This page will help you get a computer that runs DOS on the Net. Why would
you want to do something like this? Well, for one, some of these text-based
tools really rocket around. Also, if you've got an old 8088, 286, or (now)
386 machine, you can make it do some more useful work. It's also a neat
thing to do. :-)What You'll Need
To get on the Net, you'll need a computer meeting the following
requirements:
8088 processor or better. You need at least an 8088-based system to
use these tools.
640kb RAM. It helps to have at least some EMS memory as well. For best
performance, however, 2mb of RAM is recommended.
Hard drive. While you can run some of these programs off of floppies, a
hard drive makes it much more conveinant. Also, there's no decent web
browsers that will fit on a floppy.
Monitor. Graphics are not needed, unless you plan on using things like
Arachne (a graphical Web browser).
DOS. Version 3.0 or higher is recommended.
A modem. 14.4kbps is about as slow as you want to go right now;
besides, 33.6kbps modems are falling in price.
On the software side, you'll need:
A packet driver. This is a program that the Internet programs talk
to when they need to send or get info off the Internet.
A dialer program. This will dial the modem, as most packet drivers
can't do it on their own.
Utilities to access the Internet's information. This includes such
things as Bobcat, JpIRC, Minuet, etc.
The last thing you'll need is an account with an ISP (Internet Service
Provider). An account with America Online, CompuServe, or Prodigy will not
work, nor will shell accounts or FreeNets. If you're attending or working at
a college, you may be able to get Internet access there. You should make
sure your ISP uses either PPP or SLIP. PPP is preferred, as it's the most
common.
If you need some help with finding an ISP, you should check out Earthlink Network, NETCOM, or MSN. There's a big list of ISPs at
TheList. Also, many long distance companies
now-a-days have Internet services as well. Things You'll Need to Know
There are a few things you'll need to know before starting. The first thing
is what COM port your modem is on, and what kind of modem it is. Usually
modems are on COM2 if you have a serial mouse, or on COM1 if you have a PS/2
mouse. An easy way to check for your modem is by getting a program such as
COMTool (which comes with DOSPPPD), and checking each COM port you have
until you find it.
You may also need to know what base address and IRQ your modem is on, if it
happens to not be set to a standard one, or if your modem is on COM2 and
there's no COM1 (DOS will turn COM2 into COM1). Here is a list of the
standard base addresses and IRQs for COM ports:
COM1: - Base address: 3F8, IRQ 4
COM2: - Base address: 2F8, IRQ 3
COM3: - Base address: 3E8, IRQ 4
COM4: - Base address: 2E8, IRQ 3
If you don't at all know what COM ports you have, and you have Windows on
your system, you can run MSD. The COM ports part will tell you where your
COM ports are, and the IRQ part will tell you what IRQ the COM ports are
on.
You need to know what kind of modem you have. More specifically, you need to
know if you have a WinModem or RPI modem. WinModems may not be usable in
DOS, as some of them make the CPU do all the work of changing what goes to
the modem into sounds. RPI modems, while usable, don't support compression
without special software. Check your modem's manual to see what kind you
have.
The second thing you need to know comes from your ISP. You will need to know
what IP address the ISP's name servers have, what your e-mail address is,
what addresses are your mail servers at, and if you have Usenet (newsgroups)
access. Of these, the hardest to find will be the first; many ISPs assign
these addresses when you connect. However, you can (sometimes) safely go on
without them. Your e-mail address, mail servers, and Usenet (newsgroup)
information will be given to you when you sign up.
There is a third thing you'll need to know, but only if you're going to use
graphical Internet tools like Arachne or WebSpyder. For these programs,
you'll need to know what kind of video card you have and what its maximum
resolution and colors are. Also, you may want to know what kind of video
card you have, as well as if it has VESA support. All of this information
can be found by either looking at the video card's manual, or by observing
the settings you use for other programs, like Windows. Getting the Software
The first thing you should get is the packet driver. If your ISP uses PPP, I
highly recommend getting DOSPPPD. Aside from
being not all that hard to use, it comes with COMTOOL, which is great for
testing out COM ports. If your ISP uses SLIP, get SLIPper. This is a good SLIP packet driver, and it
supports CSLIP (Compressed SLIP) as well.
You should also get this file (ntcpdrv.zip). It's
for programs that use Trumpet's TCP/IP stack. It seems it can only talk to
this driver.
You'll also need programs. At the very least, get Bobcat, the port of Lynx to 16-bit DOS. It's a good
place to start at. Also, check out the Internet programs pages here. Go here for text-based programs and here for graphical programs. There's more
text-based programs than graphical ones, so if you're looking for something
specific, try the first page.
After you get these programs, you'll need to extract all the ZIP files out.
To do this, you'll need an unzipper. You can either get InfoZIP's unzipper or PK-ZIP. (While WinZip and PK-Zip for Windows will work,
the DOS tools will be the best selections, since you will be working in
DOS.) When you're ready to unzip all the programs you have, I suggest making
an INTERNET directory on your hard drive, and making directories for each
program in it. (Be aware that Bobcat's bcat-e06 file makes several
directories on its own, so it would be a good idea to extract that first if
you're going to do it this way.) For example, on my system, I have DOSPPPD,
JpIRC, Minuet, and Bobcat installed. Here's what my C:\INTERNET directory
looks like:
As you may have noticed, this list contains a couple packet drivers I didn't
go over already. Both EtherPPP and SLIP8250 aren't really recommended by me
for various reasons. EtherPPP doesn't support modems above 14.4kbps, and
SLIP8250 is basically an older version of SLIPper made by a different
company. However, if you want to try them out, configuration info is
there.
After you're sure your packet driver is set up and working correctly, you
will need to configure the programs you have. There is configuration
information for each program at the DOSWeb in the Internet programs pages.
Click here for text-based programs, and here for graphics programs. Back to Home Back to XSUS.nu Webmaster
