This chapter contains three sections: commonly asked questions about using SoftWindows, suggested solutions to problems that you may encounter when running PC applications on your workstation with SoftWindows, and lastly, details of the SoftWindows and MS-DOS error messages with explanations and suggested solutions.
The SoftWindows troubleshooting information is divided into the following sections:
“Common questions” discusses commonly asked questions about using SoftWindows.
“Common problems” discusses the most commonly encountered problems when using SoftWindows.
“Installation Errors” discusses common SoftWindows installation errors and how to fix them.
“MS-DOS errors” contains details of the MS-DOS error messages, with explanations and suggested solutions.
“SoftWindows VFSA errors” contains details of the SoftWindows VFSA (Virtual File Sharing Architecture) error messages with explanations and suggested solutions.
“SoftWindows errors” contains details of the SoftWindows VFSA (Virtual File Sharing Architecture) error messages with explanations and suggested solutions.
“Networking errors” contains suggested solutions to problems that you may encounter when running PC applications on your workstation with SoftWindows.
“Troubleshooting TCP/IP” discusses common TCP/IP problems and how to fix them.
“Troubleshooting ODI” discusses common ODI problems and how to fix them.
The following sections contain answers to the most commonly asked questions about using SoftWindows.
How do I format a floppy disk?
Refer to “To format a floppy disk.”
How do I create a new hard disk?
Use the New Drive… function on the Disk Drives… cascade menu on the Options menu; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I make a hard disk file larger?
Use the Modify Drive… function on the Disk Drives… cascade menu on the Options menu; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
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Make the hard disk read-only; more than one user can then read data from it. To do this, enter the following command in a UNIX terminal window:
chmod 444 filename.hdf
where filename.hdf is the name of the hard disk file.
It may be useful to use the RO_DISK_PANEL_DISABLE configuration option; for more information refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
Can I use hard disk files from other versions of SoftWindows or SoftPC?
You can use a hard disk file from other versions of SoftWindows as D:. Before you can use an old hard disk file as drive C: you need to upgrade it to the current version of Windows. For information on upgrading your old SoftWindows hard disks, refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I set up a CD–ROM drive?
Refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I read an MS–DOS CD–ROM?
Refer to “Using CD-ROMs.”
How do I change the memory setting for PC applications?
Use the Memory dialog box; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I set up a foreign keyboard in Windows?
Use the Windows Keyboard control panel; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I set up a foreign keyboard in MS-DOS?
Use the MS-DOS KEYB command; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I change the size of the SoftWindows screen?
When you are running Windows, you can specify any size, up to the full screen; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
When running MS-DOS you can select between 1.0x, 1.5x, and 2.0x scales in the Display dialog box; refer to “To resize the SoftWindows MS–DOS window.”
How do I set up the COM and LPT ports?
Refer to “Printing, input, and output.”
How can I print from a Windows application?
How can I print from an MS-DOS application?
Refer to “Printing from MS-DOS applications.”
How do I use the serial ports with PC applications?
Refer to “To use serial input and output.”
How do I convert text documents between PC and UNIX?
If the documents are on a SoftWindows hard disk file, you can use the MS–DOS utilities DOS2UNIX and UNIX2DOS; refer to DOS2UNIX or UNIX2DOS.
If they are in the UNIX file system, you can use the UNIX utilities dostounix and unixtodos supplied in the $SWINHOME/bin directory.
How can I copy and paste between PC and X Windows applications?
Use the SoftWindows copy and paste facilities; refer to “Copying and pasting between MS-DOS and UNIX.”
What are UNIX file access permissions?
File access permissions are used to tell a computer system who has access to files and directories. Files and directories have a set of permissions to determine which users can read, write, and execute the contents of a file. If a system is shared or is part of a network, other people may need access to its files and directories.
By setting file access permissions you control who is able to read, write, and use your files and directories.
There are four types of permissions for files and directories:
Table 6-1. Permissions for Files and Directories
Permission
Symbol
What it means
Read
r
Allows users to view or copy a file, or list files in a directory.
Write
w
Allows users to create, edit, and delete a file. For a directory, the write permission allows users to create or delete files only.
Execute
x
Allows users to run an executable file, such as a program or application, and search a directory.
SUID
s
Runs a UNIX executable as its owner, rather than as the user who launched it. SoftWindows uses this to gain access to network devices normally unavailable to the user.
Any of the permissions can be assigned to three categories of users:
Table 6-2. Users and Symbols for Permissions
User
Symbol
What it means
Owner
u
The creator of the file (or directory)
Group
g
The other users in the owners group
Others
o
All other users
How do I check UNIX file access permissions?
You can check file access permissions using the UNIX ls -l command.
In a UNIX terminal window, move to the directory containing the file by typing the command:
cd pathname
Then type:
ls -l filename
The output will be of the form:
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root 512 jun 9 09:35 filename
where the file access permissions are represented by the letters rwxrwxrwx; r is for read, w write, and x execute. The three sets are for the Owner, Group, and Others, respectively.
How do I change UNIX file access permissions?
You can change file access permissions using the UNIX chmod command.
To change the permissions you need to be logged in as the owner or root. If necessary, ask your system administrator to do this. Then issue the chmod command with an appropriate parameter.
The parameter consists of u (owner), g (group), or o (other), followed by + or - to add or remove permissions respectively, and the type of access: r (read), w (write), or x (execute).
For example, to make a file so that the Owner can read it or write to it, and the Group can write to it, give the commands:
chmod u+rw filename
chmod g+w filename
For more information on file access permissions consult your UNIX reference manuals.
Where is my SoftWindows configuration stored?
In the .swinconfig file in your home directory; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
What determines the configuration of MS-DOS?
The MS-DOS files AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS; refer to MS-DOS configuration, in the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
How do I install PC software with SoftWindows?
Refer to “Installing and running Windows applications,” and “Installing MS-DOS applications.”
How do I give MS-DOS commands?
Type them at the C:\> prompt; refer to “Using MS–DOS commands.”
How can I edit MS-DOS files?
Use the MS-DOS editor, EDIT; refer to “Using the MS–DOS editor.” In Windows you can use the Windows Notepad text editor.
What Windows drivers does SoftWindows use?
When you run Windows in a window you are not using one of the emulated display drivers (SVGA or Hercules), and the title bar changes to SoftWindows Desktop to indicate that you are using the SoftWindows Windows display and mouse drivers. These are called SoftWindows Display and SoftWindows Mouse.
The following sections contain solutions to the most frequently encountered problems when using SoftWindows.
The workstation mouse pointer has disappeared
While the mouse is attached for use by MS–DOS applications it is not available to UNIX programs. To detach it refer to “Using the mouse in MS-DOS.”
Printing is not working properly
If you are using the print spooler, flush the port to ensure that all the data has been sent. Disable autoflush and flush the port manually.
Redirect print output to a file, then print the file outside SoftWindows; refer to “Redirecting to a file and piping to a process.”
I get an error message when I try to use an MS-DOS file on a VFSA drive
Because Windows and MS-DOS were not designed to handle file ownership and permissions like the UNIX system, Windows and MS-DOS use an assortment of standard file error messages to indicate that you do not have permission to read, write to, or execute a given file or directory.
The following messages may indicate that you do not have access to a particular file or directory due to the file permissions:
File creation error File not found Invalid directory Invalid path (or file not found)
If one of these messages appears in MS-DOS and you are certain that the file or directory exists, you should check the permissions and ownership using UNIX. Refer to “Setting UNIX file access.”
Also note that an Suid bit with incorrect ownership will cause permission problems on VFSA drives.
Alternatively, copy the files to the hard disk C: or D: and try again.
Problems experienced with SoftNode generally tend to be one of two types – problems with the ODI driver loading or configuring itself, or problems with networking applications after the software has been loaded.
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If the driver completely fails to load, it will display a message which says:
Could not find a host network card
This means that SoftNode has been unable to make contact with the networking facilities on the host machine. This is normally due to one of two things:
SoftWindows has lost its SUID bit. The SoftWindows executable must be owned by root and have mode 4555.
The network package which SoftWindows requires is not installed on the host workstation. For more information about which software package must be installed on each system refer to "Networking with SoftWindows" in the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
No display is visible in the SoftWindows window
A PC application may have been started with the wrong video mode. Change the display type; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
Application fails to run at all or locks up SoftWindows
The application may be copy protected and installed on a VFSA drive. Reinstall on drive C: or D:.
Alternatively, the application may require additional memory; refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
When starting SoftWindows after the initial run you may have problems reading man pages or accessing SoftWindows files.
This may be because on some X servers running xdm the .profile or .login file is not executed when you login, and therefore $SWINHOME is not set. In this case you should:
Add the following lines to your .xinitrc file in your home directory, taking care to insert them before any code beginning Xclients:
if[ -f$HOME/.profile ] then cd $HOME . .profile fi
Note that .xinitrc is usually executed with a Korn shell rather than a C shell, and so the .profile file is used rather than the .login file.
If you do not have a .xinitrc file in your home directory, refer to the manual pages for the xinit command, and determine whether you can copy a default (or what should constitute a default) .xinitrc file to your home directory.
Note that you must insert the above lines of code into your .xinitrc file if you have had to create one.
Log out and log in again for the changes to take effect.
This error occurs whenever SoftWindows detects that none of the fonts required are available from the X server, or the fonts installed in the SoftWindows installation are not usable by the X server. To resolve this problem you need to configure the X server to use the relevant fonts in the SoftWindows installation. Use the command:
xset +fp install/fonts/SGI xset fp rehash |
where install is the SoftWindows installation directory.
To make the change permanent, include these commands in the .xinitrc file in each user's home directory. If the .xinitrc files does not already exist, create it and insert these commands.
Alternatively, you can use a font not provided with SoftWindows using the following procedure. You might want to do this if you need extended ANSI characters, such as ß, µ, or accented characters, which are not included in the default font.
Select a suitable font name to use.
This can be done using a program such as xlsfonts or xfontsel.
Once a font is selected, the following line should be added to the SoftWindows 95
app-defaults file, found in $SWINHOME/sOftWindows:sOftWindows*fontlist: fontname
where fontname is the string you selected above.
Then restart SoftWindows.
These errors appear in the SoftWindows window:
Table 6-3. MS-DOS Errors Appearing in the SoftWindows Window
Error | Explanation | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
Not ready error reading drive A/B Abort, Retry, Fail | Your floppy disk drive is not attached to SoftWindows, or the specified drive is set to Empty in the Open Disk Drives dialog box, or there is no disk in the drive. | Attach or select the floppy disk drive, or insert a disk and retry the command. |
Invalid drive specification | If you are trying to access drive D:, there is no SoftWindows hard disk file selected as drive D:. If you are trying to access an VFSA drive, the software needed to access VFSA drives is not set up correctly. | Select a file as drive D:; refer to the SoftWindows for UNIX Administrator's Guide. |
Non-System disk or disk error | SoftWindows is attempting to boot from an MS-DOS floppy disk in drive A: which has not been initialized as a startup disk. | Eject the floppy disk from drive A:. |
These errors appear in the SoftWindows window and relate to the use of VFSA drives:
Table 6-4. VFSA-Related Errors in the SoftWindows Window
Error | Explanation | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
The host filesystem directory cannot be found | The VFSA directory cannot be found. | Verify that the UNIX directory has not been renamed, moved, or deleted. |
The host filesystem name must be a directory | An VFSA drive has been given the name of a UNIX file. | Only UNIX directories can be specified for VFSA drives. |
The host filesystem must have read access | The VFSA directory cannot be read. | Change the UNIX directory's access permissions. |
The x drive is not being used | You are trying to detach a drive with NET USE /D which is not attached. | Check the NET USE command argument for drives currently attached. |
The x drive is not a network drive | You are trying to attach a non-network drive which is already in use, for example, drive C:, with a NET USE command. | Retry the NET USE command with the correct drive id. |
The x drive is already in use | You are trying to attach a network drive (id of E onwards) with a NET USE command, but the drive is already in use. | Retry the NET USE command with the correct drive id. |
Illegal drive specification | The drive letter specified in an FSADRIVE or NET USE command is not valid. | Check that it is a single letter followed by a colon, in the range E to LASTDRIVE. |
Errors reported by SoftWindows are numbered, and appear in an error dialog box.
For details of these errors, refer to the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
By default, networking errors are not displayed in an error dialog box. However, if you are encountering networking problems, you can enable error reporting in one of the following two ways:
To enable network error reporting from the command line include the command-line option -snerror when running SoftWindows.
If you can't see any other PCs in your Network Neighborhood, there are several reasons why it might not be working:
The Silicon Graphics system is not properly connected to the network. A quick test is to ping the Silicon Graphics system's IP address from a known working PC or Workstation.
You have not chosen a common Protocol. Right click the Network Neighborhood icon and choose Properties from the drop down menu, verify that the protocol used on your PC network is listed (most likely NetBEUI), if not add it and check the Properties.
You did not follow all the instructions in the section “Configuring SoftWindows 4.0 for networking to other PC network clients” in the SoftWindows 95 for UNIX Administrator's Guide.
If you can't get the ping or ftp commands to work in SoftWindows:
SoftWindows uses an optimized TCP/IP stack. To use the ping command, the Microsoft stack will have to replace SoftWindows' stack. To do this, follow these steps:
To overwrite the SoftWindows Winsock dlls you first need to *extract* the Microsoft dlls from the Win95 CAB files. From a DOS prompt run
extract /a /l c:\ win95_02.cab winsock.dll
and
extract /a /l c:\ win95_02.cab wsock32.dll
These will search and extract the required files from whichever cab file (in the current directory) exist, placing the extracted files in the root directory of Drive C.
Copy the new wsock32.dll into the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory and winsock.dll into c:\WINDOWS. (Remember that the SoftWindows dlls are still available in the C:\INSIGNIA directory if you need to get them back.)
You must use a unique IP address when you have an full TCP/IP protocol stack within SoftWindows (be that DOS, Windows, or Windows95). The IP Address assigned is that on the IRIX host. SoftWindows should be given a unique IP Address.
If Microsoft TCP/IP has been installed then the winsocks being used are Microsoft's, not SoftWindows'. The Microsoft INF file is patched to extract the Microsoft Winsock and WSOCK32.dll files during TCP/IP installation. To use telnet, ftp or ping, you must install Microsoft TCP/IP and manually switch winsocks.
 | Note: This is different than the ODI driver in version 1.01. Telnet and ftp were able to work without switching the Winsocks. |
An alternative to using ping for network testing is to use telnet. (Remember to use the desired system's IP address—not the host name—if you have not modified SoftWindows hosts file.) telnet does not require the above DLL replacement.
See Table 6-5 for a chart of the various configuration combinations that work for these commands when running SoftWindows.
Table 6-5. Valid ftp, telnet and ping Configurations
Configuration/Test | Microsoft ping | Microsoft telnet | Microsoft ftp | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
No networking installed (default) | Invalid configuration | WORKS | Invalid configuration | SoftWindows Winsocks (default). No Microsoft Protocol stack. |
Install Microsoft TCP/IP | WORKS | WORKS | WORKS | Microsoft Winsocks and Protocol stack |
to SoftWindows localhost (itself) | WORKS | not a possible operation | not a possible operation | Microsoft Winsocks and Protocol stack |
to my IRIX localhost | Invalid configuration | Invalid configuration | Invalid configuration | IRIX snoop doesn't support this |
to another IRIX in subnet | WORKS | WORKS | WORKS |
|
If you get a Page Fault and the windows look strange when you run Microsoft Exchange:
Issue the following command:
setenv FOLDED_ENTER_LEAVE_OPT FALSE
Launch Softwindows.
An alternative is to create a launch script that performs the above command and then launches SoftWindows.
No problems should be encountered when loading the Link Support Layer. If an error does occur, the most likely cause is an incorrect entry in the LINK SUPPORT section of the NET.CFG file.
Several problems could cause the SoftWindows ODI driver to report a failure at load time. The following are common faults and solutions:
ODI driver cannot find the host's network adapter
The message shown below indicates that the Softwindows ODI driver has failed to initialize or find the host's network device:
C:\NWCLIENT>etherspc Insignia Ethernet MLID v2.00E (950908). (C) Copyright 1991-1995 Insignia Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. IRQ 10, Node Address 800690895E2 L Max Frame 1514 bytes, Line Speed 10 Mbps, Bus ID 0 Board 1, Frame ETHERNET_802.2, LSB Mode Board 2, Frame ETHERNET_II, LSB Mode Board 3, Frame ETHERNET_SNAP, LSB Mode Board 4, Frame ETHERNET_802.3, LSB Mode Could not find a host Ethernet card. ETHERSPC-DOS-6: The adapter did not initialize. ETHERSPC did not load.
The SoftWindows ODI driver has failed to initialize or find the host's network device. Ensure that:
The specified topology (Ethernet/Token-Ring) is supported on your platform.
The SoftWindows executable is owned by root, group sys, and has the `s' bit set.
ODI driver is loaded twice
The second attempt at loading the ODI driver will produce error output similar to the following:
C:\NWCLIENT>etherspc Insignia Ethernet MLID v2.00E (950908). C) Copyright 1991-1995 Insignia Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. ETHERSPC-DOS-7: You need another ETHERSPC driver section in the NET.CFG file in order to load the LAN driver again.
The SoftWindows ODI drivers can only be loaded once. If you need to reload the ODI driver simply unload the previous instance first with the command:
ETHERSPC U