3Com (R) Corporation EtherDisk (R) Diskette for the 3C90X Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master NIC Family Release Notes and Frequently Asked Questions The EtherDisk XL diskettes support 3Com's family of bus mastering PCI network NICs with a common driver set. Products included in this family are the Fast EtherLink XL 10/100BASE-TX, EtherLink XL PCI TPO/ COMBO/TPC, Fast EtherLink XL 100-Base FX, EtherLink XL 10-Base FL NICs. Key product features include: - Parallel Tasking II (R) architecture for highest performance - Bus mastering for low CPU utilization and optimal overall system performance - Ease of installation with AutoLink (TM), and Auto Select Media Type for EtherLink XL Bus Master NICs and Auto Select Link Speed for Fast EtherLink XL NICs - Broad driver support, including NetWare, NDIS 2.01, NDIS 3.0, NDIS 4.0 and others - SNMP manageability - Lifetime warranty - Full duplex enabled for switched 10/100 Mbps environments >>> Frequently Asked Questions and Release Notes This file contains the release notes and answers to some frequently asked questions about the PCI environment to help you obtain maximum performance from your 3Com Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master NICs. This information is updated regularly on 3Com's CompuServe forum (3ComForum), 3Com BBS (bulletin board service), and 3Com's World Wide Web site (http://www.3Com.com). >>> Release Notes >>> Potential problem when sharing interrupts under Windows 95 If you install two or more PCI NICs (one of them being EtherLink XL) in your Windows 95 system using the same interrupt, your system may exhibit strange behavior. 3Com has found that sharing the interrupt can cause a blue screen errors or continuous system reboots, that are caused by disabling or enabling your NIC by using the Device Manager or the 3Com NIC Diagnostics program. This problem has been found on multiple different systems and with other manufacturer's PCI network cards. The solution is to stop sharing the interrupt between the NICs and assign a different PCI interrupt number to each of the NICs. Changing the PCI interrupt assigned to a NIC is a function of the BIOS or a utility provided by the PC Manufacturer. For more details refer to the documentation provided with your computer or consult with the manufacturer. >>> Windows NT 4.0 Incompatibility with Miniport Drivers 3Com has observed occasional system shutdowns on some multiprocessor servers (servers with more than one CPU) that use Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 running miniport drivers, including the 3Com EL90Xnd3.SYS/EL90Xnd4.sys miniport driver. This situation is not unique to the EL90X.SYS miniport driver and may occur with other miniport architecture drivers used with Windows NT 4.0. A new SRV.SYS driver from Microsoft fixes this problem. This driver is included in the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack #1, and can be downloaded from the Microsoft web site. >>> Spurious Hardware Interrupts on the Compaq Proliant 5000 When running a server on the Compaq Proliant 5000 numerous Spurious interrupts warning messages may appear. 3Com has found that these warnings should not be worried about and have no effect on normal operation. 3Com has noticed that these warnings also happen with NICs from other manufacturing companies. >>> Stopping the driver in a Windows NT System 3Com has found that if you stop the driver while there are no protocols installed in your system it will crash with a blue screen error. When this error occurs the system is dead and must be rebooted. Microsoft has admitted that there is a problem in Windows NT and it will be fixed in Service Pack 2.0 and later versions. To avoid this problem simply keep at least one protocol loaded and Windows NT will not let you stop the driver. >>> Performance Hint for the Fast EtherLink XL NICs on HP NetServers During testing of HP NetServers and the Fast EtherLink XL NIC, 3Com has observed that the performance can be maximized by customizing the NetServer's BIOS. Within the BIOS of the NetServer, access the Advanced Chipset Setup and set the DRAM Buffer Write to 0 and the Snoop Ahead to 1. NOTE: This was tested on an HP NetServer 466 LF and a 466 LC, but could apply to other models of the NetServer family. >>> Warm Booting with the DOS based Drivers Running 3Com has found that some systems do not reset the PCI Bus when the key combination is used to restart the computer. If the system does not reset the PCI Bus when a "warm boot" occurs the 3C90X Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master NIC Family stay in a running state that can cause problems if there is any network activity before the driver is reloaded. This problem can be avoided by pressing the reset button if your system has one or by turning the system completely off before restarting. >>> Compaq Prolinea 575 Computer Notification 3Com has observed issues with a particular system BIOS revision for the Compaq Prolinea 575 computer. If the system BIOS version is dated 11/18/97, it should be updated to a later revision. The Compaq Prolinea 575 Configuration and Diagnostics utility should be used to verify the revision date of the system BIOS (system ROM). Consult the manual for the Compaq Prolinea for instructions on verifying and updating the system ROM version and on obtaining updated system ROM software, or contact Compaq for assistance. >>> Unable to Use Network Connections After Running Diagnostics When using the Etherlink XL 3C900-Combo NIC, 3Com has found that running the diagnostic test contained in the Windows based 3Com NIC Diagnostics may cause you to lose your network connections and make it unable to create any new connections. This can be corrected by rebooting the system. >>> Installation Issues in OS/2 Warp 3Com has noticed that during the install of early releases of OS/2 Warp 3.0 that the LAPS might incorrectly install the 3C90X NIC. If this does occur, the user will see the following message when the machine is rebooted: LT00042: The EL90XIO2_nif MAC was not able to bind. Return code = 0x22 PR00025: An error occurred when the program tried to bind LANDD to EL90XIO2_nif To work around this issue, edit the PROTOCOL.INI file and locate the following section: [EL90XIO2_nif] Next, change the line DriverName = EL9X$ to DriverName = EL90X$ NOTE: This problem only occurs to earlier release of OS/2 Warp 3.0 and not later releases. >>> Windows NT and S3 Video Driver During testing, 3Com has observed a problem that occurs with Windows NT involving S3 video drivers and PCI memory mapped I/O devices installed on the secondary PCI bus. The symptoms include system lock-up upon initialization of Windows NT. The problem has been observed with the Dell OptiPlex GXPro 6/180 using the 3C905B with Windows NT 4.0 and Service Pack 3 installed. Uupdating the video driver for the S3 Trio64V+ (765DRV - version 2.00.18) resolved the issue. This problem can also be resolved by installing the 3C905B in the primary PCI bus or by uninstalling Service Pack 3. The S3 driver included with the Service Pack 3 for NT has a problem where it makes several writes to unclaimed memory space in the PCI bridge chip causing NT to become unstable and freeze. >>> NetServer LS2 5/166 and 3C90XB NICs running Windows NT4.0 with >>> Service Pack 3 3Com has noticed that when the 3C90XB NIC is installed in the secondary PCI bus of this particular machine, the machine may hang intermittently. The possible symptoms could be a locked up mouse pointer, steady hourglass, or the inability to execute any programs. However, Windows NT 4.0 runs flawlessly if the NIC is installed in the primary PCI bus. This is observed only in this model of the NetServer and not on other machines of the NetServer line. 3Com is currently working with HP to resolve this issue. >>> Using a SNI machine with the 82440LX chip set running Netware >>> 4.1, causes the server to abend with a stack overflow error. If the SNI machine, with the 440LX chip set, is running Netware with an Adaptec SCSI card and the 3C90XB NIC installed and a stack overflow occurs, please contact Adaptec or SNI for an updated SCSI driver for the machine. >>> HP Vectra VL 5200 3Com has observed during testing that the 3C905B NIC using the NDIS 4 driver under Windows 95 OSR 2 (version b) causes the PC to boot in Safe Mode. There is no known workaround at this time. 3Com is working with HP on a resolution. >>> ASUS P2B motherboard 3Com has observed that the 3C905B-TX NIC may not work properly in the ASUS P2B motherboard. Symptoms may include RWU or BIOS not identifying the NIC correctly. 3Com is working with ASUS on these issues. >>> DOS diagnostics incompatibility with 3C905B and Gateway E-3000 During testing 3Com encountered incompatibilities with our 3C905B NIC and the Gateway E-3000 series PC when loading our DOS diagnostics program. 3Com suggests using our Windows based diagnostics if you encounter this problem. The Windows diagnostics have been shown to work without error. >>> 3C905B-TX-NM and Zenith Z STATION-VP Incompatibility 3Com has observed that the 3C905B-TX-NM NIC is not properly recognized by the Zenith Z STATION-VP, equipped with a Pentium 75 processor and AMI BIOS 1994 v4.06. At this time, there is no known workaround for this problem. 3Com suggests using a 3C905B-TX NIC in this particular PC. >>> 3C905(B) family of NICs not supported in the NEC PowerMate >>> P2200: P5 200Mhz 3Com has observed incompatibilities with the 3C905(B) family of NICs and the NEC PowerMate P2200: P5 200Mhz. Intermittent network connection errors were observed during testing and no known workarounds are available at this time. 3Com suggests not using the 3C905 or 3C905B family of NICs in this particular PC. >>> Micron Powerdign Xsu with 300Mhz Pentium II 3Com has observed that the Micron Powerdign Xsu with 300Mhz Pentium II may occasionally hang or loose network connection when a 3C90X NIC is installed in the 64 bit slot of this system. For this particular PC the 64 bit slot is not supported and 3Com suggests using any available PCI slot other than the 64 bit slot in this system. >>> 3Com PCI NIC Installation Hints >>> Installing a PCI NIC in a PCI slot 1. Put the NIC in the computer. Refer to your computer documentation. 2. Start the computer. In most cases, the PCI computer will automatically configure the NIC. If this does not happen, you may need to configure the computer to work with the NIC. See the next section for further details. >>> Troubleshooting Installation Problems 3Com has found that some PCI computers require additional configuration steps in order to install a PCI NIC. 3Com recommends these steps: 1. Determine whether you have the latest BIOS version for your computer. Contact your computer's manufacturer to make sure you are using the latest BIOS. 2. Make sure the BIOS is set up correctly. In some PCI computers, you may need to enable the PCI slot using the BIOS Setup program. This is especially common in PCI computers with a Phoenix BIOS. After installing the NIC, turn on the computer and enter the Setup program during system initialization (usually by pressing [F1], [F2], or [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[S]). The correct key to press is usually shown on the screen. Once in the Setup program, find the entry for PCI slots (it may be in the main menu, or sometimes in advanced system configuration) and set these parameters to: BIOS System Setting Parameter PCI Slot Number Slot where the 3Com PCI NIC is installed (1-3) Master ENABLED Slave ENABLED Latency Timer 40 Interrupt Choose any one of several available interrupts that Setup provides. Edge or Level Level Triggered Interrupt NOTE: The exact wording of each of the parameters will vary from computer to computer. Save the changes, exit the Setup program, and continue with the installation. >>> Echo Exchange Test Does Not Support Crossover Cable Because the Echo Exchange test verifies the NIC's ability to transmit and receive data while on the network, both the echo server and the echo client must be connected to a network. An EtherLink XL NIC uses link beats to determine whether it is connected to a network when the Media Type is selected. A constant link beat is needed for the Echo Exchange test when the Media Type is selected. Before starting the Echo Exchange test, connect the echo server and the echo client together through a hub or a switch that generates a constant link beat. Using crossover cable to connect the echo server and the echo client directly does not work. >>> Performance on Some Early Pentium Pro Models During testing, 3Com has observed that some early Pentium Pro models using Intel's (54x?) PCI chip sets do not fully support the full bandwidth throughput of the PCI bus. Symptoms can include an abnormal number of dropped packets or performance below what the wire can support. This problem can sometimes be fixed by getting a more recent BIOS from your system vendor. Contact your vendor to see if such an upgrade is available. >>> Running the DOS ODI Driver with a Non-Novell Protocol in DOS Please add the keyword NO_PIPELINE to your NET.CFG file when running the DOS ODI driver with a non-Novell protocol in a DOS environment. To add the keyword NO_PIPELINE to your NET.CFG file, proceed as follows: 1. Access the C:\NWCLIENT directory and open the NET.CFG file. Type: EDIT NET.CFG [Enter] 2. Scroll through the file to the LINK DRIVER 3C90X section and locate the following line: LINK DRIVER 3C90X 3. Add NO_PIPELINE after LINK DRIVER 3C90X. Your file should now look like this: LINK DRIVER 3C90X NO_PIPELINE {<- make sure this is indented a few spaces } >>> Windows 95 Installation Notes This information applies to the Windows 95 operating system. When installing an EtherLink XL or Fast EtherLink XL NIC under Windows 95, the operating system automatically detects the presence of the NIC and asks for the diskette containing the driver software for the NIC (the EtherDisk 2 diskette). At this point, you can choose to cancel the installation of driver software and install it later. Even though the driver installation has been canceled, the fact that the NIC is installed is recorded in the System Registry. Later, when you install the driver software using the Network applet in the Control Panel, the operating system assumes that you are installing another instance of a NIC, not installing software for the already recorded instance. This results in two instances of a NIC being recorded in the System Registry. The Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NIC will not operate correctly under these circumstances. To fix this problem, open the System applet in the Control Panel. In the Device Manager dialog box, under Network NICs, the two instances of the Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NIC are shown. Remove the one that is marked disabled, and restart your computer. The remaining entry for the Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NIC in the same dialog box should show that the NIC is operating correctly. >>> Windows 95 OSR2 Installation Notes If the Windows 95 OSR2 PC is pre-installed with an Etherlink XL or Fast Etherlink XL NIC, a previous version of the 3C90X driver and installation files may be installed. If this is the case, the machine may lockup, exhibit Windows Protection Error, or experience software installation problems when the second NIC is installed. To avoid these problems, perform the following: 1) Before installing the second NIC, right click on Network Neighborhood and select Properties with the left button. 2) Highlight the 3Com Fast EtherLink XL/ EtherLink XL NIC. 3) Click the Remove button. 4) Select OK to save changes but don't reboot the PC. 5) Click on the Start button and click on Find. Click on Find Files or Folders. 6) Left click on the Advanced tab and have Win95 search for all files containing the text "VEN_10b78" and "DEV_9050". Delete all of these files. These are the previous versions of the installation files. 7) Power off the PC and install the second NIC. 8) After installing the second NIC, power the PC back on and let Windows 95 detect both NICs. 9) When Windows 95 prompts for the driver, insert the 3C905B EtherDisk. This will install the driver sets for both NICs. 10) Configure the desired protocols and services according to the type of network the machine is attached to. >>> Frequently Asked Questions (Note that Remote Wake Up specific FAQ's are found in the wakefaq.txt file located in the HELP directory of disk 1.) Q: How do I stop the 3Com tray icon from appearing in my system tray? A: You can stop the 3Com tray icon from appearing by double clicking on the icon to start the diagnostic program. On the main page of the 3Com NIC Diagnostics program there is a check box titled "Enable Tray Control". Click on the check box to remove the check mark and stop the 3Com tray icon from appearing upon reboot. If for some reason this does not stop the 3Com tray icon from appearing on reboot you can right click on the icon choose Disable 3Com TaskBar Icon and then delete the file COMSMD.EXE from your system directory. Your NIC will not be harmed in any way by deleting that file. Q: How do I remove the software that comes with my Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NIC from my system if I have a compatibility problem. A: You may remove the 3Com Nic Diagnostics Program from your system at any time by running the uninstaller in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. (Windows NT 3.5/3.51 users will have to run the program UN3C90X.EXE in the system32 directory). This will remove the diagnostics program and the 3Com tray Icon. If you remove all the Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NICs from the control panel the uninstall program will be run automatically. Q: Which PCI slot is best for my 3Com PCI NIC? A: 3Com PCI NICs are designed to work in any PCI slot, including "slave-only" slots. The NICs perform best in those slots that support bus mastering data transfers. Refer to your owner's manual for information on which slots support bus mastering data transfers. Q: Which PCI slot(s) are "bus mastering" in my PCI machine? A: Generally, if you have three PCI slots in a system, one slot will be designated as a "slave-only" slot (that is, it does not support bus mastering data transfers). Slots are not always marked clearly to distinguish between slave-only and bus mastering slots. It is best to refer to your owner's manual or contact your computer manufacturer for this information. Also, make sure that you have the latest version of your system's BIOS. Q. Does my PCI NIC support shared interrupts? A. The drivers for the Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master NICs support shared interrupts. However, because there is no industry-standard way to support shared interrupts, other NICs may support them differently, or not at all. If you have another PCI NIC that does not support shared interrupts (for example, a SCSI host NIC), either contact the manufacturer for a shared interrupt driver or try running the system setup program to assign it a different interrupt. We have found that OS/2 version 1.3 does not support shared interrupts, but it is only a problem if you are using the OS/2 NDIS 2.01 driver in LAN Manager version 2.2. 3Com has also found some problems with sharing interrupts under Windows 95, more details are available in the release note section earlier in this document. If this is a problem, try using the DOS configuration utility to give each NIC a different IRQ, and change the BIOS on your system to match. Q: What interrupt should I avoid using with my 3Com PCI NIC? A: You should avoid using any interrupts used by ISA/EISA boards that do not properly support shared interrupts (level-triggered). If you do not know or are unsure whether your NIC supports shared interrupts, then avoid using them. In addition, try to avoid using the same interrupt as that of your local hard drive (normally IRQ 14 for IDE drives and IRQ 11 for most SCSI host NICs), since not all hard drives support shared interrupts at this time. For Novell NetWare servers, you should also avoid using IRQ 7 or 15. These IRQs only support nonshared devices and may cause problems if they are shared between two devices. Q: Is my 3Com PCI NIC a 3.3 V or 5 V NIC? A: The 3Com NIC currently being shipped is a 5 V NIC. It will not fit in a 3.3 V slot. Q: Are my Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master ODI drivers Novell certified? A: Yes. 3Com's Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master ODI drivers are Novell tested and approved. Q: When I attempt to run the DOS configuration utility for the 3C905-XL and 3C595-TX NIC, the following error appears: "!!! Error !!! Incorrect configuration is set by the BIOS. Get an updated BIOS from the PC manufacturer or try to install the NIC in another slot." A: This error occurs in the Micron Millenia (M55HI) computer with BIOS version 3, and only in slots 1, 2, and 3. The solution is to install the NIC in slot 4, or if slot 4 is unavailable, disable Plug and Play in your system's BIOS. This eliminates the error in all four slots. Enable Plug and Play after you have exited the DOS configuration utility. Q: When I am installing the 3Com NIC in Windows NT 3.51, why does my machine hang when I click on the Continue button on the "3Com NIC diagnostics v.1.0" message screen? A: 3Com has noticed that there is a small percentage of PCs which may exhibit this problem. To avoid this, run the 3Com Diagnostics Program after the driver is installed. The NIC will function normally in either instances. Q: I've purchased an HP Pavilion machine and I want to connect it to my network, are there any issues? A: The HP Pavilion PCs are designed for home use and as a standalone multimedia machine. HP doesn't recommend using this as a network PC. Issues including: no available resources, PCI bus errors, PCI device detection problems could arise when installing a PCI network NIC in these PCs. 3Com and HP are working together to resolve this. Q: When I install a second NIC (3C90XB) in my Windows 95 OSR 2 with an existing 3C905-TX NIC, my machine hangs, why? A: If you have an existing 3C905 NIC installed in a machine and want to add a second NIC, follow these steps: 1) Right click on Network Neighborhood and select Properties with the left button. 2) Highlight the 3Com Fast EtherLink XL/ EtherLink XL NIC. 3) Click the Remove button. 4) Select OK to save changes and reboot the PC. 5) Power off the PC and install the second NIC. 6) After the installation of the second NIC, power the PC back on and let Windows 95 detect both NICs. 7) Use the 3C905B EtherDisk to install the driver sets for both NICs. 8) Configure the desire protocol and services according to the type of network the machine is attached to. By removing the pre-existing driver prior to the installation of the second NIC, the OS is ensured to use the most current drivers for both NICs for optimal performance. Q: After installing Novell Client 32 for Windows 95, I get an error "Your driver could not be disabled." when I try to run the 3Com Windows diagnostics, why? A: If the PC is configured with Novell Client 32 using the 32-bit ODI driver, the 3Com Windows Diagnostics utility doesn't support driver suspension. In order to run the diagnostics, either boot the machine in MS-DOS mode and execute 3C90XCFG.EXE from EtherDisk #1 or reconfigure Novell Client 32 to use an NDIS driver. For exact directions, please refer to your Client 32 instructions. If you do experience the above message when you attempt to run the 3Com Windows diagnostics, verify that the hardware device is enabled before rebooting the machine. Perform these steps: 1) Right click on My Computer at the desktop. Left click on Properties. 2) Double click on Network adapters to expand its entries. 3) Double click on the 3Com Fast Etherlink XL/ Etherlink XL NIC. 4) Look at the Device Usage box and make sure the Current Configuration is checked. If you have only one hardware profile, it will appear as "Original Configuration (Current). If you have multiple hardware profiles, check the box where the NIC should be enabled. 5) Click OK once and then again OK to save settings. Q: How do I update my 3C90X drivers in Windows 95 OSR2? A: You can perform an update on your existing 3C90X driver set by performing the following: 1) Right click on 'My Computer.' 2) Left click on 'Properties.' 3) When the System Properties screen appears, click on the 'Device Manager' tab. 4) Double click on the 'Network Adapter' icon and double click on the 3Com Fast Etherlink/ Etherlink XL NIC icon. 5) Click on the 'Drivers' tab and then click the 'Update Driver...' button. 6) When the Update Driver Wizard appears, do not select the option which lets Windows 95 search for the driver. Instead, select 'No. Select Driver from list' option. Click the 'Next>' button. 7) The description for the NIC should now appear. Click on the 'Have Disk....' button and path to the location of the Etherdisk and click OK. 8) Windows 95 will then start copying the files and updating the registry. Q: Where can I get a Packet driver? A: A packet driver for the 3C905B family will be available through 3Com's CompuServe forum (3ComForum), 3Com BBS (bulletin board service), and 3Com's World Wide Web site (http://www.3Com.com) in Q3 of 98. The packet driver for the 3C900 and 3C905 is available now. Q: Where can I get a DEC Alpha driver. A: A DEC Alpha driver for the 3C905B family will be available through 3Com's CompuServe forum (3ComForum), 3Com BBS (bulletin board service), and 3Com's World Wide Web site (http://www.3Com.com) in Q3 of 98. The DEC Alpha driver for the 3C900 and 3C905 is available now. Q: The EtherDisk 3.0 contains an el90xnd3.sy_ and el90xnd4.sy_ file. What are these files and their differences? A: The el90xnd3.sy_ is the NDIS 3 driver. The el90xnd4.sy_ is the NDIS 4 driver. Q: Which OS supports NDIS 3? NDIS 4? A: NDIS 3 supports all versions of Windows 95 and Windows NT. NDIS 4 is used by Windows 95 OSR 2 (version b) and Windows NT 4.0. During installation, the OS is informed which driver to load. Q: What should I do if the OS does not correctly install the driver automatically? A: Use the detailed instructions in Chapter 3 in the user guide to install the driver for your OS. Q: Which NetWare server driver should I use? A: The Hardware Suppport Module (HSM) standard for NetWare 4.11 is called HSM v3.3. NetWare 4.11 requires an HSM v3.3 compliant LAN driver. An HSM v3.3 compliant driver is located in the \NWSERVER directory on EtherDisk Diskette #1. An HSM v3.3 compliant driver can also be used for NetWare versions 3.12 and 4.10. See Novell for the correct NLMs and support files for this environment. Other versions of NetWare are no longer supported on this Etherdisk release. >>> 3Com Technical Support Please refer to your PCI user guide for technical support information. In addition, this information is also available in the \HELP\SUPPORT.TXT file on the EtherDisk 1 diskette. 3Com, EtherLink, and EtherDisk are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. 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