WFWG: Recovering Windows 3.1 After Installation with DR-DOS (94899)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11
This article was previously published under Q94899
The following article contains information on the use of Windows for Workgroups with third-party products or configurations that have not been tested and are not supported by Microsoft.

If the steps or procedures described in this article do not function properly, contact the manufacturer of the third-party product for more information or use a supported configuration.

Microsoft has tested Windows for Workgroups with versions 3.3 and later of Microsoft MS-DOS and PC-DOS. Microsoft does not recommend or support running Windows or Windows for Workgroups with Digital Research DOS (DR-DOS).

IMPORTANT: Read these instructions before proceeding. Microsoft cannot guarantee this procedure will work in every situation. If this procedure fails, you must reinstall Windows 3.1 and Windows-based applications to a new directory.

SUMMARY

After you install Windows for Workgroups on a computer running DR-DOS version 6.0, the system may stop responding (hang) while loading the protocol manager, PROTMAN.DOS. If the problem occurs and Windows for Workgroups was installed over Windows 3.1, use the following procedures to return to Windows 3.1.

MORE INFORMATION

NOTE: This procedure can be used ONLY if the Setup program for Windows for Workgroups was run one time. If the Setup program was run more than once, it is not possible to restore the original Windows configuration files and therefore Windows 3.1 must be reinstalled to an empty subdirectory. Additionally, any third-party software that replaces Windows virtual device drivers (VxDs) may need to be reinstalled after reinstalling Windows 3.1.

  1. Start up the machine with DR-DOS 6.0 from the DR-DOS startup disk. DR- DOS immediately runs a batch file. Press CTRL+C (or CTRL+BREAK) to stop the batch file. The A> prompt appears.
  2. Edit the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to remove the Windows for Workgroups network device drivers. These drivers are PROTMAN.DOS, WORKGRP.SYS, and the network interface card driver (media access control [MAC] driver). If NetWare connectivity has been added, also remove the referenced lines.

    Below is an example of lines to remove:

    CONFIG.SYS

           DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\PROTMAN.DOS /I:C:\WINDOWS
       DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\WORKGRP.SYS
       DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EXP16.DOS   ;or other specific MAC driver
       DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\MSIPX.SYS   ;if NetWare Connectivity added

    AUTOEXEC.BAT

           C:\WINDOWS\NET START
       C:\WINDOWS\MSIPX    ;if NetWare Connectivity added
       C:\WINDOWS\NETX     ;if NetWare Connectivity added
  3. Copy the files WININI.W31 and SYSINI.W31 to a floppy disk. These files should be located in the WINDOWS directory.
  4. Run the Windows version 3.1 Setup program. Choose the Custom Setup button. A blue screen will appear stating that setup has found a previous version of Microsoft Windows on your system and recommends that you perform an upgrade. Specify the Windows for Workgroups directory as the target directory and press ENTER to upgrade. When the System Information screen appears, change the line 
    Network = Windows for Workgroups (version 3.1)
    to: 
    Network = No Network Installed (or the specific network in use)
    The Windows 3.1 Setup program detects some newer drivers (for example, COMM.DRV) and prompts you to replace them with the ones from Windows 3.1. In the following example, Setup detects conflicts between the version of COMM.DRV currently on your system and the version that Setup is attempting to copy. You can choose to use the currently installed file or replace it with the file Setup is trying to copy.

    Example 
           Current file : Version 3.10a   Language: U.S. English
                     220800 bytes           10/1/92  3:11
       Proposed file: Version 3.10    Language: U.S. English
                     220800 bytes           03/10/92 3:10
    The replacement file is an older version than your current file.

    • To keep your currently installed driver file, press ENTER.
    • To replace the currently installed driver file, press ESC.
    At this point, each driver file should be replaced by pressing the ESC key.

    After Setup loads Windows, the Setup program begins to copy files, again finding newer versions than those provided with Windows 3.1. Setup prompts for action on each conflicting file as follows:

    The following file conflicts with the version already on your system: 
           File: CLIPBRD.EXE

       Description: Windows for Workgroups

       The new version of the file ((Unknown)) you are trying to install is
       older than the currently installed version (3.10a).

       Do you want to replace the file that is already on your system?

          Yes      Help        No
    Replace these files by selecting the Yes option. Setup finds version conflicts with the following files:

    COMM.DRV
    DDEML.DLL
    GDI.EXE
    MAIN.CPL
    USER.EXE
    PRINTMAN.CPL
    WINFILE.EXE
    SHELL.DLL
    COMMDLG.DLL
    CLIPBRD.EXE

  5. From the floppy disk used in step 3, copy WININI.W31 to the WINDOWS directory as WIN.INI and SYSINI.W31 to the WINDOWS directory as SYSTEM.INI.
  6. Reboot the system, and start Windows 3.1 by typing WIN at the command prompt and pressing ENTER.
  7. Remove the program icons that were added by the Windows for Workgroups Setup program.

    Delete the following icons from the Main Group:

    Clipbook Viewer
    Mail
    Schedule+

    Delete the following icons from the Accessories group:

    Chat
    WinMeter
    Net Watcher

    Delete the following icons from the Games Group:

    Hearts

  8. Remove the files from the WINDOWS directory and the WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory that are specific to Windows for Workgroups.

    Files in the WINDOWS directory to delete: 
       CARDS.DLL     IMPEXP.DLL    MSSCHED.DLL  NDDENB.DLL    SCHEDMSG.DLL
   TRNSCHED.DLL  WGPOMGR.DLL   CLIPSRV.EXE  MSHEARTS.EXE  MSMAIL.EXE
   MSREMIND.EXE  NET.EXE       NETDDE.EXE   NETWATCH.EXE  SCHDPLUS.EXE
   WINCHAT.EXE   WINMETER.EXE  MSMAIL.HLP   MSHEARTS.HLP  NETWATCH.HLP
   SCHDPLUS.HLP  WINCHAT.HLP   WFWNET.HLP   NET.MSG       NETH.MSG
   RINGIN.WAV    RINGOUT.WAV
    Files in the SYSTEM directory to delete: 
       WFWSETUP.CPL  VBROWSE.386   VCD.386      VDMAD.386     VNB.386
   VNETBIOS.386  VNETSUP.386   VPD.386      VPICD.386     VREDIR.386
   VSERVER.386   VSHARE.386    VWC.386      AB.DLL        COMMCTRL.DLL
   DEMILAYR.DLL  FRAMEWRK.DLL  MAILMGR.DLL  MAPI.DLL      MSSFS.DLL
   NDDEAPI.DLL   PABNSP.DLL    SENDFILE.DLL STORE.DLL     VFORMS.DLL
   WFWNET.DRV    MAILSPL.EXE   NETWORK.INF  MIDIMAP.OLD   LM21DRV.UPD
After performing these steps, Windows 3.1 should be successfully reinstalled. However, if Windows 3.1 does not perform as expected, you must reinstall Windows 3.1 and all Windows-based software to a new subdirectory.

For more information about DR-DOS, contact Novell.

For additional information on reinstalling other Windows versions, query on the following words:

windows reinstall

DR-DOS is manufactured by Novell, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

KBCategory: kbnetwork kb3rdparty
KBSubcategory: wfw wfwg
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/15/2003
Keywords:KB94899
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.