Subj : NTVDM project update
To : Nick Andre
From : mike ehlert
Date : Sun Feb 16 2020 10:17 pm
Re: NTVDM project update
By: Nick Andre to All on Thu Feb 06 2020 01:03:40
Hi Nick,
> I received a very detailed email from the author of Net2BBS/NETFOSS, which
> is a Telnet server for Windows.
Here's an update on getting NetFoss to work with the NTVDMx64 port by
Leecher1337:
I'm now able to get NETFOSS.DLL to load into this environment, though it took a
lot more work then I had expected. I actually created a separate version of
NetFoss due to major changes in order to work around all the compatibility
isues I encountered, so I'm calling NetFoss64. Beta 1 is now available by
request, but it currently only works in "COM port mode", so it is functional
with the 64-bit version of NetSerial. However when I try to use it in normal
"Telnet mode", it fails to recognize the socket that Net2BBS passes to it as a
valid socket, which means there is an issue with the socket inheritance.
Another issue I found is that batch files abort as soon as any DOS program
loads as a TSR, so programs like ANSI.COM and NETFOSS.COM for example cause the
batch file to abort as soon as it executes the TSR program. I found a
workaround for that by using a DOS program called "BatLite" which compiles a
batch file into a .com executable file, which does not cause the abort.
As for the socket inheritance issue, I think I can work around that issue by
changing the sequence of what gets loaded first. Currently Net2BBS spawns
NF.BAT, which loads NetFoss, and then loads NetCom (The Telnet Communication
Engine), which in turn launches the BBS Program (or door). It appears that when
a DOS program gets loaded (such as NetFoss.com which is the DOS stub of the
fossil driver that communicates with the Windows DLL) this causes NTVDMx64 to
secretly replace the Command processor from x64 to x86, and this appears to be
what kills the socket inheritance. I did a test to see if NetCOM.exe can send
data to the socket if NetFoss.com is not loaded, and it can indeed which means
it should be possible to make everything work in "Telnet Mode" by having
NetCOM.EXE load NetFoss after it has inherited the socket, and then NetFoss
will be able to then launch the BBS software. I'll let you know in a few days
if that works out.
By the way, I see that Leecher1337 used to run a telnet bbs at
http://dose.0wnz.at :-)
Regards, Mike
PCMicro dot com
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