Novell Console Commands

 A quick tutorial

ATTACH
The attach command is used to connect multiple Novell servers. Use this command when you've already attached to one server and wish to attach to a separate server
  attach (server)(\user)
If you fail to provide these arguments, you will be prompted for them.
CAPTURE
The Capture command is used to 'capture' printers from a network resource.(This is similar to the "Capture Printer Port" on Windows machines.)
  capture (Arguments)

    Local         = Capture and reassign and local port

    S(Server)     = File server the data should be sent to.

    J(Job)        = Specify the print job configuration to use.

    P(Printer)    = Specify the Printer number on the server.

    Q(Queue)      = Printer queue for job to be sent to.

    C(Copies)     = Number of copies to print

    Nam (Name)    = Username to appear on the print job

    B(banner)     = Specify text for the banner page. (if you haven't disabled banners)

    NB(No banner) = Specify not to print a banner page.

    CR            = Print to file instead of Printer (Specify file name)
CASTOFF
The Castoff command disables broadcast messages to the local machine.
  castoff
CASTON
The Caston command enables broadcast messages to the local machine.
  caston
CHKVOL
This command is used to view information about specified server volumes.
  chkvol (path to volume)
ENDCAP
Endcap ends the capture of resource that has been specified with the "capture" command.
  endcap L=(LPTx)
FLAG
Flag is used to set the attributes of a file or directory:
  flag (path | option)

    S  = Mark file as shareable.

    NS = Mark file as Non Shareable.

    RO = Mark file as Read Only

    RW = Mark file as Read Write

    N  = Mark file as Non Shareable and Read Write

    I  = Mark file as Indexed
FLAGDIR
Use this command to specify Directory attributes
  flagdir (path | option)

    N = Normal. Cancels any other directory attributes.

    H = Hidden.Directory will not appear in directory searches

    S = System. Indicates system function folder.

    P = Private. Specifies the folder to be private and not viewable with searches.
        (Sub directories can be specified directly though.)



GRANT
The Grant command is used to set file permissions to specified users and groups. (Sort of like cacls in Windows NT.)
    grant (option) (path) USER / GROUP {user/group}

 R(read) = grant read access
 W(write) = grant write access
 C(create) = grant create access
 D(delete) = grant delete access
 S(search) = grant search access
 M(modify) = grant modify access
 A(all) = grant all access
 NO RIGHTS = grant no access

HOLDON
The holdon command is used to put set any files that you're accessing into a 'read-only' state for any other users that attempt to access it.
    holdon
The command needs no arguments as its holds are files that you are currently working in.
HOLDOFF
The holdoff command disables the effect of the holdon command and allows users access to the 'hold' files again. (Don't forget to holdoff files when you're done using them. This has been a common issue that I've seen in the past - especially in the case of multiple administrators that do not communicate often.)
LISTDIR
Listdir is used to view the subdirectories of a specified directory. This may seem somewhat pointless, but it can be used with the /R argument to retrieve data for migrating between servers.
    listdir {path} {options}

 /S(subdirectories) = View recursive subdirectories
 /R(rights) = Views the user and group rights of directories
 /A(all) = View all directory information
LOGIN
Use Login in user login scripts to attach to other Novell servers (aside from the default server). This command is common in larger networks where there may be several separate novell server groups.
   login (server)/(user)
LOGOUT
Logout is the termination of the above login command. Use this to disconnect from a given server resource.
    logout (server)
MAP
Map is the other most common login script command. This command is used to map network drives and to view current network mappings.
    map (drive) (path)
NCOPY
Ncopy is used to copy files both locally and on network drives. Ncopy can also be used to copy Macintosh files on Novell.
    ncopy (path) TO (Drive / path)



NDIR
Ndir is a wholly powerful directory information command. In most NOS' the directory listing command must be 'piped' into another parsing or sorting command to customize the output. Ndir has most of the functions that you could require from the get go.
    NDIR (path) | (option=filename) or (filename)

Filename(not)                     =  List all files related to filename
                                     (not) - List all files not related to filename.

Owner(not)                        =  List all files related to owner
                                     (not) - List all files not related to owner.

Access (not) Bef/Aft MM-DD-YY     =  List all files that were accessed Before or
                                     After Specified date
                                     (not) List all files that were not accessed
                                     Before or After Specified date

Update (not) Bef/Aft MM-DD-YY     =  List all files that were updated Before or
                                     After Specified date
                                     (not) List all files that were not updated
                                     Before or After Specified date

Create (not) Bef/Aft MM-DD-YY     =  List all files that were created Before or
                                     After Specified date
                                     (not) List all files that were not created
                                     Before or After Specified date

Size (not) GR/LE (size)           =  List all files that are greater than or less
                                     than  specified size.
                                     (not) List all files that are not greater than
                                     or less than  specified size.

(reverse)sort filename            =  Sort listing on filename in alphabetical order.
                                     (reverse) Sort listing on filename in reverse alphabetical order

(reverse)sort owner               =  Sort listing on owner in alphabetical order.
                                     (reverse) Sort listing on owner in reverse
                                     alphabetical order

(reverse)sort access              =  Sort listing on access date in chronological order.
                                     (reverse) Sort listing on access date in reverse
                                     chronological order

(reverse)sort update              =  Sort listing on update date in chronological order.
                                     (reverse) Sort listing on update date in reverse
                                     chronological order

(reverse)sort creation            =  Sort listing on creation date in chronological order.
                                     (reverse) Sort listing on creation date in
                                     reverse chronological order

(reverse)sort size                =  Sort listing on  size in descending order.
                                     (reverse) Sort listing on size in ascending order

(not)SY                           =  List all files with 'system file' attribute
                                     (not) List all files without 'system file' attribute.

(not)H                            =  List all files with 'hidden' attribute
                                     (not)  List all files without 'hidden' attribute.

(not)M                            =  List all files with 'modified' attribute
                                     (not) List all files without 'modified' attribute.

(not)RO                           =  List all files with 'Read Only' attribute
                                     (not) List all files without 'read only' attribute.

(not)RW                           =  List all files with 'read write' attribute
                                     (not)  List all files without 'read write' attribute.

(not)I                            =  List all files with 'indexed; attribute
                                     (not)  List all files without 'indexed' attribute.

(not)T                            =  List all files with 'transactional file' attribute
                                     (not)  List all files without 'transactional
                                     file' attribute.

In all honesty, the NDIR command is so functional that an entire article could be written on it alone! We've covered some of the basics here, but be sure to try 'NDIR help' for even more functionality!
NPRINT
The Nprint command enables a print job to be submitted to any printer, any queue and any server you can see more of the applied power of this command in it's option settings.
            Nprint path\file (option)



S(Server)              =            Specify server to print too

J(Job)                 =            Specify job name of print job

P(Printer)             =            Specify printer to print to

Q(Queue)               =            Specify Queue to submit job to.

C(Copies)              =            Specify Number of copies to print.
                                    (Up to 255.)

NAM(Name)              =            Specify Name to appear on banner page

B(Banner)              =            Specify text for banner page.
                                    Defaults to filename

NB(No Banner)          =            Specify not to print banner page.
                                    (I bet most of the searches made on the
                                     internet for Novell commands are searching
                                     for this.  ;) )

D(Delete)              =            Delete file after printing it

NVER
The nver command is used to determine the versions that you're running. Try it an see!
Never
PSTAT
Use pstat to obtain information about the printers attached to a given server or about to the server itself
            Pstat S=(server)

            Pstat P=(printer)
PURGE
One of the greatest features of Novell as a server is the fact that it more or less has server-wide file deletion. When files are deleted, they are not actually deleted, just removed from the user / admin's perception. The files are stored in a separate location where they can be later recovered using the salvage command.
This functionality means that additional disk space is required and occasionally it is nessacery to remove these stored files. This is what purge does.
            purge
REMOVE
The remove command is used to either remove a user from a group or a user or group from exisitence
            Remove (user/group) (group)
REVOKE
The revoke function is used to remove a user/group's rights to a specified resource, such as a file or a directory.
            Revoke (option) FROM (user) (group)

D(Delete)                   =            Delete file after printing it

R(Read)                     =            Revoke the Read right

W(Write)                    =            Revoke the Write right

O(Open)                     =            Revoke the Open right

C(Create)                   =            Revoke the Create right

D(Delete)                   =            Revoke the Delete right

S(Search)                   =            Revoke the Search right

M(Modify)                   =            Revoke the Modify right

ALL                         =            Revoke the All rights

SALVAGE
The salvage command restores files or directories that have been accidentally erased. Note that this WILL NOT work if you've run the PURGE command since the files were erased. Also note that this should be done from the same location that the file was erased from.
            Salvage (path)




SEND
Send is used to send messages to users our groups. This is particularly useful in the event of a system reboot, where it's helps to alert the users as to the planned outage.
    SEND ("message") TO (USER/GROUP) (Username)
As in
    SEND "The Server is going down" TO USER paul
SETPASS
Setpass is used to set the password on a specific server. This is particularly useful in networks with separate Novell Servers and Users that need to access both. Some minor scripting and the password changes can be synced.
    SETPASS (server)
SLIST
Slist is used to obtain a list of Novell File Servers running on your network.
    SLIST (servername/*)
SMODE
Smode is used to reassign a search mode to executable files, or to view the current search mode assigned to executable files. (Search mode means the path that the executable is restricted to look for data files in):
    SMODE (path/file) (search mode)
As in
    SMODE default.exe 5
(Search Mode 5 searches all open paths.)
SMODE is really a more complex command and you rarely will have to use it. (But at least you know that you can alter the search mode ;) )
SYSTIME
Use Systime to check the day, date or time on any fileserver on the network, or to synchronize any workstation with the server.
    SYSTIME (servername)
TLIST
Tlist is used to view the access rights user/ group trustees
    TLIST (file) (users/groups)
USERLIST
The Userlist command is a handy way to see the users logged into another server on the network (obviously, on console you could just use conman). Userlist will display the connection number, user name and login time of each user on the specified server unless the /all switch is used, where the network and node information will be included as well
    USERLIST (SERVER) (/ALL)

Speed up your Hard disk speed

we need to configure a special buffer in the computer's memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the disk.

This tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.

Follow these steps:

Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.

Expand the system.ini file window.

Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].

Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type

Irq14=4096

Note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!

Click on the File menu, then choose Save.

Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.

 improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.

Bios Beep Codes

Beep Code Manual
American Megatrends Int. & Phoenix



When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected.
Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS.
The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix.
Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems.

AMI Beep Codes
Beep Code Meaning
1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard.
2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly.
3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory.
4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed.
6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode.
7 beeps Virtual mode exception error.
8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card.
9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty.
10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS.
11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory.
1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system.
1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K.
1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure.
Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video.



Phoenix Beep Codes
Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps.

Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes.

4-Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning
1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode.
1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values.
1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
Initialize CPU registers.
1-1-3-2
1-1-3-3
1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error.
1-1-4-3 I/O port error.
1-2-1-1 Power management error.
1-2-1-2
1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure.
1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
1-2-3-1 System timer error.
1-2-3-3 DMA error.
1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error.
1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error.
1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure.
1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-3-3-1 Extended memory error.
1-3-3-3
1-3-4-1
1-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory.
1-4-1-3
1-4-2-4 CPU error.
1-4-3-1
2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error.
1-4-3-2
1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error.
1-4-4-1
1-4-4-2

2-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
2-1-1-3
2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.
2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
2-1-2-4
2-1-3-2 I/O port failure.
2-1-3-1
2-1-3-3 Video system failure.
2-1-1-3
2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.
2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
2-1-2-4 I/O port failure.
2-1-4-3
2-2-1-1 Video card failure.
2-2-1-3
2-2-2-1
2-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure.
2-2-3-1 IRQ error.
2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory.
2-3-1-1
2-3-3-3 Extended memory failure.
2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
2-3-2-3
2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error.
2-3-4-1
2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure.
2-3-4-1
2-3-4-3
2-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure.
2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
2-4-2-1 RTC error.
2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error.
2-4-4-1 IRQ error.

3-1-1-1
3-1-1-3
3-1-2-1
3-1-2-3 I/O port error.
3-1-3-1
3-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-1-4-1
3-2-1-1
3-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error.
3-2-2-3
3-2-3-1
3-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-2-4-3 IRQ error.
3-3-1-1 RTC error.
3-3-1-3 Key lock error.
3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-3-3-3
3-3-4-1
3-3-4-3
3-4-1-1
3-4-1-3
3-4-2-1
3-4-2-3
3-4-3-1
3-4-4-1
3-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
4-2-1-1
4-2-1-3
4-2-2-1 IRQ failure.
4-2-2-3
4-2-3-1
4-2-3-3
4-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error.
4-3-1-3
4-3-1-4
4-3-2-1
4-3-2-2
4-3-3-1
4-3-4-1
4-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
4-3-3-2
4-3-3-4 IRQ failure.
4-3-3-3
4-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

3-Beep Codes
Beep Code Meaning

1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure.
1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error.
1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
1-2-2
1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure.
1-3-1 Memory refresh failure.
1-3-2
1-3-3
1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
1-4-1 Address line failure.
1-4-2 Parity RAM failure.
1-4-3 Timer failure.
1-4-4 NMI port failure.
2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory.
3-1-1 Master DMA failure.
3-1-2 Slave DMA failure.
3-1-3
3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure.
3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure.
3-3-1
3-3-2 CMOS error.
3-3-4 Video card failure.
3-4-1 Video card failure.
4-2-1 Timer failure.
4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure.
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure.
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode.
4-3-1 RAM test failure.
4-3-3 Timer failure.
4-3-4 Time of day clock failure.
4-4-1 Serial port failure.
4-4-2 Parallel port failure.
4-4-3 Math coprocessor.



Standard Original IBM POST Error Codes

Code Description
1 short beep System is OK
2 short beeps POST Error - error code shown on screen No beep Power supply or system board problem Continuous beep Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem Repeating short beeps Power supply or system board problem

1 long, 1 short beep System board problem
1 long, 2 short beeps Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA)
1 long, 3 short beeps Display adapter problem (EGA)
3 long beeps 3270 keyboard card

IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions
Code Description

100 - 199 System Board
200 - 299 Memory
300 - 399 Keyboard
400 - 499 Monochrome Display
500 - 599 Colour/Graphics Display
600 - 699 Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter
700 - 799 Math Coprocessor
900 - 999 Parallel Printer Port
1000 - 1099 Alternate Printer Adapter
1100 - 1299 Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1300 - 1399 Game Port
1400 - 1499 Colour/Graphics Printer
1500 - 1599 Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1700 - 1799 Hard Drive and/or Adapter
1800 - 1899 Expansion Unit (XT)
2000 - 2199 Bisynchronous Communication Adapter
2400 - 2599 EGA system-board Video (MCA)
3000 - 3199 LAN Adapter
4800 - 4999 Internal Modem
7000 - 7099 Phoenix BIOS Chips
7300 - 7399 3.5" Disk Drive
8900 - 8999 MIDI Adapter
11200 - 11299 SCSI Adapter
21000 - 21099 SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller
21500 - 21599 SCSI CD-ROM System

AMI BIOS Beep Codes
Code Description
1 Short Beep System OK
2 Short Beeps Parity error in the first 64 KB of memory
3 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB
4 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB Operational of memory
or Timer 1 on the motherboard is not functioning
5 Short Beeps The CPU on the motherboard generated an error
6 Short Beeps The keyboard controller may be bad. The BIOS cannot switch to protected mode
7 Short Beeps The CPU generated an exception interrupt
8 Short Beeps The system video adapter is either missing, or its memory is faulty
9 Short Beeps The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS
10 Short Beeps The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed
11 Short Beeps The external cache is faulty
1 Long, 3 Short Beeps Memory Problems
1 Long, 8 Short Beeps Video Card Problems

Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes
Note - Phoenix BIOS emits three sets of beeps, separated by a brief pause.
Code Description
1-1-3 CMOS read/write failure
1-1-4 ROM BIOS checksum error
1-2-1 Programmable interval timer failure
1-2-2 DMA initialisation failure
1-2-3 DMA page register read/write failure
1-3-1 RAM refresh verification failure
1-3-3 First 64k RAM chip or data line failure
1-3-4 First 64k RAM odd/even logic failure
1-4-1 Address line failure first 64k RAM
1-4-2 Parity failure first 64k RAM
2-_-_ Faulty Memory
3-1-_ Faulty Motherboard
3-2-4 Keyboard controller Test failure
3-3-4 Screen initialisation failure
3-4-1 Screen retrace test failure
3-4-2 Search for video ROM in progress
4-2-1 Timer tick interrupt in progress or failure
4-2-2 Shutdown test in progress or failure
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode
4-3-1 RAM test in progress or failure>ffffh
4-3-2 Faulty Motherboard
4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 test or failure
4-3-4 Time of Day clock test failure
4-4-1 Serial port test or failure
4-4-2 Parallel port test or failure
4-4-3 Math coprocessor test or failure
Low 1-1-2 System Board select failure
Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failure