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- WINPKT.TXT - Usage of WINPKT.BAT if you do not use Windows for Workgroups
- Douglas W. Jones, Ph.D., July 1995
-
- In response to several recent queries about using WINPKT.BAT from
- users who are not running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (WfWG), I
- thought I should clarify its usage and operation. The instructions
- accompanying the OEMSETUP.INF in TWSWFWG.ZIP state, "This is *only* for
- Windows for Workgroups 3.11...". This is true of the OEMSETUP.INF and
- the rest of the instructions in README.TXT, in TWSWFWG.ZIP, but WINPKT.BAT
- is merely a DOS batch file and should work as well without WfWG. It will
- need to be manually installed, however, but this is trivial:
-
- 1) First, install your packet driver and make sure it is functioning
- correctly.
-
- 2) Put a CALL to WINPKT.BAT in your AUTOEXEC.BAT:
-
- CALL [[drive:][\path\]]WINPKT.BAT [[drive:][\path\]]
-
- after the command that loads your packet driver and before your
- WIN command to run Windows. The drive and path parameters are optional;
- if the directories containing WINPKT.BAT and WINPKT.COM are in your
- PATH line you don't need them. If not, the drive and path following
- WINPKT.BAT specify the location of WINPKT.COM, and MUST end in a "\"
- (omit quotes), for example, use:
-
- CALL C:\TRUMPET\WINPKT.BAT C:\TRUMPET\
-
- if both WINPKT.BAT and WINPKT.COM are in the C:\TRUMPET directory. Be
- sure to specify the full filename including the extension to make sure
- the .BAT runs and not the .COM when AUTOEXEC.BAT executes.
-
- 3) You should see message from WINPKT.BAT telling you the vector at
- which it found your packet driver. If you wish to speed up your boot
- process, and you do not plan to change your vector, then you can
- remark out the above line and merely run WINPKT.COM as usual with
- the number of the vector reported by WINPKT.BAT. For example, if
- you run WINPKT.BAT and see the message:
-
- WINPKT loaded; PKTDRV using interrupt 0x69
-
- Then, you could speed things up by using
-
- C:\TRUMPET\WINPKT.COM 0x69
-
- instead of the CALL to WINPKT.BAT. (Incidentally,this is the default
- for ODIPKT; 0x69 = 105 decimal) Alternatively, just running WINPKT.BAT
- manually once from the command prompt will act as a probe, telling
- you where your packet driver resides and allowing you to get the
- WINPKT.COM line right on the first try.
-
- Finally, for the terminally bored, a few word about how WINPKT.BAT functions.
- It is a trivial kludge that works around a shortcoming of WINPKT.COM which
- does not search for the vector on its own if one is not supplied on the
- command line. Fortunately, WINPKT.COM (at least the version distributed by
- Peter Tattam with his Trumpet Winsock distribution) does check the vector that
- it is given to be sure it is actually the "PKTDRV" load point. If it is, then
- WINPKT.COM returns an "ERRORLEVEL 0" and all is well; if not, then WINPKT.COM
- does not load and returns "ERRORLEVEL 1". The algorithm in WINPKT.BAT is a
- no-brainer it simply tests a list of possible vectors successively until it
- gets a return of "ERRORLEVEL 0" then it exits and tells you the location of
- PKTDRV it found to be successful. If it cannot find PKTDRV at any of the
- possible vectors, then it tells you that too :)
-
- Good Luck!
- Doug
- jones@cbdb1.nimh.nih.gov
-
-