Network in DOS

[Dave357]

I've got several older computers with no CD ROMs. They DO have NIC cards in them, though. After fidsk, format, and sys (wiped out HD, with NO OS, other than DOS) How can I connect to one of my other computers to access the CD ROM & install Windows? My other 3 computers are networked with a hub (one with Win95, one Win98, one Win8 SE) so I can use either the NIC connection, or a parallel crossover cable. I know that I can use DCC or the network once I have an OS installed, but what can I use with a BLANK HD?

[RWSchlatter]

First a remark: don't forget licensing issues.

J don't know if this is feasible in a peer to peer environment. J have only seen this happen in true client/server configurations. There you load the cd contents onto a server folder, prepare a special Install Diskette for this case, use it to boot the client and let it work overnight (real lengthy process - depends on the install options you need).

My recommendation for this: buy a disk cloning application and a screwdriver. Remove the harddisk from the non-cd clients and hook them up on a mastering machines and run the copy there.

Depending what you are using these machines for, why not upgrade them with a cd drive, cause you will have the similiar problem when installing applications.

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Regards - Richard

[Dave357]

Hi Richard. Thanks for the reply. And I thought this was going to be easy. I've done this 3 ways in the past:

1. Remove the CD ROM from another computer & temporarily install it in the subject machine.

2. Remove the HD from the subject, and temporarily install it in another computer to copy the Win9x directory, then move it back to run setup.

3. Copy the Win9x directory onto a spare HD temporarily installed into another computer, then install it as a secondary master in the subject machine. This last method is particularly useful if you're installing on multiple machines, because you can just keep moving the HD from machine to machine.

As far as putting CDs into these computers, I'm just using the computers for experimenting and playing around, and as I said, they all have NICs installed, so once I have an OS installed, they can be plugged into the network to access CDs, printers, etc. (They came from teller stations in a bank, so they all have NICs, small HDs, and floppies, but no CDs.) They are fun for experimenting with new programs, messing with the registry, exploring different OSs (as I said, I've got 3 versions of Windows now, and plan on buying XP after it's first revision.) If I crash & burn after playing with the registry, I just format and start over.

Thanks again for the input. I guess I'll just keep doing it the way that I have been.

Dave

[Dave357]

For anyone that's interested in this, I received some excellent feedback at another forum. Try this site:http://www.computing.net/networking/wwwboard/forum/3234.html