Cannot access SYS on a fresh install of Netware.4.11 - kinda Urgent

[other3]

Hello,

I have had this Netware 4.11 server going since around 1997. I have never had any problems with it and any of the various Windows that have come along since then.

The problem started when I, like a stupid idiot, accidentally deleted the
C:\NWSERVER directory. After that I had no choice but to reinstall the server
software. I made sure when I got to setting up the volumes that I only deleted the
SYS volume and allocated a new one.

Basically the install went very well.

The problem is that now no matter what OS or client I use I cannot get to the SYS
drive.

I know I have the NDS Root down to the server setup right. When I attempt to login
from a WinXP Pro station the Tree and Organizational Unit and Server are all there to fill in the login but I cannot.

As things are right now I cannot get any users registered.

Please help

Charlie


Everything I know I learned from The Grateful Dead and Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Charlie

 

[Provogeek]

Is this your only server? or do you have another one? From the information you provided, if you only have this one server, you are basically hosed. The database files used to store NDS information is stored in SYS:_NETWARE, so by deleting and reinstalling over the top of your existing SYS volume, you deleted your NDS directory. User, objects, passwords, everything ... gone. You can't login because the only user that exists in your directory is Admin. If you login as Admin, you will be able to see this in NWAdmin. Your data should be fine, but if this is a single server environment, you will need to rebuild your user ID's or restore from backup.












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Brent Schmidt Senior Network Engineer
Keep IT Simple[/color red]

http://www.kiscc.com

Novell Platinum Partner Microsoft Gold Partner
VMWare Enterprise Partner Citrix Gold Partner

 

[goombawaho]

^^^^^^That's what I was going to say (hosed) but it's been so long since I touched 4.11 that my memory is not trustworthy.

Perfect time to "upgrade" to something else since 4.11 is the equivalent of the dinosaur age at this point. I don't know what you were doing to delete the NWSERVER directory, but any time I was doing an upgrade or maintenance, I also did a copy of the NWSERVER directory to a couple places just as a CYA. For a single server environment like this, I would have been running another server (just a PC) to have for a second copy of NDS. As it was, you had a single point of failure. Boom.

 

[other3]

Time to upgrade huh. Are you going to buy me the software? I cannot afford to pay to upgrade.

I had a plan were I could have saved all of my data. That was just leave the various VOLs alone. Delete the SYS VOL and then put it back. As of now I am left with one of my previous volumes. The most important one.

Thank you all for you insights.

Everything I know I learned from The Grateful Dead and Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Charlie

 

[goombawaho]

Time to upgrade huh. Are you going to buy me the software? I cannot afford to pay to upgrade.

Then it's time to cease operations if you're in that shape. Were you just planning on running it forever?? What about hardware failure?

 

[Provogeek]

For others that might run across this post for a similar issue, here is the recommended fix when something happens to your C:\NWSERVER directory in the DOS partition.

[ol 1]
[li]Be sure you know the service pack level of your server and version of NDS[/li]
[li]Build a lab 4.x server, just do a simple install[/li]
[li]Install all patches and updates to match what was on the broken server[/li]
[li]Transfer the resulting C:\NWSERVER from the lab server to the broken server[/li]
[li]Edit C:\NWSERVER\STARTUP.NCF to ensure you are loading the correct storage drivers[/li]
[li]Reboot broken server and find it all fixed and happy again[/li]
[li]Reinstall your license[/li]
[/ol]

Also keep in mind that NW4 is long out of support, and Novell will not support it. No new drivers are being built for it, so as soon as the generic drivers stop supporting older hardware, there will be no newer hardware you can run on. In most cases, it is already like that. NetWare won't run on new hardware due to drivers not available.

If you have to keep it up and running, be sure you have a relationship with a Novell Platinum or Gold partner to assist you in keeping it up and running. It is best to know now who will support you now, then deal with everyone you call in a time of emergency saying they don't support that older version. Not all Novell partners or CNE's are willing to continue supporting older versions that are out of publisher support.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Brent Schmidt Senior Network Engineer
Keep IT Simple[/color red]

http://www.kiscc.com

Novell Platinum Partner Microsoft Gold Partner
VMWare Enterprise Partner Citrix Gold Partner