Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!mit-eddie!media-lab!castillo
From: castillo@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Brian Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.novell
Subject: Re: reset OS VERSION
Message-ID: <4479@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 13 Dec 90 06:36:53 GMT
References: <2766C988.9806@orion.oac.uci.edu>
Reply-To: castillo@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Brian Anderson)
Distribution: usa
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 31

In article <2766C988.9806@orion.oac.uci.edu> swolvert@orion.oac.uci.edu (Susan Wolverton) writes:
>I have an AST 386 machine with MSDOS 4.01.  When I use that machine to
>log on Novell, Novell interprets it as IBM_PC, MSDOS V4.00.  Since we 
>do have other machines using DOS 4.00 on the network, that connects the 
>AST to the wrong network DOS directory, and sometime it causes COMMAND.COM
>not found error.
.
.
.
I've had the same problem with the variables %OS and %OS_VERSION.  I'm
using Advanced Netware 286 version 2.15C and everything on my network
(even IBM PS/2s) sets %OS to "MSDOS", not "PCDOS".  The %OS_VERSION
variable also comes up as "V4.00" instead of "V4.01" as it should.  You
can't just add your own shell.cfg variables, so the solution I came up
with involves setting LONG MACHINE NAME = "XXXXXX".  I set this to
"IBMPS2" or "DELL" or "GATEWY" as required and set the appropriate DOS
search path mapping in the default login script.

I've also found numerous problems with locating the right command.com
file, which only disappeared when I set it to C:\command.com for all our
workstations.  I've noticed that Novell likes to find shell.cfg and
command.com in the root directory of the workstation boot drive (almost
always C:\) and is extremely stubborn when trying to do anything else.

I am beginning to understand just how Novell can get away with charging
$200/hr for phone support :-(
-- 
"make lots of money", "enjoy the work", "operate within the law":  pick any 2
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Brian Anderson                    |  "It's hard to work in groups when you're
castillo@media-lab.media.mit.edu  |   omnipotent." - Q, ST-thg  "Deja-Q"