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[ Installations Plus+ PC Forum ] [ Archive 061298 ] Posted by: Louis Bruno on June 03, 1998 at 11:14:19
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In Reply to: net work starts posted by derek tynes on June 03, 1998 at 10:21:16Subject: Re: net work starts
This is a fairly common problem. Large companies, governmental agencies, and universities often retire their PCs by selling them to employees or auctioning them off -- "as is". Since these PCs were used on a LAN (local area network) they still contain network cards (often called ethernet or LAN cards) and the software used to enable the network connection.
If you're comfortable opening your computer's cabinet and have a general idea of what's inside, it would be a good idea to remove the network card physically, since it's no longer needed and in the landscape of the computer is occupying valuable real estate (an IRQ and/or Port which might make it difficult later on to install a sound card, scanner, additional printer, etc.). This is NOT necessary, however, so we don't recommend doing this unless you're experienced with PC hardware.In your environment -- DOS x.x plus Windows 3.xx -- the network log on is controlled by statements in the two DOS configuration files which run at boot-up time, e.g., CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. (This is handled differently by Windows 95 and Windows NT so the following does NOT apply to those environments).
Depending on how the network was structured and what hardware was used, there may be a line in the CONFIG.SYS that loads a system device. You'll see something like DEVICE= or DEVICEHIGH = followed by a reference to SYS file, whose name contains either "net" or the manufacturer of the network, Novell, Artisoft, Vines, etc. You can disable this device by placing a semi-colon at the beginning (left-hand side) of the line. This too is not absolutely necessary. It's the software equivalent of removing the net card (above).
The AUTOEXEC.BAT file usually contains the calls which actually load the network software. This may be done by calling on another batch file (xxxx.BAT) which loads the software, so you may see a file called NETSTART.BAT or NETUP.BAT or LOADNET.BAT, etc. or you may see a series of individual commands that load files including the words "client", "server", "net", "bios", "share" and the network manufacturer's name. Usually there are from three to five such files, which do the job. Hopefully, they're preceded by a remark ("The next files load the network"), which gives you the lie of the land.
In the AUTOEXEC.BAT file you can prevent an action from occurring by putting REM, for remark, at the beginning of the line. You'd want to do this for the call to an external batch file or for the three to five individual files mentioned above.
If this seems a little vague and "iffy", it's because it is. There is no question but that the network was started using the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. However, what these files contain depends on the network used and on the person who configured the system, so there are just many possibilities. For example, I didn't cover the possibility that the configuration was written (the smartest way) using a menu.
You are welcome to email copies of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOXEC.BAT files to helpdesk@servenet.com. We will examine the files and make recommendations with the understanding that this free service will be provided ONCE and that we accept no responsibility whatsoever for anything you do to your PC based on our advice.
Installations Plus+ is glad to try to be of help to you and it's other website visitors at no charge for initial advice and without obligation or recourse. We do our best to give intelligent, informed advice but can not be responsible for any consequences.