TITLE: Troubleshooting PNW Lockup (Hanging) Problems DOCUMENT ID: TID1200832 DOCUMENT REVISION: 0 DATE: 14JUN95 ALERT STATUS: Yellow README FOR: NA NOVELL PRODUCT and VERSION: PERSONAL NETWARE V1.0 ABSTRACT: NA --------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: THE ORIGIN OF THIS INFORMATION MAY BE INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL TO NOVELL. NOVELL MAKES EVERY EFFORT WITHIN ITS MEAN TO VERIFY THIS INFORMATION. HOWEVER, THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. NOVELL MAKES NO EXPLICIT OR IMPLIED CLAIMS TO THE VALIDITY OF THIS INFORMATION. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE: TROUBLESHOOTING PNW LOCKUP (HANGING) PROBLEMS While using a networking system, problems may occur; locking could be one of them. This document, which is divided into two areas of hardware and software, is intended to help diagnose and resolve lockup problems. HARDWARE 1. Most Local Area Network (LAN) boards come with the ability to change the interrupt line, base I/O address, and memory address settings(in some cases). This is done by either setting switches located on the network board or through a software setup utility. When Personal NetWare is installed, it must be told what the interrupt line, base I/O, and the memory address settings are on the board. If the board does not agree with the settings that the network is searching for, it could cause lockups. This usually happens when the network board driver is loaded, when SERVER.EXE is loaded, when VLM.EXE is loaded, or when the NET utility is used. The solution for this type of problem is straight forward. The settings on the board need to be determined by checking the switches and sometimes cross referencing it with the documentation provided with the network board. Some network cards settings can be changed or viewed through a software utility provided by the network card manufacture. After the correct settings are found, the network card configuration file must be changed to reflect the correct settings. To change the NET.CFG configuration settings: Change directory to the \NWCLIENT and load NET.CFG into a text editor. Example EDIT NET.CFG. Your NET.CFG will be similar to the following: Link driver NE2000 IRQ 5 PORT 340 MEM D0000 Make the appropriate IRQ, PORT and MEM settings changes to reflect actual settings on the network card. 2. Another lockup problem may occur when the interrupt line, base I/O address, or memory address conflict with another device in the same machine. Each of these settings must be unique to the network board. Devices that may conflict include modems or mice. Lockups in this case can show up anytime after the network has been loaded. A reference list is provided that contains the interrupt line and Base I/O address for many devices. For more information on interrupts, see document 1200452 on Novell's FaxBack Service or TID1200452 in the NSE Pro or on CompuServe. Option IRQ Base I/O Com1 4 3F8-3FF Com2 3 2F8-2FF LPT1 7 378-37F LPT2 5 278-27F VGA 2 3C0-3CF EGA 2 3C0-3CF CGA 3D0-3DF Hercules 3B4-3BF Mono 3B0-3BF AT controller 14 1F0-1F8, 170-177 Floppy controller 6 1F0-1F8, 3F0-3F7 Tape controller 5 280-28F XT controller 5 320-32F If IRQ or PORT setting changes are made to the network card, the NET.CFG file must be modified to reflect these changes. Change directory to the \NWCLIENT and load NET.CFG into a text editor. Your NET.CFG will be similar to the following: Link driver NE2000 IRQ 5 PORT 340 MEM D0000 Make the appropriate IRQ, PORT settings changes to reflect actual settings on the network card. Note: Along with the above mentioned I/O address conflicts, address 360 should be avoided. This address may overlap with beginning address 378 that is used in LPT1 processes. (This is hardware defined and may depend on the particular network board used.) The best solution for this is to configure the network board I/O address at 300, 320, or 340. These settings will work for most systems. 3. The switch settings on the board are not the only things that can cause problems. Some network boards, when not fully compatible with Novell certified boards, can also cause problems. When locking problems do not seem related to any of the settings on the board, try using a different board to see if it does clear up. Occasionally, you may come across a bad board . 4. Sometimes you may have a NIC that has timing conflicts. With some machines there is a slight bus-timing difference. Some network cards like the NE2000 have a timing or compatibility jumper that may help. You can try removing the W16 jumper on an NE2000. Contact individual NIC vendors for an equal solution. SOFTWARE 1. Some software can cause a lockup when it is simply not compatible with Personal NetWare . These programs usually use protocol that tries to print, gain access to RAM, or gain access to the hard drive without going through DOS. Because Personal NetWare is written to work with DOS these programs cannot be used. 2. Personal NetWare is a memory resident program that occupies part of RAM. This limits the amount of room allowed for other programs. When conventional memory is too low, it can cause applications to crash. One solution for this is to load as much as possible into upper memory. This is done in MS-DOS 6.xx or Novell DOS 7.0 by putting "LOADHIGH" before the file name to be loaded. This is done in DR-DOS 6.0 by putting "HILOAD" before the file name to be loaded. (Third-party memory managers may also be used but not loaded at the same time with other memory managers.) Note that many memory resident programs can be loaded high but others cannot. If you load a particular program high and find that your system locks more frequently, load it back into conventional memory again. Example for loading network drivers high in STARTNET.BAT using MS-DOS and Novell DOS 7.0 format: LOADHIGH lsl LOADHIGH NE2000 LOADHIGH ipxodi a LOADHIGH share LOADHIGH server VLM 3. Some network boards use upper memory for their own processes that range from C000h to E000h. If this is the case, they do not require a memory manager to control them. Furthermore, this area in upper memory should be excluded from the memory manager's control. To do so, insert the following in CONFIG.SYS: For MS-DOS 6.xx use: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE X=mmmm-nnnn For Novell DOS 7.0 use: DEVICE=C:\NWDOS\EMM386.EXE /EXCLUDE=mmmm-nnnn (mmmm is beginning and nnnn is the ending address.) Note: Most network-board drivers occupy about 8 to 16 KB of memory. Check the references for your specific device. 4. CONFIG.SYS also has a parameter that can be changed that may cause computers to lock. That is "files=xx." The xx is the number of files that machine can have open at one time the maximum being 255. The suggested amount is 10 files per client plus 30 more. Some applications require more file handles. Check with the application vendor or developer on how many file handles the application requires. 5. Along the same line as the above paragraph, the number of client tasks could have the same effect. To change the client tasks you must run the NET utility, go to "supervise the network," then "server configuration." This parameter is normally set between 5 and 10 per client. 6. Terminate-Stay-Resident (TSR) programs can also cause lockups. They can show up in several ways of which most commonly is when the TSR is functioning. It can also happen when the TSR seems inactive. The easiest way to find out if a TSR is causing the lockup is by renaming AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS and then putting the following in the CONFIG.SYS: FILES=30 LASTDRIVE=Z If the problem no longer persists, add each component back into AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS one by one until you find the one that is causing the problem. Modifications may be necessary to make the conflicting TSR work properly, or it may even be incompatible with the network environment. 7. Some incompatibilities have been found with certain hardware and software configurations. Personal NetWare has made some modifications to adapt to these situations. These modifications come in the form of a update file that is applied once to each machine in the network. The latest update file, P10Uxx.EXE can be obtained from CompuServe, Novell's WWW site (WWW.NOVELL.COM), Novell's FTP site (FTP.NOVELL.COM), or Novell's BBS (801-221-5197). --------------------------------------------------------------------- Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------