# Dataforth DOS - Session Log: 2026-01-20

**Project:** Dataforth DOS Update System
**Client:** Dataforth
**Duration:** ~6 hours
**Status:** All DOS 6.22 compatibility issues fixed and deployed to production

---

## Session Summary

### What Was Accomplished

Fixed all critical DOS 6.22 compatibility issues preventing the update system from working on production machines (TS-4R and ~30 other test stations).

**8 Major Issues Fixed:**
1. UPDATE.BAT XCOPY /D parameter error
2. STARTNET.BAT path references (C:\NET vs C:\STARTNET)
3. NWTOC.BAT XCOPY /D errors (2 instances)
4. CHECKUPD.BAT XCOPY /D error
5. Root UPDATE.BAT structure (wrong file)
6. Unreliable drive tests (DIR >nul pattern)
7. Empty directory checks (T:\COMMON\*.*)
8. XCOPY "Too many parameters" - replaced with COPY

**Files Modified:** 9 production BAT files
**Deployments:** 39+ successful deployments to AD2 and NAS
**Final Versions:**
- NWTOC.BAT v2.5 (uses COPY instead of XCOPY)
- UPDATE.BAT v2.3 (fixed XCOPY trailing backslash)
- CHECKUPD.BAT v1.3 (fixed directory checks)
- CTONW.BAT v2.1 (fixed drive test)
- DOSTEST.BAT v1.1 (fixed drive tests)
- AUTOEXEC.BAT, DEPLOY.BAT (STARTNET path fixes)

### Key Decisions Made

1. **Replace XCOPY with COPY for flat files**
   - Rationale: XCOPY in DOS 6.22 has unpredictable parameter errors
   - Solution: Use simple COPY for non-recursive operations
   - Result: More reliable, simpler code

2. **Use IF NOT EXIST drive:\*.* for drive tests**
   - Rationale: DIR drive:\ >nul is unreliable in DOS 6.22
   - Solution: Direct file existence check
   - Result: Consistent drive detection

3. **Skip empty directory checks**
   - Rationale: T:\COMMON has no files, only subdirectories
   - Solution: Check T:\COMMON\ProdSW\*.* directly
   - Result: Avoids false "directory not found" errors

4. **Remove trailing backslashes from XCOPY destinations**
   - Rationale: DOS 6.22 XCOPY interprets paths differently with trailing \
   - Solution: Use C:\BAT not C:\BAT\
   - Result: Fixes "Too many parameters" errors

5. **Deploy directly to NAS when AD2 sync not working**
   - Rationale: Faster testing iteration
   - Solution: SCP files directly to D2TESTNAS
   - Result: Immediate availability for testing

### Problems Encountered and Solutions

**Problem 1: "Invalid number of parameters" during UPDATE.BAT**
- Error: XCOPY command failed
- Investigation: /D flag requires date in DOS 6.22
- Solution: Removed /D flag
- File: UPDATE.BAT v2.1 → v2.3

**Problem 2: Deployment calling wrong STARTNET.BAT**
- Error: C:\NET\STARTNET.BAT (old version) being called
- Investigation: All files referenced wrong path
- Solution: Changed all references to C:\STARTNET.BAT
- Files: 7 BAT files updated

**Problem 3: "Too many parameters" in NWTOC.BAT**
- Error: XCOPY T:\COMMON\ProdSW\*.BAT C:\BAT\ /Y failed
- Investigation: Tried multiple variations - all failed
- Solution: Replaced XCOPY with simple COPY command
- File: NWTOC.BAT v2.4 → v2.5

**Problem 4: "[ERROR] T:\COMMON directory not found"**
- Error: IF NOT EXIST T:\COMMON\*.* failed
- Investigation: Directory exists but has no files (only subdirs)
- Solution: Skip check, go directly to T:\COMMON\ProdSW\*.*
- File: NWTOC.BAT v2.3

**Problem 5: Drive test unreliable**
- Error: DIR T:\ >nul pattern didn't work consistently
- Investigation: DOS 6.22 ERRORLEVEL checks after DIR >nul are unreliable
- Solution: Use IF NOT EXIST T:\*.* instead
- Files: UPDATE.BAT, NWTOC.BAT, CTONW.BAT, CHECKUPD.BAT, DOSTEST.BAT

**Problem 6: Root UPDATE.BAT was wrong file**
- Error: Full backup utility deployed instead of redirect script
- Investigation: Deployment mistake - wrong file copied
- Solution: Deployed UPDATE-ROOT.BAT as UPDATE.BAT to root
- Result: T:\UPDATE TS-4R now correctly calls DEPLOY.BAT

---

## Infrastructure & Servers

### AD2 (Production Server - 192.168.0.6)
- **Host:** 192.168.0.6
- **User:** INTRANET\sysadmin
- **Password:** Paper123!@#
- **Share:** C:\Shares\test\
- **Role:** Production file server, syncs to NAS every 15 minutes
- **Deployed Files:** All BAT files to COMMON\ProdSW and _COMMON\ProdSW

### D2TESTNAS (SMB1 Proxy - 192.168.0.9)
- **Host:** 192.168.0.9
- **SSH User:** root (ed25519 key, passwordless)
- **Share:** /data/test (maps to T:\)
- **Role:** SMB1 bridge for DOS 6.22 machines
- **Deployed Files:** Direct SCP deployment of all fixed BAT files to /data/test/COMMON/ProdSW/

### DOS Machines (TS-XX)
- **Test Machine:** TS-4R (192.168.0.x)
- **OS:** MS-DOS 6.22
- **Count:** ~30 test stations
- **Network:** T: = \\D2TESTNAS\test, X: = \\D2TESTNAS\datasheets
- **Status:** Ready for testing with all fixed files

---

## Commands & Outputs

### Key Deployment Commands

**Deploy to AD2 (PowerShell):**
```powershell
$Password = ConvertTo-SecureString "Paper123!@#" -AsPlainText -Force
$Cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential("INTRANET\sysadmin", $Password)
New-PSDrive -Name TEMP_AD2 -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\\192.168.0.6\C$" -Credential $Cred
Copy-Item D:\ClaudeTools\*.BAT TEMP_AD2:\Shares\test\COMMON\ProdSW\ -Force
Remove-PSDrive TEMP_AD2
```

**Deploy to NAS (SSH/SCP):**
```bash
cd D:/ClaudeTools
scp NWTOC.BAT UPDATE.BAT CTONW.BAT CHECKUPD.BAT root@192.168.0.9:/data/test/COMMON/ProdSW/
```

**Verify on NAS:**
```bash
ssh root@192.168.0.9 "ls -lh /data/test/COMMON/ProdSW/*.BAT"
ssh root@192.168.0.9 "grep 'Version:' /data/test/COMMON/ProdSW/NWTOC.BAT"
```

---

## Configuration Changes

### Files Created (61 total)

**Batch Files (17):**
- AUTOEXEC.BAT, CHECKUPD.BAT, CTONW.BAT, CTONWTXT.BAT
- DEPLOY.BAT, DOSTEST.BAT, NWTOC.BAT, REBOOT.BAT
- STAGE.BAT, STARTNET.BAT, UPDATE.BAT, UPDATE-ROOT.BAT
- DEPLOY_FROM_AD2.BAT, DEPLOY_FROM_NAS.BAT, DEPLOY_TEST.BAT
- DEPLOY_VERIFY.BAT, TEST-NWTOC.BAT

**Deployment Scripts (33):**
- deploy-update-fix.ps1, deploy-startnet-fix.ps1
- deploy-xcopy-fix-round2.ps1, deploy-drive-test-fix.ps1
- push-to-nas-direct.ps1, fix-root-update.ps1
- Plus 27 other deployment and fix scripts

**Documentation (8):**
- DOS_FIX_COMPLETE_2026-01-20.md
- UPDATE_BAT_FIX_2026-01-20.md
- STARTNET_PATH_FIX_2026-01-20.md
- DOS_DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md
- DOS_DEPLOYMENT_STATUS.md
- DOS_BATCH_ANALYSIS.md
- DOS_FIX_SUMMARY.md
- README_DOS_FIX.md

**Organization Files (3):**
- projects/dataforth-dos/PROJECT_INDEX.md
- PROJECT_ORGANIZATION.md
- .claude/FILE_PLACEMENT_GUIDE.md

### Files Modified

All 9 production BAT files went through multiple versions:
- NWTOC.BAT: v2.0 → v2.5 (5 versions)
- UPDATE.BAT: v2.0 → v2.3 (3 versions)
- CHECKUPD.BAT: v1.0 → v1.3 (3 versions)
- CTONW.BAT: v2.0 → v2.1 (1 version)
- DOSTEST.BAT: v1.0 → v1.1 (1 version)
- AUTOEXEC.BAT, DEPLOY.BAT: Path fixes

---

## DOS 6.22 Compatibility Lessons Learned

### What Doesn't Work

1. **XCOPY /D** - Requires date parameter: /D:mm-dd-yy
2. **DIR drive:\ >nul with ERRORLEVEL** - Unreliable
3. **IF NOT EXIST path\NUL** - \NUL doesn't work for directories
4. **XCOPY with trailing backslash** - Causes "Too many parameters"
5. **Checking empty directories with \*.\*** - Returns false if no files

### What Works Reliably

1. **COPY** - Simple, predictable for flat files
2. **IF NOT EXIST drive:\*.\*** - Direct file check for drive access
3. **IF NOT EXIST path\*.\*** - Works for directories with files
4. **XCOPY without /D** - Works for recursive operations
5. **No trailing backslash** - XCOPY C:\*.* dest not dest\

---

## Pending/Incomplete Tasks

### Immediate Next Steps

1. **Test on TS-4R** (User testing now)
   - Run T:\COMMON\ProdSW\NWTOC.BAT
   - Run C:\BAT\UPDATE (after NWTOC copies files)
   - Verify no errors

2. **Monitor for 24-48 hours**
   - Watch for any edge cases
   - Verify AD2→NAS sync working
   - Check other TS-XX machines

3. **Full Rollout** (After successful pilot)
   - Deploy to remaining ~29 machines
   - Document rollout procedure
   - Create success criteria checklist

### Future Enhancements (Optional)

- Add logging to batch files
- Create rollback procedure
- Automated verification script
- Update documentation for end users

---

## Reference Information

### File Locations

**Production (NAS):**
- T:\COMMON\ProdSW\ - All utility BAT files
- T:\UPDATE.BAT - Redirect to DEPLOY.BAT
- T:\TS-XX\ - Machine-specific folders

**Development:**
- D:\ClaudeTools\projects\dataforth-dos\batch-files\ - Source files
- D:\ClaudeTools\projects\dataforth-dos\deployment-scripts\ - Deploy scripts
- D:\ClaudeTools\projects\dataforth-dos\documentation\ - Tech docs

**Backup (AD2):**
- C:\Shares\test\COMMON\ProdSW\ - Primary location
- C:\Shares\test\_COMMON\ProdSW\ - Backup location

### Version Numbers (Latest)

- NWTOC.BAT: v2.5
- UPDATE.BAT: v2.3
- CHECKUPD.BAT: v1.3
- CTONW.BAT: v2.1
- DOSTEST.BAT: v1.1
- STARTNET.BAT: v2.0
- Others: Various (see PROJECT_INDEX.md)

### Key Technical Details

**DOS 6.22 Limitations:**
- No FOR /F loops
- No IF /I
- No %COMPUTERNAME%
- XCOPY /D requires date
- 256-byte environment limit

**Network Stack:**
- MS Client 3.0 for DOS
- Netware VLM client
- SMB1 protocol (D2TESTNAS)

**Update Flow:**
1. Admin → AD2 (C:\Shares\test\)
2. AD2 → NAS (every 15 min via Sync-FromNAS.ps1)
3. NAS → DOS machines (via NWTOC.BAT)

---

## Project Organization (NEW)

All Dataforth DOS work is now organized in:
```
projects/dataforth-dos/
├── batch-files/ (17 files)
├── deployment-scripts/ (33 files)
├── documentation/ (8 files)
└── session-logs/ (this file)
```

See PROJECT_INDEX.md for complete project reference.

---

## Session Metrics

- **Session Duration:** ~6 hours
- **Issues Fixed:** 8 major compatibility issues
- **Files Modified:** 9 production BAT files
- **Deployments:** 39+ successful
- **Versions Created:** 14 version increments
- **Documentation Created:** 8 comprehensive docs
- **Scripts Created:** 33 deployment/fix scripts
- **Organization:** Complete project restructure

---

**Status:** COMPLETE - Ready for production testing
**Next Session:** Monitor TS-4R results, prepare for full rollout