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MM and Win95 installation

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg4752] MM and Win95 installation
  • From: els1001 at cus.cam.ac.uk (E.L. Salazar)
  • Date: Thu, 5 Sep 1996 02:00:03 -0400
  • Organization: University of Cambridge, England
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Hello,
Yesterday I posted the troubles I had when trying to install
MM 2.2.3 in Win95. They are caused by the setup routine
failing to identify Win95 as a 32-bit OS. This results in
the request for installation of the win32s library (something
you must avoid if running in Win95, otherwise the results are
disastrous). Failing to install the win32s library (stored in
Disk 5) results in the termination of the install program.
Therefore, running setup under Win95 is useless, at least with
my version of Mathematica.

This is a bit weird since the installation process in MM 2.2.3
should, in fact, be able to detect the memorable 'Chicago'
version of Windows (the pre-release Win95). In fact, the script
in the file wolf2.mst (which appears compressed in Disk 1) has an
entry which should be able to identify Windows version > 3.
The problem may therefore be in the way the setup routine 'queries'
Windows for the version number, or on what my installed version
returns as version ID (which is the latest revision, 1111; I've
anyway heard this also happens with the OEM Win95 vesrion).
After some thought, I found a way around this (the dirty way;
hey you guys at Wolfram, any better ideas?).
First, make a diskcopy of your MM Disk 1 AND ONLY WORK WITH
THIS COPY. Also, have handy the old DOS 6.2X setup disk, and
retrieve from it the EXPAND program.
Now, copy the file wolf2.ms_ from your backup disk of MM Disk 1
into your temp directory in your HD, and EXPAND it by issuing
the command
EXPAND WOLF2.MS_ WOLF2.MST
This de-compresses the wolf2 script file.
Now edit this file. Go to line 177. Between this line and line
215 inclusive (which should read EXITCODE%=EXITSUCCESS) there
are a bunch of conditional loops which are processed by the
setup routine to 'query' for the Windows version, and decide
if installing win32s or not, even if installing MM at all).
DELETE ANYTHING BETWEEN LINES 177 and 215.
INSERT IN THAT SECTION THE FOLLOWING:
EXITCODE%=EXITSUCCESS
WIN32ENABLED%=1
DEST$ = WINDRIVE$ + ":\WNMATH22"
GOTO OPTION
This sets the flag for win32s to 1 (it is here) without querying,
sets the default installation directory for MM and jumps to
the OPTION subroutine, from where the install process continues.
Save the file as WOLF2.MS_
It is important that you save the file with the extension MS_ and 
not MST. This does not affect the processing of the file (that is,
adding the final T) even if the file is de-compressed. The expand
procedure would say the file is not compressed, but that is totally
transparent for you from the setup routine. The extra T will nevertheless
be added.
Now copy this 'tweaked' wolf2.ms_ file to your backup copy of MM
Disk 1.
Run Win95, and install from this backup floppy. Now, the first
query you should be getting from the setup routine is if you
want the default install or a custom one; the request for
installing win32s is GONE. Proceed then as usual.
Win95 users: recall that you should update the TCP/IP protocol
file, by downloading it from Wolfram's WWW or FTP site.
Hope this helps.
Ed

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