Product Bulletin

Issue PB96/27
August, 1996

Madge Wizard Usability Tips

This document explains how Madge Wizard can enhance new product evaluations by providing details of features as well as hints and tips of how to get the most from this utility.

Madge Wizard is designed to complement existing network installation utilities rather than replace them. A typical new card installation will use Madge Wizard to configure and test the newly fitted network adapter, then generate the necessary Madge software disk for the network installation software. Madge Wizard can then be used to modify installed drivers, for example to add additional protocol support or to optimize DOS memory use.

Running Madge Wizard

For DOS based systems, Madge Wizard is best run after the Client PC has loaded DOS. This allows Madge Wizard to gather the maximum amount of information about the system in use, and hence improve the installation process. Madge Wizard's graphical interface requires around 540k of DOS conventional memory so it may be necessary to remove some 3rd party software drivers to use Madge Wizard. Using the text mode rather than the graphical display also marginally reduces Madge Wizard's memory requirement. Information on DOS memory usage can be obtained through the DOS 'MEM' command or similar utilities. Madge Wizard can also be run directly from LSS 5.0 disk 1, which is bootable. This avoids DOS memory constraints but will limit the software's ability to analyse the system software and access the LSS 5.0 CD.

Madge Wizard has the ability to analyse and interpret many DOS boot sequences and network installations. Where it is able to do this, Madge Wizard can be used to simplify the process of changing from an existing driver installation to a new one. For example, Madge Wizard can convert many Fastmac Plus driver installations into Smart Software installations, a unique feature in the industry. Because of the complexities of some boot sequences, and the difficulty of interpreting certain commands, Madge Wizard does not guarantee to produce fully working configurations. In every situation where a file is changed, unmodified reference copies are saved and even in situations where working configurations are not able to be delivered, the user is moved much closer to a working set-up than if they had to construct all the changes by hand.

Wizard recognizes and performs the following conversions / updates:

Converts fromConverts to
Madge Fastmac driverMadge Fastmac Plus driver (LSS 5.0)
Madge Fastmac Plus driverMadge Fastmac Plus driver (LSS 5.0)
Madge Smart setupMadge Smart setup (LSS 5.0)
Madge Fastmac Plus driverMadge Smart setup (LSS 5.0)
IBM driver*Madge Fastmac Plus driver (LSS 5.0)
IBM driver*Madge Smart setup (LSS 5.0)

* IBM drivers recognized by Madge Wizard:

token.comibmmpco.com (IBM LAN Streamer driver)
dxmj0mod.sys ibmmpc.dos (IBM LAN Streamer driver)
dxma0mod.sysdxme0mod.sys
dxmt0mod.sysibmtok.dos
dxmc0mod.sys

On-line help

Detailed on-line help is available when running Madge Wizard from floppy disk. Due to the highly comprehensive nature of the complete on-line documentation included in LSS 5.0, Madge Wizard requires access to the CD to view this. On-line documentation can also be viewed via any 3rd party HTML browser such as Netscape Navigator.

Wizard recognizes the following NOS with single protocols

Netware DOS client with VLM.EXE
(no source routing)
Netware DOS client with VLM.EXE
(source routing)
Netware DOS client with NETX.COM/NETX.EXE
(no source routing)
Netware DOS client with NETX.COM/NETX.EXE
(source routing)
IBM LAN Server DOS ClientMicrosoft LAN Manager DOS Client
Winsock WorkstationWindows 3.x DOS Client
3270 applications eg. PCSNetware/IP DOS Client
LAN WorkPlace for DOSIPX Workstation
LLC WorkstationNDIS Workstation
NetBIOS WorkstationODI Workstation
TCP/IP (Novell API) Workstation

Wizard WILL NOT support / recognize the following NOS

Banyan VINESArtisoft Lantastic
Dec PathworksNovell Netware Lite
Novell Personal NetwareNovell Client32
Microsoft Networks DOS Client

For Novell's Client-32, use Novell's installation disks, which include the Madge driver.

Madge Wizard will support one level of nesting within DOS batch files.

There are a number of commands that can be used within the standard DOS configuration files, some of which are not supported. Details of these are as follows:

Supported
config.sys commands
Not Supported
config.sys commands
Device= If
Devicehigh= subst
[menu] join
menuitem choice
submenu Ifadap
include
;
Device?=
rem

Supported
autoexec.bat commands
Not Supported
autoexec.bat commands
:label Ifadap*
goto
call
path
cd
%config%
%path%
set variable =
loadhigh
rem
load

* Madge Wizard does not support 'IFADAP' conditionally loading device drivers.

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