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From: milne@ics.uci.edu (Alastair Milne)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms,comp.protocols.nfs,comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Windows 3.0 and PC-NFS?????
Message-ID: <26DE184C.28496@ics.uci.edu>
Date: 31 Aug 90 07:57:00 GMT
References: <852@iiasa.UUCP>
Organization: UC Irvine Department of ICS
Lines: 42

In <852@iiasa.UUCP> wnp@iiasa.AT (wolf paul) writes:

>We are trying to install MS Windows 3.0 on one of our 386 machines
>running DOS 4.01 and PC/NFS.
>The "Networks" selection in the Windows Setup program does not list
>PC/NFS; is there some way to install it anyway?

   What DOS 4.01 may or may not do is outside my knowledge.  I am sticking
   with 3.3 until I'm sure DOS 4 doesn't add more bugs than it fixes.

   But I have Windows 3 running on a PS/2 model 80 with PC-NFS 3.0.1.
   I didn't bother actually telling it about the network, I just let 
   PC-NFS install at boot-up as usual, then run Window on top of it.
   If you look at the system setup, it will say there's no network.
   But then run File Manager, and sure enough, your remote drives not 
   only appear but are marked with the NET drive icon.  And they are 
   fully usable -- or at least, I've encountered no restriction so far.
   I should note that I'm running with a WD8003E/A ethernet card, with
   the NFS-NDIS driver and the 3+Open LAN Manager, rather than WD8003E.SYS.

   It's a thing a like a lot about PC-NFS: it integrates well enough into
   DOS's file system that programs never need to realise they are using
   a net drive.

   What does irritate me a lot is that when File Manager starts up, 
   it issues an alert for every drive between the last mounted net drive,
   and the last drive letter available.  I tried reducing LASTDRIVE, 
   but it didn't change anything, so I don't know where Windows 3 is getting
   its information.

   However, previous postings about telnet and ftp I found to be quite 
   correct: they are *very* sensitive under Windows 3.  I tried them from
   DOS prompt, where they should be running in their own virtual machines,
   but I don't recall whether that made them reliable.

   Besides, why would I want to run a file transer program in a specially
   run environment which *prevents* me from seeing any of my directory
   windows (i.e. DOS Prompt)?  A Window 3 front end for ftp is required, 
   I think.


   Alastair Milne