Novell NetWare v3.11 Operating System Patches

Novell have recently released the latest NetWare v3.11 Operating System Patch Kit. The kit is available as a single archive, 311PT3.ZIP (46K), and can be obtained from Authorised Novell Distributors, from the Novell NetWire service, or from the Apricot Technical Support Bulletin Board System.

The kit contains a number of patches for NetWare v3.11 (29 in total) that correct a wide range of problems. Problems that have been fixed include the following;-

• Numerous NetWare for Macintosh fixes
• Problems when a workstations sends a CreateOpenFile request and then loses the reply from the server!
• Problems where a directory with more than 65535 files can cause the DOS DIR command to loop!
• Problems when two or more stations make multiple copies of files with extended attributes (where the server can crash with an 'Abend: Free called with a memory block that has an invalid resource tag' message.
• Problems when using disks with >4K block sizes with >4K cache buffer sizes where data could corrupt if being read from the redirection area.
• Problems when zero-length WriteToSpool NCPs are procesed, which can cause 'Abend: General protection processor exception' errors.
• Various problems with removable media.
• Problems caused by incorrectly formatted 'connect request' SPX packets being received, which in turn can cause the server to Abend with a GPI (general protection interrupt) error.
• Problems with applications that use implicit TTS functions that can cause the server to Abend with a General Protection Processor Exception error.
• Problems when trying to load unknown commands on the NetWare 3.11 server console that can cause 'Abend: General Protection Processor Exception running console command process' errors.

Novell do not require that any of the patches in the archive be loaded UNLESS problems are experienced, in which case the appropriate patch to overcome the problem encountered should be loaded. There is a full readme document in the archive that explains what all the patches are, and what they fix. In particular, any patches to fix Abend errors should be checked before reporting problems to Technical Support.

In addition to the above, Novell NetWare v3.11 was shipped as standard with version 1.21 of the NetWare print server utility (PSERVER.EXE and PSERVER.NLM). This version has been known to cause problems with corrupted printouts, and so Novell have issued an update to the print server software. Version 1.22 of the NetWare PrintServer was actually released by Novell on October 1991, but as we are still receiving calls from dealers and end-users experiencing problems with version 1.21, it was felt that a reminder about the availability of the newer version was needed. Version 1.22 of the Novell PrintServer is available from Authorised Novell Distributors, from the Novell NetWire service, or from the Apricot Technical Support Bulletin Board. It can be found on the Apricot Bulletin Board in File Area 37, and is called PSV122.ZIP (108K).

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