The auto install provided by Novell does not install the new NLICLEAR.NLM.
Articles and Tips: qna
01 Jul 1997
Q.
Dear Ab-end: found out through painful experience that 312PTx.EXE contains a new version of NLICLEAR.NLM that was essential for me to install NetWare 3.12 patch files. The old version will causes crashes depending on the system load (more people logging in and out = more crashes). This just about drove me nuts until I found NLICLEAR.NLM in the NATIVE\OTHER\AUTO directory. The auto install provided by Novell does not install the new NLICLEAR.NLM. Worse, the patch documentation file makes little if any mention of NLICLEAR.NLM, and its documentation is buried deep in the directory structure along with the patch. What gives?
-- Sweating in Swanersville
A.
Dear Sweating: The 312PTx.EXE file contains two types of files: file enhancements and patch fixes. The enhancement files are stored in the NATIVE\OTHER\AUTO directory, which is where the NLICLEAR.NLM file and its text file are stored. All patch files are stored in the 312PTA directory (or whatever name the patch files are placed in). These files are actual patch files containing bug fixes and are therefore required to be run when the PMLOAD.NLM (NetWare 3.12's patch manager) loads the patches that are found in the 312PTA directory.
Enhancement files are optional and are therefore not placed in the 312PTA directory, but are made available if you need them. Apparently, your system needed the NLICLEAR file in order to work properly (usually depends on how hardware responds to the OS). The same is true with the other NLMs that are in the AUTO directory. The documentation for these files is in the AUTO directory, but the whereabouts of these additional files is not well documented in the main text file on the patch fixes. Hopefully this information will help others who are struggling as you did with this process.
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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