Menu:
This client supports all members of the Windows NT family up to and including Windows 2003. Vista and newer use a different client (Novell Client 2/Open Enterprise Server Client 2) which is not covered here.
These are the final client versions for each of the listed platforms. Unlisted platforms are not supported by any Novell client leaving the Microsoft one as your only option. If you want a specific client version for some purpose, see the Minimum/Maximum versions table and the All Downloads table further below.
| Platform | File | Readme | Date | Description |
| NT 3.1, x86 | nwnti.exe | Readme | 1993-11-03 Pre-release | For Windows NT 3.1 you're likely better off using Microsofts Client Service for Netware - its functionally the same as Novells pre-release clients for NT 3.1 but likely more reliable. No "stable" client was ever released by Novell for NT 3.1, just a number of pre-release builds. The pre-release builds listed here are Not the latest, just the latest found so far. At least two further prelease builds are known to have existed which may still turn up someday. |
| NT 3.1, alpha | nwnta.exe | Readme | ||
| NT 3.1, mips | nwntm.exe | Readme | ||
| NT 3.5, x86 | nt35b1.exe | Readme | 1995-12-06 | Client part 1 |
| nt35b2.exe | Readme | 1995-12-06 | Client part 2 | |
| nwadm1.exe | Readme | 1995-12-06 | Netware Administrator part 1 | |
| nwadm2.exe | Readme | 1995-12-06 | Netware Administrator part 2 | |
| ntc6.exe | Readme | 1996-05-10 | Final patch for 3.5 client | |
|
More readmes: readme.now, instclnt.txt, instnwad.txt, TID1201676 - Tech Tips for NT Client (September 1996) |
||||
| NT 3.51, x86 | nt411b.exe | Readme | 1999-01-14 | Final release for NT 3.51. Use this client for Citrix WinFrame. The beta readme has some extra detail not present in the final readme. |
| NT 4.0, x86 | 49CLTNTe.exe | Readme | 2003-06-30 | 4.9 Client |
| nc49sp2.exe | Readme | 2004-07-28 | Support Pack 2 | |
| 49psp2_pkd.exe | Readme | 2005-01-04 | Post-SP2 Update "D" | |
| There are a number of post-SP2 post-Update D fixes available which were included in Update "E" (can't find a copy of this). Might be worth checking the readmes for these in the All Downloads table further down the page. Documentation is also available there as well as some alternate updates from those above for better multilanguage support (the UTF8 patches). | ||||
| 2000, x86, 32bit | 4.91+SP5 | Readme | 2008-09 | Final release for Windows 2000. Requires Service Pack 4. Supports 32bit editions only. Also available is This Readme (covering the client as it was originally released) and the
4.91SP5 Installation and Administration Guide |
| XP/2003, x86, 32bit | 4.91+SP5+IR2 | Readme | 2013-07-27 | Final release for XP/2003 bundled SP5 and all post-SP5 updates. Supports 32bit editions only. Also available is This Readme (covering the client as it was originally released) and the
4.91SP5 Installation and Administration Guide |
Novell only ever officially released 32bit x86 clients for Windows NT. Alpha and MIPS builds were available for some early betas for Windows NT 3.1 but NT 3.5 and up are x86 only. Likely no PowerPC client ever existed. 64bit editions of Windows XP and 2003 were never supported (and of course never will be at this point). So for RISC platforms (Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC) and 64bit editions of Windows the Microsoft client is likely your only option.
| NT Version | Minimum Client | Maximum Client | Notes |
| Windows NT 3.1 | — | — | No stable client appears to have supported NT 3.1 from either Novell or Microsoft - only the pre-release versions. |
| Windows NT 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5b | Client 3.5/3.5b is the only stable release listing NT 3.50 support. The 4.0 client only lists NT 3.51 and 4.0 as supported |
| Windows NT 3.51 | 3.5 | 4.11b | 4.11b is the final release for NT 3.51. |
| Citrix WinFrame* | 4.11 | 4.11b | 4.11 and 4.11a will recognise WinFrame and not break it, 4.11b has special support. See note below this table for more information. |
| Windows NT 4.0 | 3.5b + NTC6.EXE | 4.90SP2 + fixes | NTC6.EXE adds support for the NT4 Beta. Not sure if it works with the RTM version of NT4. General & Extended Support Ended: 30 June 2006, Self Support Ended: 08 Aug 2013 |
| Windows 2000 | 4.7 or 4.51 from the Win2k CD |
4.91SP5 | 4.7 is earliest release supported by Novell on Win2k but Microsoft distributed a cut-down copy of 4.51 on the Windows 2000 CD itself for supporting upgrades from previous Windows versions. |
| Windows XP | 4.82 | 4.91SP5 IR2 | |
| Windows 2003 | 4.90 | 4.91SP5 IR2 | |
| NT6+ (Vista/7/8/10) | — | — | Not supported by this client - use Novell Client 2 / OES Client. |
*This TID has some information on using the NetWare client with Citrix WinFrame. Looks like the 4.11 client will work on WinFrame 1.6+ but not especially well (two login screens) while the 4.11b client has some sort of special support for WinFrame 1.7.
| Version | Date | Notes | Link |
| 4.91 | 26 February 2005 |
This is the final client to support Windows 2000, XP and 2003. General support ended: 14 Oct 2010, extended support ended 08 Apr 2014, self support ended 10 Mar 2015. To get full up-to-date on Windows XP and 2003, install 4.91 + SP5 + IR2. Unless you can find a copy of SP5 and 4.91psp5_ir2.zip somewhere on the internet (I can't) the easiest option is to download the whole lot bundled together. Windows 2000 is stuck at Support Pack 5. So grab the 4.91 + SP5 installer. Note that you'll probably require Windows 2000 SP4 for this to work correctly. I've not tested it on SP1/2/3 but it certainly does not work on the original release. Documentation Readme (SP0 version) 4.91SP5 Installation and Administration Guide Updates These are all old - you shouldn't need any of them unless you want to be out of date. Some of the readmes might be worth looking at though to see whats changed. 491_pka.exe, Readme - 2005-06-08 - Novell Client 4.91 Update "A" 491_nwgina_3.exe, Readme - 2005-07-08 - Novell Client post-4.91 NWGINA.DLL 491_nwfs_6.exe, Readme - 2005-08-24 - Novell Client post-4.91 NWFS.SYS 491_novnpnt_1.exe, Readme - 2005-08-24 - Novell Client post-4.91 novnpnt.dll nc491sp1.exe, Readme - 2005-08-30 - Support Pack 1 491psp1_nwsipx32.exe, Readme - 2005-08-31 - Novell Client post-4.91 SP1 NWSIPX32.SYS 491psp1_calwin32.exe, Readme - 2005-09-09 - Novell Client Post 4.91 SP1 CALWIN32.DLL 491psp1_pka.exe, Readme - 2006-01-11 - Post-SP1 Update "A" nc491sp2.exe, Readme 1, Readme 2 - 2006-01-10 - Support Pack 2 491psp2_pkb.exe, Readme - 2006-04-25 - Novell Client Post-4.91 SP2 Patch Kit "B" 491psp2_pkc.exe, Readme - 2006-08-21 - Novell Client Post-4.91 SP2 Patch Kit "C" sp3, Readme - Support Pack 3 sp4, Readme - Support Pack 4 sp5, Readme - Support Pack 5 4.91psp5_ir1.zip - Post-SP5 IR1 patch 4.91psp5_ir2.zip - Post-SP5 IR2 patch |
Windows XP/2003: Readme, 4.91 + SP5 + IR2 (fully patched up) Windows 2000 SP4: Readme, 4.91 + SP5, Old versions: 4.91 + SP1, 4.91 (no bundled support packs) |
| 4.9 | 30 June 2003 |
This is the Netware 6.5 client. It supports NT4, 2000 and XP and 2003. It is the final client to support NT4 and the first to support 2003. It appears to be the final client to properly suppot Windows 2000. Documentation: Readme Installation and Administration Guide Login Scripts Fixes included in 4.9 SP2 Final Updates: nc49sp2.exe, Readme - 2004-07-28 - Support Pack 2 49sp2_utf8.exe, Readme - 2004-07-12 - Novell Client v4.90 SP2 UTF8 Support 49pke.exe, Readme - 2006-06-29 - The final post-SP2 patch, update "E". 49pke_utf8.exe - Readme - 2006-06-29 - The final post-SP2 patch, update "E", UTF8 version. Old Updates: (you don't need these) 49pka.exe, Readme - 2003-09-13 - 4.9 Update A 49pkb.exe, Readme - 2003-11-06 - 4.9 Update B nc49sp1a.exe, Readme - 2004-03-04 - Support Pack 1a 49psp1a_nwfs.exe, Readme - 2004-01-30 - Novell Client Post 4.9 SP1a Client NWFS.SYS 49psp1a_pka.exe , Readme - 2004-04-01 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP1 Update "A" 49psp1a_pkb.exe, Readme - 2004-06-22 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP1 Update "B" 49vipx.exe, Readme - 2004-06-23 - Novell 4.9 Client VIPX files 49psp2_pkd.exe, Readme - 2005-01-04 - Post-SP2 Update "D" 49psp2_pkd_utf8.exe, Readme - 2005-01-04 - Post-SP2 Update "D", UTF8 Version And the post-SP2 post-Update "D" updates (those that I could find at least - there are many missing) - these are all contained in update E: 49psp2_nwslp.exe, Readme - 2005-02-11 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP2 NWSLP.SYS 49psp2_lgncx_4.exe, Readme - 2005-03-08 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP2 LGNCXW32.DLL 49psp2_srvloc_4.exe , Readme - 2005-04-11 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP2 SRVLOC.SYS 49psp2_ndppnt.exe, Readme - 2005-04-11 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP2 NDPPNT.DLL 49psp2_novnpnt_3.exe, Readme - 2005-04-25 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP2 NOVNPNT.DLL 49psp2_nwgina_13.exe, Readme - 2005-07-08 - NC 4.9 Post-SP2 NWGINA.DLL - ZfD 6.5 compat. 49psp2_nwfs_13.exe, Readme - 2005-11-23 - Novell Client 4.9 Post-SP2 NWFS.SYS 49psp2_conn.exe, Readme - 2006-03-02 - Novell Client post-4.90 SP2 Connectivity |
Readme, 49CLTNTe.exe |
| 4.83 | 6 March 2002 |
This client supports NT4, 2000 and XP. TID10067934 documents whats fixed in this release. Updates: The support packs are cumulative. SP3 plus the Post-SP3 Update A is all you need. nc483sp1.exe, Readme - 2002-08-12 - Support Pack 1 nc483sp2.exe, Readme - 2003-04-14 - Support Pack 2 nc483sp3.exe, Readme - 2004-01-30 - Support Pack 3 483psp3_pka, Readme - 2004-07-26 - Post-SP3 Update "A" |
Readme, wnt483e.exe Also available bundled with SP1 - C483SP1e.exe SP2 - C483SP2e.exe But you may as well download the regular version (WNT483e.exe) and apply SP3 to that. |
| 4.82 | 12 December 2001 |
This client supports Windows XP Only. The (useless) readme file calls it "Novell Client for Windows XP". Updates: These patches are cumulative - only the last one needs to be applied nt482pt1.exe, Readme - 2002-01-11 - Updates nt482pt2.exe, Readme - 2003-05-05 - Final fixes for this client |
Readme, wnt482e.exe |
| 4.81 | 30 July 2001 |
This version was on the September 2001 Clients CD. Its also where the included readme files become worthless - just a date and a pointer to a website that no longer exists. So not sure what service packs this client needs. Apparently there some issues with the version of this client originally distributed with Netware 6 that require patching (ref). It also does not support Windows XP. Updates: These updates are cumulative - you only need to apply the final one. nt481pt1.exe, Readme - 2001-11-06 - Fixes for client 4.81 nt481pt2.exe, Readme - 2003-05-06 - Final collection of fixes for this client. |
Readme, wnt481e.exe |
| 4.8 | 31 July 2000 |
This client requires at least 24MB of RAM and supports Windows 2000 and NT4 with SP4 or SP5. It also requires the same server update as client 4.71 - see the notes for that version for more detail. Updates: 48sp1.exe 48sp2.exe 48sp3.exe, Readme - 2001-07-03 - SupportPack 3 275820.exe, Readme - 2001-10-02 - 4.80: Additional file attributes after SP3 nt480pt5.exe, Readme - 2002-05-09 - Novell client 4.80 for Windows NT/2K Updates 253829.exe, Readme, TID2958354 - 2002-08-29 - Updated NWWS2NDS.DLL for Novell Client 4.8 for Windows NT/2000, Novell Client 4.71 for Windows NT/2000, Novell Client 3.3 for Windows 95/98, and Novell Client 3.21 for Windows 95/98. |
Readme, wnt48e.exe |
| 4.71 | 26 April 2000 |
Supports NT4 and Windows 2000 and requires at least 24MB of RAM. NT4 needs either SP3, SP4 or SP5. NetWare 4.11 and 4.2 servers require an update. The Readme refers to TID295244 which doens't seem to exist - apparently this was a typo and TID2952441 is the one to look at. The fix is included in Support Pack 7 and later as well as revfhrft.exe. Updates: 242234.exe, Readme, TID2957559 - 2001-01-17 - Errors starting NWIP Adapter service on Windows 2000 with SP1, NWIP or CMD services in Control Panel unbind from IP during the save. 253829.exe, Readme, TID2958354 - 2002-08-29 - Updated NWWS2NDS.DLL for Novell Client 4.8 for Windows NT/2000, Novell Client 4.71 for Windows NT/2000, Novell Client 3.3 for Windows 95/98, and Novell Client 3.21 for Windows 95/98. |
Readme, wnt471e.exe |
| 4.7 | 8 December 1999 |
This version was shipped on the January 2000 clients CD. It is the first client to officially support on Windows 2000. It needs at least 24MB of RAM and, on NT4, Service Pack 3 or later (SP5 recommended). It was available as:
So for now I've zipped up a copy of the client from the January 2000 Clients CD: WINNT.zip. If you want the ZENworks Starter Pack stuff too, grab the full CD: january_2000.iso Updates: These patches appear to be cumulative so applying only the last should be sufficient. nt47pt1.exe nt47pt2.exe, Readme - 2000-03-03 - Patch 2 nt47pt3.exe, Readme - 2000-06-13 - Patch 3 |
Readme, wnt47e.exe or wnt47e1.exe and wnt47e2.exe |
| 4.6 | 22 Feburary 1999 |
This client was also available bundled with the ZENworks Starter Pack as wnt46e.exe (~35MB). Updates The service packs are cumulative - you only need to install service pack 2 nt46sp1.exe, Readme - 1999-06-17 - Service Pack 1 nt46sp2.exe, Readme - 1999-10-03 - Service Pack 2 |
Readme, wnt46e1.exe (part 1), wnt46e2.exe (part 2) |
| 4.11b | 14 January 1999 |
This is the final release to support NT 3.51 and requires service pack 5. While it may work on NT4 it doesn't appear to have been officially supported there (v4.5 was the supported client on NT4 at the time this was released). It adds support for Citrix WinFrame 1.7 and includes all functionality present in 4.11a plus all patches and fixes that were released for 4.11a. If you're running WinFrame or NT 3.51 it is the best you can get. The beta version of this client seems to have a lot more detail in its readme including system requirements and citrix details: beta readme |
Readme, nt411b.exe |
| 4.51 | 14 October 1998 |
This version was included in the ZENworks 1.1 Starter Pack. A stripped down version of it is also present on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM (ref: page 30) apparently to allow for upgrading from Windows 9x to Windows 2000. Officially it only supports NT 4.0. I'm fairly certain it was available for download from novell.com sometime between 1999-01-28 and around 1999-02-22. If it was available separate to the ZENworks starter pack I've not been able to determine what the download filename was or if any copies of it have survived. Possibly now the only way to get this client is to find a copy of the ZENworks 1.1 Starter Pack CD-ROM. Interestingly, a file (bcltsp.exe) claiming to be a ZENworks 1.1 starter pack beta appears to have a more recent build of 4.51 than the 1.1 Starter Pack CD image I found on archive.org. The readme (dated 15 December 1998) for the 4.51 client in bcltsp.exe contains numerous improvements and fixes to the readme file so perhaps whatever was on the ZENworks 1.1 Starter Pack is also a beta? or perhaps the bcltsp.exe version is more of a pre-release version of 4.6? Updates: nt451p1.exe, Readme - 1999-06-22 - Fixes for client 4.5x |
|
| 4.5 | 26 October 1998 |
This client was released with Netware 5. It supports NT 4.0 only. Updates: nt451p1.exe, Readme - 1999-06-22 - Fixes for client 4.5x |
Readme, wnt45e1.exe (part 1), wnt45e2.exe (part 2), |
| 4.3 | 10 April 1998 |
This client was released with the ZENworks starter kit. It supports only NT 4.0. The full distribution consisted of:
wnt43e_1.exe Client 4.3, part 1 wnt43e_2.exe Client 4.3, part 2 zspe_1.exe ZENworks Starter Kit, part 1 zspe_2.exe ZENworks Starter Kit, part 2 zspe_3.exe ZENworks Starter Kit, part 3The three zspe files were distributed with the Windows 95 2.5 client as well. They're not provided here as I've not located a copy of them. Updates: nt430p1.exe, Readme - 6 Octopber 1998 - Z.E.N.works NT client updates. This patch may only apply if you're using zenworks? nt430p2.exe, Readme - 6 April 1999 - Latest patches for NT Client v4.3 |
Readme, wnt43e_1.exe (part 1), wnt43e_2.exe (part 2) |
| 4.11a | 4 September 1997 |
This client supports NT 3.51 and 4.0. If you've got 4.11 installed and aren't experiencing the issues described in TID2930422 there is no need to upgrade (to this version). The copy provided here is the only copy I could locate on the intenet. TID2930422 suggests there should also be an ENNT4112.EXE and ENNT4113.EXE but I can not find these. The copy of ENNT4111.EXE does have the novell copyright stuff when you run it and it does appear to be the full 4.11a client (it installs fine). So not sure what the situation here is. The included readme (ENNT4111.TXT) suggests it should be multiple self-extracting exes too (either downloaded indivudally or in a zip). Perhaps the other two files were optional extra stuff? Or perhaps this file predates TID2930422 and the download was split into smaller chunks after its initial release? TID2930422 - intraNetWare Client 4.11a for Windows NT Info (16 September 1998) |
Readme, ENNT4111.EXE |
| 4.11 | 17 June 1997 |
This version was on the intraNetWare Clients CD (August 1997) and carries the date 970617 on the NWGINA dialog box. Compared to the 4.1 client it adds a Remote Access Services (RAS) tab on the GUI Login screen plus fixes various bugs. I can find no evidence of this version being available for public download. Updates: nt411p1.exe, Readme - 1998-11-02 - IntraNetWare NT Client Updates odi33f.exe, Readme - 1998-12-02 - ODI 3.31/1.11 Update clty2kp1.exe, Readme - Y2K fixes |
|
| 4.1 | 20 February 1997 |
This version supports NT 3.51 SP4 and NT 4.0. Extra Stuff: adm411nt.exe, readme - Automatic Installation of NWADMIN32 setupnal.exe, readme - NAL v1.1 Automatic Install nal11pt1.exe, Readme - NAL v1.1 File Updates to NAL v1.11 |
readme, ntenu41n.exe (network install), ntenu41d.exe (diskette install) |
| 4.0 | 9 December 1996 |
This is the first client to properly support NT 4.0. It also supports NT 3.51 but specifically does not support the shell update (9x GUI beta thing). A prior version was available as ntenu_n1.exe and ntenu_d1.exe. The updated 2 version provided here fixes a few bugs and adds support for the "Novell Workstation Manager Open Beta". Extra Stuff: adm411nt.exe, readme - Automatic Installation of NWADMIN32 setupnal.exe, readme - NAL v1.1 Automatic Install nal11pt1.exe, Readme - NAL v1.1 File Updates to NAL v1.11 |
ntenu_n2.exe (net install) ntenu_d2.exe (diskette install) |
| 4.0 beta 1996-09-26 |
26 September 1996 | This beta client supports NT 3.51 and 4.0. It does not support the shell update (9x style UI) on NT 3.51. The readme file (readme.hlp) does not mention support for NT 3.50. |
NT927N.EXE (network install) NT927D.EXE (diskette install) |
| 3.5b | 6 December 1995 |
With NTC6.EXE applied this is the earliest client supporting NT 4.0 (the beta version at least). It specifically does not support the shell update (9x GUI beta thing) on NT 3.51. File readmes: nt35b1.txt, nt35b2.txt, nwadm1.txt, nwadm2.txt Readmes: readme.now, instclnt.txt, instnwad.txt TID1201676 - Tech Tips for NT Client (September 1996) Updates: NTC5.EXE - ? NTC6.EXE, Readme - 1996-05-10 - Adds support for NT 4.0 beta. |
nt35b1.exe, nt35b2.exe, nwadm1.exe, nwadm2.exe |
| 3.5 | 21 July 1995 |
This appears to be the first stable (non beta) NetWare client for NT. It supports NT 3.5x only. For NT 3.1 you've got to either run one of the old betas or use the Microsoft client. Press release TID1201676 - Tech Tips for NT Client (October 95) Updates: NTRFT2.EXE NTC3.EXE, Readme NTC4.EXE |
Readme, ntws1.exe, ntws1.txt, ntws2.exe, ntws2.txt, nwadm1.exe, nwadm1.txt, nwadm2.exe, nwadm2.txt |
| 1994-10 Pre-release |
October 1994 | Copies of this were apparently on some BBS under the names NT-X86.ZIP, NT-MIPS.ZIP and NT-ALPHA.ZIP according to this post on beta archive. | |
| 1994-03-03 Pre-release |
3 March 1994 |
This release was available from CompuServe (files NWNTI.EXE, NWNTM.EXE and NWNTA.EXE) and ftp.novell.com (files NTINTEL.EXE, NTMIPS.EXE and NTALPHA.EXE). The files distributed via ftp at least were password protected. This client pre-dates the release of NT 3.5 so it should be targeting NT 3.1. It was also apparently not very stable. TID15215 - Obtaining Prerelease of NetWare Client for NT |
|
| 1993-11-03 Pre-release |
3 November 1993 |
This release added support for Alpha and MIPS processors as well as support for using NDIS drivers and the Microsoft IPX/SPX implementation. Summary of new features. Readme for: x86, alpha, mips (probably all identical aside from the file listings) |
nwnti.exe - x86 nwnta.exe - alpha nwntm.exe - mips |
| 1993-06-29 Pre-release |
29 June 1993 | Ref | nwnt.exe |
| 1993-04-26 Pre-release |
26 April 1993 |
This appears to be intended for use with NT 3.1 Beta 2 (build 404) Readme |
NWNT.EXE |
| 1993-03-03 Pre-release |
3 March 1993 | This appears to be the first publicly available beta of the client: Press release | |
| 1993-01-30 Pre-release |
30 January 1993 | This zip file comes from the internet archive and is probably not as it was originally distributed by Novell. The readme file suggests this version may have originally come from Microsofts "Win32 Applications Sampler CD". |
Readme NWNT.ZIP |
The following files I have been unable to locate. If you know where to get them, email me!
I can find no record of Novell ever releasing a final stable client for Windows NT 3.1. The first stable NetWare client for Windows NT seems to require NT 3.50. A number of pre-releases were made however and these do work (Screenshots of the 93-11-03 build). Microsoft also released a beta client for NT 3.1 which may be more stable and as neither client supports login scripts or NDS there is probably not much of a down-side to using it.
I'm not a netware expert, don't have any of those fancy novell certifications and have never administred a netware network; I've just played with it at home occasionally since 2004 or so. Email me if you've got any suggestsions or corrections for this page or any extra information you think is worth including here. My address is david at this websites domain name (without the www bit of course).