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- First things to try when "the network doesn't work."
-
-
- 1. Invoke the NET_MGR program and choose the "user account
- information" selection. Check each user name for the privileges
- they have been assigned. Make sure that no user has the 'P'
- privilege assigned to him/her. Then hit the ESC key until you
- are back to the main functions menu and choose the "network
- access information" selection. For each device that you have
- created, check the access control list (ACL) and make sure that
- no device has the 'P' access enabled (if it is enabled, a P will
- appear at the end of the ACL). NOTE: The P privilege for user
- accounts no longer exists in version 3.0. However, if it was set
- under version 2.5x, it will still be set after you convert, but
- you will not be able to toggle it off. The easiest solution is
- to delete the user account and then re-create it.
-
- 2. Are you running an expanded memory? If not, skip this section.
- If so, you must confirm that the expanded memory manager (EMM)
- does not map over the LANtastic memory location (RAMBASE) in the
- 640K to 1Meg range (2 Mbps adapters only. The AE2 does not use
- a high memory address). Most EMM drivers allow you to specifically
- exclude a region of that memory by adding an exclude switch to the
- "command line" in the CONFIG.SYS file. The syntax would be something
- like
-
- device=EMM.SYS /exclude:D800-DFFF
-
- to exclude the default LANtastic RAMBASE setting. If you are
- running LANtastic NOS/AI on another manufacturer's adapter, you
- need to find out if that adapter uses an address location in the
- reserved memory area and exclude that address range.
-
- 3. Are you running a disk caching program? If not, skip this
- section. If so, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
- If your caching software allows for "delayed disk writes" you
- need to disable this feature in order for it to work correctly on
- any LAN. See your manual for specific syntax, for example, for
- the Golden Bow Systems VCACHE program, the switch is '/t=0' on
- the command line. If you are running a cache in extended (not
- expanded) memory on a 286 machine and experiencing intermittent
- lockups, first make sure you have disabled the delayed disk
- writes, then if you still have lockups, remove the cache from
- extended memory. If you still have lockups after that, go on to
- the following sections. You may also want to consider running
- the LANCACHE program (now shipping with NOS version 3.0) as it is
- designed specifically for use with the LANtastic NOS.
-
- 4. Check your CONFIG.SYS file for device drivers (any line with
- "device=xxxxx.SYS"). If you have drivers other than ANSI.SYS or
- DMDRVR.BIN (or other disk partitioning software), try removing or
- commenting out those other lines and rebooting the system.
- Before you reboot, go through the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and see if
- you have any memory resident programs that load there (other than
- the NOS software). Most terminate, stay resident (TSR) software
- should work, but some do not and can cause the network to have
- problems. The order in which TSR programs are loaded is also
- important. Only caching programs, FASTOPEN and MODE can be run
- before the NOS programs, all other TSRs should load AFTER the
- NOS. One further exception is the MSCDEX.EXE (Microsoft CD ROM
- extension) program, which should be loaded BETWEEN REDIR and
- SERVER. The best test is to remove all TSRs, and if the network
- then runs fine, add your TSRs back in one at a time until you
- have problems again to pinpoint which one is causing the
- problems.
-
- 5. If you are running LANtastic NOS version 2.49 or 2.53, invoke the
- NET_MGR program and choose the "server startup parameters"
- option. Set the 'network tasks' parameter to 1. These versions
- incorrectly handle multiple network tasks and having a value
- greater than 1 here can cause unpredictable problems. If you are
- running version 2.57 or earlier of the NOS, consider upgrading to
- NOS 3.0.
-
- 6. If you system is locking up when you run the REDIR or LANCHECK
- programs, you probably have an IRQ conflict. Check all the
- hardware adapters (and/or the documentation for them) that are
- installed in your computer to find out which IRQs they are using.
- Then set the LANtastic adapter (or other manufacturer's adapter)
- to an unused IRQ. If you are using LANtastic enhanced 2Mbps adapters,
- this is done by adding the switch IRQ=x to the LANBIOS2 command
- line (where x is the number of the IRQ you select). If you have
- the old style adapters (with jumpers for the IRQ and ADDRESS
- settings), you will have to change the jumper and add the IRQ=
- switch to the LANBIOS command line.
- TSRs can also cause lockups at this point; see #4 above.
-
- 7. If none of the above suggestions help, read the "Common problems
- and remedies" bulletin on this BBS. If you are still stumped,
- then contact Technical Support.
-
- Good luck and happy computing!