Personal Web Server

Installation of PWS on Windows 98:

  1. Go to Start...Programs...Accessories...Internet Tools...Personal Web Server This may vary from computer to computer. This was the way I started it on one computer but on another I had to go to Start...Programs...Internet...Personal Web Server. You can probably search through the C:\ for something that is called 'Personal Web Server' or 'Personal Web Manager'. 'Personal Web Manager' is the application that you use to turn PWS on and off. It keeps track of the web directories and has wizards to create quick simple web pages. (If you are upgrading to Windows 98, PWS setup should be on one of the upgrade disks otherwise you can download it from the Microsoft web site.)
  2. This should start an installation wizard that you follow for installation - you will have to reboot to complete installation

Using PWS on Windows 98:

  1. Once it has finished installing, an icon will appear on your desktop called 'Publish'. This is the shortcut to the Personal Web Manager. On the 'Main' page, there is a button that will either say 'Stop' or 'Start'. If it says 'Start' you must click it to turn on PWS otherwise the server isn't on and you won't be able to run any ASP. It will tell you where your home page is and where your home directory is so that you can create web pages and Asp's and actually view them.
  2. On the left side of the screen there are menu choices. If you click on the 'Advanced' icon it will take you to a screen where you will be able to view all of the virtual web directories. This is where you will keep all the web pages and Asp's that you create. They are also in the C:\Inetpub directory so you could also see it through windows explorer (or at least that is where I put mine). You can think of the directory 'Inetpub' as your web server. If it's not in there, it won't work in a web browser (e.g. any ASP).
  3. I've never used the other icons but one is a tour, a web site wizard and a publisher wizard. This might help you create a few simple web sites to get a feel for things.
  4. Once you have something in the Inetpub directory and you want to bring it up in a web browser, simply open your web browser, and type the following in your address box:

\\localhost\YourDirectoryPath\FileName

For example, I have a folder in the Inetpub directory called Asp so I would type

\\localhost\Asp\myfile.html

If your folder isn't in Inetpub itself but rather goes through more folders, you must provide every folder that the computer must travel through in order to get to your file (the only one not included is Inetpub).