Xref: utzoo comp.windows.ms:11377 comp.sys.novell:1124
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!ox.com!math.fu-berlin.de!fauern!opal!db0tui11!muhrth
From: MUHRTH@tubvm.cs.tu-berlin.de (Thomas Muhr)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms,comp.sys.novell
Subject: Installing Windows in a net - a solution
Message-ID: <91100.194201MUHRTH@DB0TUI11.BITNET>
Date: 10 Apr 91 17:42:01 GMT
Organization: Technical University Berlin
Lines: 53

There was exactly one response concerning the WINDOWS-net-installation
MY SPECIAL THANKS TO MIKE PRINE!
We have in the meantime gained some experience and have windows now
running without too many problems (there will always be some left!). We
proceeded as follows to seperate machine-dependent from user-dependent
features without the need for a local installation:
After copying all windows files to a server windows-directory and
making the read-only do the following:
for every user do:
  [make a setup/n installation in his/her win-directory on the server.
   without any hardware specific details, using defaults] then
for every workstation do:
  [1. login to one of the users account (doesn't matter, whose)
   2. run setup/n and select the hardware for this workstation
   3. copy the resulting system.ini to the LOCAL disk (we put all
      system dependent files in c:|syslocal
   4. repeat 3. for every mode (resolution!) but give the local ini's
      an appropriate name (higres.ini, medres.ini, lowres.ini)
   5. if workstation == 386 or higher do:
      5.0  compress the local disk to get a few megbyte of continous
           diskspace (absolutely necessary)
      5.1. start windows again in real-mode
      5.2. stop every application including the invisible
           nwpopup (or something like this) by the control feature
           networks (I don't know exactly in english, we have the german
           version)
      5.3. start SWAPFILE.EXE and specify an appropriate size
           enable the nwpopup again
      5.4. leave windows and copy the SPART.PAR pointer-file from
           the server to the local disk (same department as all the ini's)
   6. Make a batch file in your server user area which copies the workstations
      system.ini and spartpar to the server (into the users windows area)
 (e.g., copy c:|syslocal|highres.ini f:|user|xy|windows|system.ini).
      Delete these files from the server after leaving windows!!!!!!
      Otherwise, if you use a different workstation-pc the pointer file and
    the swapfile THERE might get out of order: the swapfile is thenplaced
      on the server!!!!!!! same for the system.ini
      if there is a different hardware configuration

   7. Repeat 6 for every resolution
   8. copy these batch files to every users windows directory.

Very important: specify the search pathes in the right order:
First, the users server-windows-dir, then the servers global windows dir
Do you know of a documentation for windows covering these points in
appropriate detail? I don't!
I bet we will run into a few other problems in the future (an easy bet!)...
- Thomas
-------
Thomas Muhr, Technical University of Berlin, BITNET: muhrth@db0tui11
   Project ATLAS - Computer Based Tools for Qualitative Research
         "Computers, like every technology, are a vehicle
      for the transformation of tradition." (WINOGRAD/FLORES)