DOS Compatibility Card: All NT Servers Don‘t Appear

I am having a problem running Windows for Workgroups (Windows 3.11) on a Power Macintosh with a DOS Compatibility Card installed. The problem is, only 11 of the 30 Windows NT servers show up in the Windows File Manager. I can log into any of the 11 servers listed as network drives, but there are 19 other file servers that are not listed.

I have restarted Windows for Workgroups several times, and on two occasions had four other file servers listed, for a total of fifteen. But I was never able to get all of the servers listed; it was always the same 11, OR the 11 plus the four additional drives. All of the Gateway 2000 computers on the network that run Windows for Workgroups can list all 30 servers.


Here are possible solutions to the problems you are experiencing. It is important that ALL of the solutions be implemented, as they are all directly related to the proper functioning of the Browser in Windows for Workgroups 3.11. It is important to note that all of this information comes from Microsoft's TechNet CD, so if you will be doing further work with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Window NT, you should get a subscription to this resource. Contact Microsoft for subscription information.

Step 1
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Make sure the following files have the same or later creation dates. These are the versions you should be using:


Name           Size            Date
-------------------------------------
NDIS.386        27,846 Bytes   9/4/94
NET.EXE        450,262 Bytes   9/4/94
NETAPI.DLL     109,120 Bytes   9/4/94
NWNBLINK.386    37,964 Bytes   9/4/94
VNETSUP.386     14,647 Bytes   9/4/94
VREDIR.386      85,746 Bytes   9/4/94


NET.EXE should be in the Windows directory, and the rest should be in the WINDOWS\\SYSTEM directory. If the files you have are older, contact Microsoft to get the updated files.


Step 2
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Make sure you have enough conventional memory -- the Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Browser requires a minimum of 540K of free conventional memory. See the Microsoft DOS documentation for memory optimization techniques.

You need to determine what you will not be using, as far as DOS-Macintosh functionality, and remove those pieces from memory, which is at a premium in the DOS Compatibility Card environment. To increase the amount of conventional memory, you need to remove terminate and stay resident (TSR) application programs. For example, if you are not going to be using the clipboard function, you can remove DOSClip. You may be able to remove other TSRs from your DOS startup.


Step 3
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The (Link Driver MACODI) section that should look like this:

(Link Driver MACODI)
data=Frame Ethernet_802.3
data=Frame Ethernet_II
data=Frame Ethernet_SNAP
data=Frame Ethernet_802.2
data=Link Driver MACODI


Step 4
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Remove the (NetBeui) section from the PROTOCOL.INI file. It is not a required protocol for Windows networking and may cause some problems since it cannot be routed.


Step 5
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Comment out or remove the following line:

TimerCriticalSection=10000

in the system.ini file


Step 6
------
Make sure all NT servers are either version 3.5, or if they are 3.1, that they have the latest service pack from Microsoft installed. Contact Microsoft for additional information on both the upgrade and Service Pack.


Step 7
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Comment out the following lines if they appear in your SYSTEM.INI file:

InDosPolling=True
TimerCriticalSection=<any value>
V86ModeLanas=<any value>


Step 8
------
If all of the above steps do not work, then add the following line to the (network) section of the SYSTEM.INI file on at least one Windows for Workgroups 3.11 machine in each workgroup:

MaintainServerList=yes

You may notice some decrease in speed, but it should correct the problem.
Published Date: Feb 19, 2012