3.12 server problem after patching

[rowin]

As a result of an ill advised patch to the server.exe I can not connect the server to the workstations, and most of the nlms are not loading.

For 3 years I have had no problem with 3.12, then a commercial program that uses MS access would not allow me to delete the records. The server showed an error message that the number of file locks had been exceeded. The support department suggested it was a Novell problem and that I should apply a 3.11 patch to 3.12's server.exe. They now say that they have no knowledge of novell 3.12 and they took their advice from the novell web site.

The patch corrupted the server.exe and as result I could not start the server.

I went back to my installation disk and extracted the server.exe and put it into c:\server.312 and could then start the server.

I found that I had previously expanded 312ptd.exe onto the server and so tried to install it so that I had the latest nlms. It is to be found in c:\server.312\312ptd

Startup.ncf is not patching the new nlms.

I do not know what should be run but

Load c:\server.312\312ptd\patch312.nlm as a first line in startup.ncf has not resulted in any improvement.

What should be in the autoexec and startup ncf in order to run the nlms to be found in the 312ptd patch?

A friend suggested that I copy over a sub directory from the installation CD which he says is what is copied to the c:\server.312 when a new installation is done. I have not been able to find what to copy over.

In the autoexec.bat is a line that is supposed to initialise the network card. It is not working:

load c:\server.312\nbi31x.nlm
same for:
msm31x.nlm
ethertsm.nlm
dlkfet slot=2 frame=ethernet_802.3 name=dlkfet

the last line dlkfet slot etc is failing to initialise the network card. How should I get it to work?

There is a text file that comes with 312ptd but I am having problems following the instructions because I can not access the server through a workstation.

The structure of 312ptd is:
\312ptd\patch312.nlm
\312ptd\native\loader\312ptd\native\other\auto\312ptd\native\start

 

[JockMullin]

Hi, Rowin.

The directory structure you give is the one that results when you decompress the distribution file 312PTD.EXE. That is the source for the installation of the patches.

The installed patches should be in directories in c:\server.312. Usually they are found in c:\server.312\patches\312PTD, however that may vary. You mention that you are loading the patch manager pm312 from c:\server.312\312ptd directory. That likely also contains the rest of the patches that are to be applied, or they may be in a subdirectory called patches.

If that is the case, then I would expect the following lines to be in your startup.ncf:

load c:\server.312\312ptd\pm312
pmload c:\server.312\312ptd\patches

Look at the subdirectores of server.312 to see where the pathes may be on your system. PMLOAD is a patch manager command - that is what loads the patches from the folder specified.

Best regards
Jock

 

[rowin]

Thanks. I am still having problems getting the nlms to load. They go past so fast that I can not read the error messages.

I have tried reinstalling the patches but they still fail to run.

I think it is something to do with the default settings being over ridden by the previous installation. A message appears during the startup that says that the defaults are not being followed because of a sys file that over rides it.

What is strange is that I found a backup of the server.312 that has worked. It was on the mirrored disk. I xcopied from d: to c: and yet it still did not load the nlms.

 

[JockMullin]

Hi, Rowin

Once you get the server up and get the rompt, you can try loading the nlm's manually. That way you should be able to see the errors you are getting, which would be very helpful.

try load c:\server.312\nbi31x.nlm

if that fails then also try load nbi31x.nlm, just in case it also exists on SYS. I am assuming you are able to mount SYS.

My suspicion is the 3.11 patch may have affected more than just server.exe, or else when you restored server.exe you may have lost other patches. However, assuming the mirrored boot partition was up to date then having restored from that any problems in the boot partition should be resolved.

However it is possible some modules in SYS:SYSTEM may also have been downgraded. If you can see the errors that happen when you try to load nbi31x.nlm that should help. If that module does not load then the subsequent ones will also fail.

Best regards
Jock

 

[rowin]

That was really helpful. I will try it tomorrow! Thanks.

 

[rowin]

I am still not loading the patches properly.

It was better today in that I reinstalled the system and public files from the CD and then reinstalled the patch 312ptd. The load went wrong when one of the NLMs gave the Richard Keil Memorial Abend. The loading refused to move further inviting either a memory dump or exit. Any ideas?

 

[JockMullin]

Hi, Rowin

Below pls find a Novell TID 13640 describing the above problem during install. They say it is due to hardware (disk) problems during install.

Now that you have downgraded all the system and public files to 3.12 base status, you are missing a lot of patches and fixes. Also the contents of the DOS partition (SERVER, LOADER, disk drivers) are now at a more recent release level than the contents of SYS:SYSTEM and SYSUBLIC.

I think you are now going to have to spend some time patching your server up to date, including the CLIB enhancements and all the Y2K patches etc etc. A complete patch list and all the necessary download files can be found at:

http://support.novell.com/filefinder/147/index.html

Best regards
Jock

Technical Information Document
Memorial Abends During NetWare 3.12 Install - TID13640 (last modified 04JUL1995)

13640 symptoms

1 "Richard Keil Memorial Abend #27"

troubleshooting

The user was trying to install v3.12. While in INSTALL he received the above message.

cause

1.1 This message was intended to be remarked out before the code was frozen. Many other "memorial abends" were remarked out. This error is usually triggered by disk hardware failures.

solutions

1.1 The user was trying to install v3.12 on a clone machine. When they installed v3.12 on a certified machine the problem went away.

From what Novell has seen the error is manifest when there is a drive deactivation due to hardware failure, bad cabling, and so forth.

Document Title: Memorial Abends During NetWare 3.12 Install
Document ID: 13640
Creation Date: 07OCT1993
Modified Date: 04JUL1995
Document Revision: 1
Novell Product Class: NetWare
Novell Product and Version: NetWare 3.12

 

[rowin]

Thank you for you help so far.

Do you have any experience of an error message that flashes past on the screen when the server starts patching? It is something like:

Invalid configuration ...ptc312

And yet the patch are in 312ptc and the lines in start.ncf refer to the correct directory.
I have carefully checked the lines in the startup.ncf with the actual directories and can see nothing wrong.

There is also an error message stating that the default configuration is being over ridden because of the lconfig. But I can not read the contents of lconfig.sys. Is there a way of checking its contents?


I think all the patches are loading properly now, but I can not tell. I also do not know where to find a long that records the error message on startup.

 

[Lou0686]

Hi Rowin,

Check out TID 14986 on Novell's site. It explains the purpose of the Lconfig.sys file and possible fixes.

Good luck
Lou