Installing NetBEUI on Windows XP Please note that some material in this page was copied directly from the Microsoft website. This was done as it has been known for Microsoft to remove help pages - they even warn you about that - and this would leave us in the lurch! The NetBEUI protocol was developed in 1985. It is used by network operating systems such as Microsoft LAN Manager, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, Microsoft Windows 95, and Microsoft Windows NT. The NetBEUI protocol implements the OSI LLC2 protocol, and is a non-routable protocol. But it is this last fact that still makes it one of the fastest around, and is why Reliable Power Meters still use it. Microsoft discontinued support for the NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI) network protocol in Windows XP. However, they understood that migration to another network protocol, such as TCP/IP, could involve significant time in planning and testing (not to say render the operating system defunct for use with older instrumentation!). If having upgraded from a previous version of Microsoft Windows with NetBEUI installed, or have received a pristine load of WinXP, the protocol is effectively missing from the OS - complete with unavailable "ADD" function from the network properties dialogue. Therefore, for those who use the Reliable Power Meters products but are planning to (or already did) migrate their system environment to Windows XP will need a means to (re)install NetBEUI so as to be able to communicate with their Power Recorder. Before we continue, Please Note: I accept no liability for any damages caused either direct or implied through the use of any information on this page
Before continuing to install NetBEUI, the following must be noted. It has been both personally experienced as well as reported to me (let's just say more than once!) that installing the WinXP version of NetBEUI causes system instability. This is most commonly seen after using PAS or Scenario followed by or simultaneously with TCP/IP comms (the "blue-screen" almost always appears on shutdown). Win2k does not appear to have this restriction and seems to competently run both NetBEUI and TCP/IP network comms (have never personally experienced a Win2k crash). Knowing that WinXP is built on Win2k, and that most Win2k drivers operate without issue on WinXP, research revealed that Win2k's version of NetBEUI can indeed be loaded on WinXP without any apparent problems. This has been tried on a desk-top and a laptop (both are Dell, naturally!) running WinXP Pro, and neither have showed any signs of instability whatsoever. All communications are unaffected and full access with all computers on the network as well as the Power Recorder is achieved. Please note that after completing the installation steps, NetBEUI is available for use on the Local Area Network (LAN) connections only and, as RAS connections cannot use NetBEUI, is not available for any Remote Access Service (RAS) connection.
You can skip this step and go on to the next directly if you have never loaded NetBEUI. But, if you have already installed the WinXP version of NetBEUI, and wish to give the Win2k version a try, you will need to first remove the WinXP version - completely!
The files necessary for installing the NetBEUI protocol on WinXP are Netnbf.inf and Nbf.sys. If this is an urgent installation of NetBEUI, and are choosing to install WinXP's own version, then the pair of files needed is available on the full, retail-released version of Windows XP and can be found on the CD-ROM under the Valueadd\MSFT\Net\NetBEUI folder. The Win2k version is located in the \i386 folder on the Win2k CD, and are compressed files Nbf.sy_ and Netnbf.in_. There are two ways to uncompress them. Win2k includes an extract utility and is invoked by opening a DOS Command window and typing the two lines (do press Enter after each one!): extract CD:\i386\netnbf.in_ destination\netnbf.inf where "CD" must be replaced with the letter of your CD drive, and "destination" a temporary folder set up on the harddisk. OR, those with WinZip should be able to invoke the program, open the Netnbf.in_ file and use the Extract function to extract the file to a preset folder on the harddisk. Do the same for the Nbf.sy_ file (ensuring it is copied to the same folder).
Using the files obtained in the "Obtaining the Drivers" section, complete the following steps to install NetBEUI:
After installation of the NetBEUI protocol, some systems may benefit from resetting the TCP/IP stack (especially if instability has been experienced from the WinXP version of NetBEUI). Please, only do this if you know how to set up networks as this procedure removes all IP addresses etc. When viewing the list of components for a network interface, you may notice that the Uninstall button is disabled when Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is selected. In Windows XP, the TCP/IP stack is considered a core component of the operating system; therefore, it is not possible to uninstall TCP/IP in Windows XP. In extreme cases, reinstalling the Internet Protocol stack may be the most appropriate solution. With the NetShell utility, you can now reset the TCP/IP stack back to a pristine state, to the same state as when the operating system was installed. The NetShell utility (netsh) is a command-line scripting interface for the configuring and monitoring of Windows XP networking. This tool provides an interactive network shell interface to the user. In Windows XP, a reset command is available in the IP context of the NetShell utility. When this command is executed, it rewrites pertinent registry keys that are used by the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack to achieve the same result as the removal and the reinstallation of the protocol. SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TCPIP\Parameters\ Command Usage To successfully execute the command, you must specify a log file name where actions taken by netsh will be recorded. The first sample creates the log file in the current directory, while the second sample demonstrates the use of a path where the log will be created. In either case, where the specified log file already exists, the new log will be appended to the end of the existing file. Command Samples You will now have to go through the network settings and bring them back to what is required for your installation.
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