstations. In enhanced mode, however, Windows causes problems when virtual DOS machines attempt to use printer ports assigned to PCPRINT.
Windows in enhanced mode manages port contention between itself and any virtual DOS machines. Each time a virtual machine attempts to use the PCPRINT port, Windows queries you whether you want the new machine to have access to that port.
Example Resolving Device Conflicts
If you work in a Windows word processing application and another user sends a PCPRINT job to your printer, the following device contention message appears.
This message appears despite the fact that PCPRINT jobs normally print in the background, forcing you to respond to device contention messages on every job sent to your printer.
To prevent these messages from appearing:
1. Open the Control Panel window and double-click on the 386 Enhanced icon. The 386 Enhanced window appears.
2. In the Device Contention box, select the port specified when the PCPRINT command was issued. (If no port was specified, select LPT1.)
3. Click the Never Warn option button.
4. Click OK.
Windows now automatically re-selects access to the port for any machine trying to use it, without prompting you first.
Netbios and Named Pipe applications are supported for workstations running Windows in enhanced mode. Because running Windows in enhanced mode lets you create virtual machines, you can create multiple virtual machines to run more than one Netbios or Named Pipe application in multiple windows.
You run PCNETB and SETNETB either before or after running Windows, as described in the following procedures. Note that each procedure includes caveats to consider. Choose the procedure you use, depending on the applications you run on your network.
For information on PCNETB and SETNETB, refer to the Command Reference and Managing Workstations.
Running PCNETB and SETNETB Before Running Windows
To run PCNETB and SETNETB before running Windows, follow these steps:
1. Log in to the network.
2. If Netbios support is configured through PCCONFIG, skip to step 3. Otherwise, run PCNETB.
3. Run SETNETB and specify the service name.
4. Run Windows.
5. Run Netbios or Named Pipe applications.
In this procedure, your applications can be Windows or DOS applications, and you can run multiple applications.
This procedure affords the most flexibility, although there are some caveats to keep in mind:
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If you run multiple applications, they share all Netbios resources, including total sessions, total Netbios names, and the permanent node ID and machine name added by SETNETB. ![]()
All names added from within any window are global to any other window opened on the machine. Thus, if an application adds a Netbios name and then quits, the name is still registered to that machine. Another application attempting to add the same unique Netbios name gets an error.
To clear the Netbios name, either:
- Run another application to delete the name.
- Run SETNETB again.
- Reboot the system.
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If you close an application's window while there are outstanding Netbios requests, you see an MS-DOS Prompt communications error message. ![]()
Multiple applications that attempt to use the same Netbios name may experience some anomalous behavior. For example, if two applications running in different windows submit a LISTEN for the same Netbios name, only one is satisfied by an incoming CALL for that name, just as though the two LISTENs were submitted in the same window.
Running PCNETB and SETNETB After Running Windows
This procedure describes running PCNETB and SETNETB after running Windows. If you run a Windows Netbios or Named Pipe application, refer to "Special Considerations," which follows, for instructions on creating special batch files.
Use the procedure described below for DOS Netbios and Named Pipe applications:
1. Make sure Netbios or Named Pipe support is disabled in PCCONFIG.
2. Log in to the network.
3. Run Windows.
4. Open a MS-DOS window through the MS-DOS Prompt icon.
5. Run PCNETB if you run a Netbios application or INNS.EXE if you run a Named Pipe application.
6. Run SETNETB and specify the service name.
7. Run the Netbios or Named Pipe application.
Repeat steps 4 through 7 for each Netbios application you want to run.
Note: You can only run one DOS Named Pipes application in this procedure.
When running SETNETB in more than one window and using the same Netbios naming service, specify the /PERMID:hex-value switch to assign a different permanent node ID to your virtualized Netbios machine (the /PERMID node ID is a a hex address of up to 12 digits). Otherwise, SETNETB returns an error message, "Service not available".
By default, SETNETB uses the LAN card address as a node ID. Running SETNETB in another window returns the same node ID unless you specify another ID with the /PERMID switch.
You do not need to use this switch if you run only one Netbios application or if you access different Netbios naming services for each window.
If you run a Windows Netbios or Named Pipe application (as opposed to a DOS Netbios or Named Pipe application), you need to create two batch files.
The first file, BANSTART.BAT, modifies the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. BANSTART.BAT explicitly loads all VINES resident software, except for INNS or PCNETB, and loads REDIRNPx rather than REDIRx.
The comments (lines beginning with "rem") are for your information and do not need to be included in your BANSTART.BAT file.
Your BANSTART.BAN file should include these lines:
ban /nc
rem enter your LAN card driver
3c503ban.com
rem for DOS 4.x, use redirnp4, BAN would normally load redirx
redirnp4
rem PCNETB or INNS would be loaded at this point by BAz:login
win
The first line loads BAN with the /nc switch. The /nc switch prevents the communications environment from initializing, so it can be done explicitly.
The next lines load the communications driver, the proper redirector, and initiates the login sequence. The last line contains the command to start Windows.
The second file, WINSTART.BAT, runs when Windows first starts. It is similar to an AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs when DOS boots. Your WINSTART.BAT file should include these lines:
PCNETB
rem or enter INNS.EXE
SetNETB service-name
To run a Windows Netbios or Named Pipe application in Windows, follow the procedure described in "Running PCNETB and SETNETB After Running Windows" earlier in this chapter, with the following modifications:
1. In step 2, log in to the network using the BANSTART.BAT file, rather than the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
2. Make sure the WINSTART.BAT file described above is included in the same directory as the WIN.EXE file.
This section lists some issues regarding memory managers.
If you decide to use a memory manager other than the one provided by Microsoft, make sure that it is compatible with Windows 3.1.
Different memory managers employ different methods of gathering memory which can cause problems with adapter card memory requirements. Note that the first problems you face when running Windows might result from these memory conflicts.
HIMEM.SYS is the memory manager provided by Microsoft. Refer to the Microsoft Windows User's Guide for information on using HIMEM.SYS.