#NT Tips
9 messages in this thread
I've been hammering away at NT to determine what some worse case
scenarios are and doing the kinds of things that the docs never
anticipate anyone doing and I thought I'd pass along a few tips.
What if you decide you want to run NT without Windows installed?
Well many applications run fine but a few don't. Its interesting to
see which one's don't and why but that could get rather lengthy so
I'll just put it out there that should you decide not to run Windows
under NT expect some unexpected results. For instance even though an
app may be Win32s some developers have chosen to not let their apps
run under NT for no other reason than to charge more for the
privilege. In some cases it has to do with drivers as in the case of
ER's Abekas driver, which is understandable.
Another thing, should you decide to delete WinNT for some reason,
there are a bunch of related files like ntldr that won't let the
system boot. No problem all you need to do is run a DOS boot off a
floppy and run SYS on your hard drive and the new IO.SYS etc. will
allow you to boot as usual.
This is provided that you are still using FAT directory structures.
If you've modified your system to fully support NT, you'll have to
reformat your drive unless you plan to re-install it, in which case
boot up cold from the floppy should start the process in the same
fashion as when you loaded it in the first place.
One other tip, is that should you install NT over DOS and then
decided to modify you BOOT.INI file so that you can access DOS
directly, the help menu doesn't tell you that you need the
BOOTSECT.DOS file installed on the hard drive as well. (minor
detail… <g>) It is a simple 512k file which you can store should
you only have one system and has no special attributes like a system
file. Make a copy and save yourself some frustration in the event
that you decide to clean up your system. It just has to be there like
a driver.
Hope this helps keep the NT experience a smooth one… 🙂
>>>I've been hammering away at NT to determine what some worse case
scenarios are and doing the kinds of things that the docs never
anticipate anyone doing and I thought I'd pass along a few tips.<<<
User experiences sometimes help more than the manuals. Here is what I
have running.
>>>What if you decide you want to run NT without Windows
installed?<<<
That is how I have been running my system for quite a while now. The
first thing I missed was my Windows crashing, yeah right!
On the system I am testing it out I have set it up this way. The
computer is a Dell XPS P100 w/32MB RAM and a 1GB EIDE hard drive. The
video card is a #9GXE64Pro, all very compatible with NT 3.5. I used
MS-DOS 6.2 FDisk to create a 200MB c: partition and left the rest
alone. I installed MS-DOS, 3DStudio, and network drivers on c:. I
then installed NT, I had NT create a 700MB d: and a 100MB e:, both
using NTFS. The e: is the swap drive, I don't know if this is the
ideal way, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to put the swap on a
seperate partition. When the machine starts the dualboot allows me to
select DOS or NT.
Since I had to exit 3DS to run Windows stuff like Photoshop and
Elastic Reality I figured it would be better to boot NT. I don't miss
Windows and I can wait for the apps I can't run under NT to release
new versions. From now on I figure if your program doesn't run under
NT, I ain't gonna buy it.[g]
I found most of the apps I ran under Windows work under NT. I
currently have ACad 13, Elastic Reality and Photoshop 3.0 installed
as 32bit apps. They are noticeably faster than Win32s thunked onto
Windows. I have Word 6, WinComm, WinFax 4.0, CSNav, WinCim, and other
16bit apps and utilites.
A few problems. You can't print to WinFax under 3.5, or any fax
program, there is a driver in 3.51 to support this. You can receive
faxes and send them if they are created under Windows. Adobe
Illustrator won't run because there is no ATM. That isn't a problem
as Illustrator for Windows is still at 4.0. Kai's Power Tools doesn't
run under Photoshop if you install it under NT. There may be other
problems with apps not listed.
>>>Well many applications run fine but a few don't. Its interesting to
see which one's don't and why but that could get rather lengthy so
I'll just put it out there that should you decide not to run Windows
under NT expect some unexpected results. For instance even though an
app may be Win32s some developers have chosen to not let their apps
run under NT for no other reason than to charge more for the
privilege.<<<
You must be running Razor Pro for NT. [BG] I hope software prices
don't go up just because they are written for NT, that is a poor
excuse. That sounds like the unix software market, I can understand
$1895 for Photoshop on an SGI, but the 32bit Win95 market is coming.
I refuse to buy Razor Pro at $1500, outrageous.
>>>Another thing, should you decide to delete WinNT for some reason,
there are a bunch of related files like ntldr that won't let the
system boot. No problem all you need to do is run a DOS boot off a
floppy and run SYS on your hard drive and the new IO.SYS etc. will
allow you to boot as usual.<<<
I learned that lesson. Make sure it is a floppy with MS-DOS 6.2 io.sys
on it. NT moves io.sys into the DOS dir. I think you can run sys
from the DOS dir to make a floppy.
BTW, latest word is that the Win95 GUI for NT will be available soon.
They will offer it to 3.51 users after Win95 ships. The 3.51 beta
runs still quicker than 3.5.
>> From now on I figure if your program doesn't run under NT, I ain't gonna buy
it. [g] <<
My sentiments exactly! But I'm still fudgeing a bit because with 4 workstations
and a server, I can have my cake and eat it too. <g> But as far as new
purchases go, I agree. Its bogus if it don't run under NT. <BG>
I don't fax through my machine as I have a standard fax so that explains that.
>> You must be running Razor Pro for NT. <<
Actually, the truth be known its WinImages FX and Morph package which they
claim has additional goodies for twice the price. But technically at least in
this case there is no reason.
Personally, knowing the video side and what's available I think RP is
a deal. I've been following this transmigration to the PC for the
last 6 years and for the money I think its the best deal going. Not
to mention that the output should be better than comparable systems
like Fast VM and the system based on D/Visions software. Time will
tell but $ for $ its right on, and in fact I think I'm one of the
people who pushed the idea in the first place because comparatively
it looked do-able at less than half what are systems are going for…
so there it is. FWIW.
>> Kai's power tools doesn't run under Photoshop if you install it under NT.
Yeah well there's some other interesting things happening here as well. I just
installed Ron Scotts QFX and on one machine I put it in Windows and one machine
NT exclusively. Then I wondered what would happen if I re-installed it in
Windows under NT. Won't run under NT. So its either/or… but here's the thing,
with Windows installed you can access Kai's tools running under NT, it just
uses that portion of Windows to run 16 bit filters. It think that's great. I'm
running Photoshop the same way.
Hopefully Win 3.51 will address these issues. It is interesting that
development in NT is excellerating at a very rapid pace now. I wonder what the
upgrade cost of 3.51 will be. Either way, I've very pleased to see things
moving right along. NT smokes and takes the unleashes the power of a Pentium.
Its going to be very interesting to see 3DS running under it.
Not to mention R5 which has been under development forever….! Its going to be
a Warp Jump into Animation history… <g> like R3 was to R2.
>> 3.51 beta runs quicker than 3.5…. <<
yeah I think these guys are definitely getting into it… as are most
of the developers working in the NT O/S. Can't say what'll happen to
prices but NT is currently viewed as a professional class OS. Which
could mean alot of things….
>>>Hopefully Win 3.51 will address these issues. It is interesting
that development in NT is excellerating at a very rapid pace now. I
wonder what the upgrade cost of 3.51 will be.<<<
Upgrades for NT 3.5 -> 3.51
Workstation $15.95
Server $61.95
These prices are from The Corner Store, a company that only sells
32bit NT and OS/2 stuff. They are in the WUGNET forum.
Tim,
>> Workstation $15.95….
That's a bargain, no doubt. I'll check out WUGNET, sounds like a place to keep
one informed.
Thanks, that's a couple of good tips. 🙂
John
Is the patch also in the NT Forum?
>> Is the patch also in the NT Forum? <<
I'm not sure whatIf its about something else, please elaborate.
John
I was wondering if the patch from 3.5 to 3.51 will be available in the WINNT
forum.
Scott,
>> I was wondering if the
John