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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 and EtherLink XL PCI TPO/ COMBO NICs. Key product features include: - Parallel Tasking (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 EL90X.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 lot of 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 <CTRL><ALT><DEL> 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. Unattended Installation of Win95/ Win95 OSR2 with 3C905 and 3C905B ------------------------------------------------------------------ When performing an unattended installation of Windows 95 or Windows 95 OSR2 using the 3C90X NIC, an exception OE error might occur. Although this is a non critical error and can be bypassed by pressing any key, 3Com suggests downloading a customized version of the NIC install file from our web site: www.3com.com. This file contains a customized NIC installation file in addition to a readme which provides an overall procedure in performing an unattended installation. For complete instructions, please refer to the Windows 95 resource kit or Microsoft's web site: www.microsoft.com. 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 and 3Com recommends that you not use the 3C905B NIC in this PC. 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. Manual Change for Remote Wake Up -------------------------------- On page 5-1 in the user guide, the default setting for Remote Wake-up should be Yes. Remote Wake-up is set to ON at the factory. 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. Here are the phone numbers for some PCI system manufacturers: Company Phone Notes/Web site ALR* (800) 257-1230 www.alr.com/service/support /support.hml Ambra* (800) 465-2227 Not available AST* (800) 727-1278 www.ast.com/americas/files.html AT&T* (800) 543-9935 www.ncr.com/support/pc/pcdesc (800) 531-2222 /machines.html Compaq* (800) 652-6672 www.compaq.com/support/files (800) 345-1518 /compaq.html NOTE: Compaq DeskPRO XL should have a BIOS dated Oct. 1994 or later for best performance. Dell* (800) 626-4308 www.dell.com/ (800) 624-9896 Digital (800) 354-9000 www.dec.com/ Equipment* Gateway* (800) 846-2070 www.gateway2000.com/ (800) 846-2301 Hewlett- (800) 322-HPPC www.hp.com/cposupport Packard* (800) 752-0900 /cpoindex.html IBM* (800) IBM-3333 www.pcco.ibm.com/ Micron* (800) 438-3343 www.mei.micron.com/services/bbs /techbbs.htm Packard (800) 733-4411 www.packardbell.com/gfx/support Bell* /support.html Unisys* (800) 328-0440 www.pc.unisys.com/ Zenith* (800) 227-3360 www.zds.com/htdocs/zds/htm /files.htm ZEOS* (800) 554-7172 www.mei.micron.com/Services (800) 228-5390 /zeosbbs.htm In addition, here are the phone numbers and on-line addresses of several popular OEM motherboard manufacturers: Company Phone On-line address Intel* (503) 264-7999 ftp://ftp.intel.com\pub\bios Micronics (510) 651-6837 www.micronics.com/support/ ASUS (408) 956-9084 http://asustek.asus.com.tw * Third-party trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. 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. 3Com Diagnostic and Configuration Program Runs in DOS Mode Only -------------------------------------------------------------- If you are running Windows 95 or windows NT, please use 3NICDIAG.exe, which is installed in your SYSTEM directory from the EtherDisk 2 diskette when you install the NIC. 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 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, or 100BASE-T4 Media Type is selected. A constant link beat is needed for the Echo Exchange test when the 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, or 100BASE-T4 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 1 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 -------------------------- This section is now split into two categories; general FAQ's and Remote Wake Up FAQ's. General FAQ's ------------- 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: 3Com has developed a uninstall program for uninstalling the software that comes with the Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NIC. 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: Do I have to configure my 3Com PCI NIC for my computer? A: PCI is a self-configuring bus architecture. Most of the time you will only need to install the board in your system; PCI then does the rest. However, on some PCI computers (mostly with combination PCI/ISA or PCI/EISA buses in the same machine), you may be required to configure the computer's BIOS manually after installing your PCI NIC. If you need to configure your system manually, refer to the owner's guide for your computer. 3Com testing has shown, for example, that the AST Premmia GX P90 seems to require you to run the EISA configuration utility once you install the board to make sure that the I/O base address of the device does not conflict with other devices in the system. 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: Is your Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NIC compliant with PCI Spec 2.1? A: Yes. 3Com's Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL NICs comply with PCI Spec 2.1. For further details, please see the product data sheet. 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. Phone numbers for leading PCI system manufacturers are included earlier in this document. Q: Which interrupt should I use with my 3Com PCI NIC? A: Unless your system is a PCI-ISA/EISA combination computer that requires manual configuration, you should not have to worry about setting interrupts. However, if your computer is not self- configuring, you will need to set your PCI NIC's interrupts manually. To do this, you may need to set a jumper on your motherboard or set the interrupt in the system's BIOS. In either case, you will need to assign the PCI interrupt (INTA) to any available interrupt not being used by an ISA or EISA add-in board already in your computer. Keep in mind that the interrupt configuration on your computer's motherboard and in your BIOS must match. Since PCI supports shared interrupts, multiple 3Com PCI NICs can use the same PCI interrupt (except as noted below). 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: My 3Com PCI NIC driver will not load when EMM386.EXE is loaded. Why? A: Microsoft's EMM386.EXE versions 4.48 and earlier may conflict with some PCI systems' ROM BIOS. If you are using EMM386 version 4.48 or earlier, make sure you run A:\MSUPDATE\MSUPDATE.EXE, which will replace your current EMM386 with an updated version. Unless you are running a version of DOS earlier than version 6.0. In that case you will have to update your version of DOS to version 6.22 or higher to fix the problem. NOTE: if you have a version of DOS higher than 6.22, you will not need to update EMM386.EXE. Q: The NIC works fine in DOS, but I can't execute programs loaded over the net when Windows is running. What's wrong? A: If the EMM386.EXE memory manager is not loaded by your CONFIG.SYS file, Windows loads an equivalent driver when Windows is started. The problem is that the EMM386 Windows emulator that ships with Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 is not compatible with PCI computers. To solve this problem, put the following statement in your CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS immediately following the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS Make sure you are running version 4.49 or newer. If you are not sure which version of EMM386 you have, run EMM386UP.BAT on the EtherDisk 1 diskette. This program will update EMM386 if the update is needed. Unless you are running a version of DOS earlier than version 6.0. In that case you will have to update your version of DOS to version 6.22 or higher to fix the problem. Q: Two EtherLink XL NICs cannot be loaded in my NetWare 3.11 server. When the second one loads, it generates the message, "Attempt to reinitialize re-entrant module FAILED. LAN driver <name> is not loaded." A: The default NetWare 3.11 Packet Receive Buffer is not large enough for the 3C90X NIC. Set the Minimum Packet Receive Buffer to 50 or more to resolve the problem. Consult Novell documentation for detailed instructions. 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. 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 the you have an existing 3C905 NIC installed an a machine and they 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 3C90X 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 January of 98. Q: Where can I get a DEC Alpha driver. A: A DEC Alpha driver for the 3C90X 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 January of 98. 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: Why is there a need for two drivers?? A: To make sure that you can use this NIC with the latest and future releases of Windows 95 and Windows NT. Q: Why does the file name change on these drivers after installation? A: The files are decompressed during installation. The el90xnd3.sy_ file becomes el90xnd3.sys. Same for the el90xnd4.sy_. Q: How does the OS know which driver to load? A: During installation, the OS is informed which driver to load. 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. Q: What should I do if the OS does not install the driver correctly automatically? A: Use the detailed instructions in Chapter 3 in the 3C905B user guide to install the driver for your OS. Remote Wake Up (RWU) FAQ's -------------------------- Q: Which 3Com NICs are capable of Remote Wake Up (RWU)? A: The 3C905B-TX and 3C905-TX-W are Remote Wake Up capable NIC's. (Note the 3C905-TX-W is only available as an installed option through certain PC manufacturers.) The 3C900, 3C905-TX and 3C905B-TX-NM are not Remote Wake Up capable NIC's. Q: How can I tell if my NIC is Remote Wake Up capable or not? A: There are 3 methods to check the card. The first method, which is the easiest if your NIC is currently installed in a PC, involves running the diagnostics utility (DOS or Windows based). To do this, perform the following: DOS: 1) Execute 3C90XCFG.EXE from a clean DOS boot. 2) Click on View NIC information. 3) If the entry for the 'Remote wake-up connector' is 'YES', then this will indicate that you have a RWU board. Windows: 1) Double click the 3Com icon at the System Tray or execute 3NICDIAG.EXE from the Windows\System directory. 2) Click on the 'NIC Details...' button. 3) If the entry for the 'Remote wake-up connector' is 'YES', then this will indicate that you have a RWU board. The second method requires the user to remove the cover for the PC and locate the AUX power cable. This power cable is the one that connects the NIC to the motherboard. The connector on the NIC is located to the right of the Bootprom socket with the bracket positioned facing left. The third method is to verify the 3C part number is either 3C905B-TX or 3C905-TX-W by looking directly at the NIC. Q: What does RWU stand for and what does it do? A: Remote Wake Up. It's the ability to wake up a PC remotely from standby or suspend mode using one of two methods. The first method, a wake up packet, (also known as a Magic Packet), that is sent to the NIC over the LAN from a network management station. The second method is by a change in link state which is accomplished by disconnecting or reconnecting the RJ45 connector on the NIC when the PC is in a standby or suspend state. When the RWU capable NIC senses the packet or link state change, it asserts a Power Management Enable (PME) signal to the PC which initiates the boot process. Remote Wake Up is also commonly known as Wake On LAN or Wake Up On LAN. Q: What is the advantage of RWU? A: By waking up the PC from a remote location, MIS can update software during non-peak hours to eliminate productivity loss. They can also manage networks and tune the performance at a remote location when users are not logged on. There are also multitudes of other benefits with the ability to power on the PC remotely that can not be listed here. Q: Is there any security risk? A: The RWU PC doesn't exhibit any further security risk than a standard PC. The advantage of the RWU PC is its ability to boot up by 'remote control'. It doesn't compromise the machine's current security any more than booting the machine up by its normal On-Off switch. Q: Is my 3C905B-TX or 3C905-TX-W NIC supported in a PC that is not capable of Remote Wake Up? A: Yes. The 3C905B-TX and 3C905-TX-W NIC can be used in any legacy PC that meets the system requirements outlined in the User Guide but the Remote Wake Up capability of the 3C905B-TX and 3C905-TX-W can only be utilized in PC's specifically designed for this function. Q: Which PC's support Remote Wake Up? Which ones don't? A: The 3C905B-TX and 3C905-TX-W NICs are capable of Remote Wake Up in PC's that have a 3 pin header on the motherboard for RWU, a power supply that provides auxiliary power and a BIOS that supports RWU. When all three are present, the RWU functionality of the NIC should work. Presently, only certain Pentium based machines can possess this feature. No 486 based machines support RWU. For further information contact your PC manufacturer or vendor to determine if your PC is RWU capable. Q: What type of software is compatible for waking up my 3Com RWU NIC? A: The 3Com RWU NIC is compatible with software that conforms to AMD's specification for the Magic Packet. Examples are: Intel LanDesk Manager, Tivoli TME 10, Microsoft SMS, HP Openview Top Tool, Computer Associates' UniCenter and McAfee. Q: What is a magic packet? A: A magic packet is a valid Ethernet packet that contains a synchronization stream immediately followed by 16 repetitions of the destination MAC address. The synchronize stream is a 6 byte field of F's. This magic packet is not protocol specific. It can be IP, IPX, etc as long as it contains the sync stream and the 16 repetitions. This magic packet can be routed in order to wake up a remote PC. Since it is a valid Ethernet address, the RWU NIC can accept broadcast or multicast packets as long as the NIC's MAC address follows the above format. Q: What if I want to disable the Remote Wake Up function? A: You can disable this either through the NIC's Advanced Properties screen located at the Network configuration window or by editing the system registry. The keywords are: WAKEONLINK and WAKEONMAGIC. Q: What is WAKEONLINK? A: WAKEONLINK is a registry keyword that when set to "yes" gives the 3C905B-TX and 3C905-TX-W the ability to wake up a PC in stand by or suspend mode simply by disconnecting or reconnecting the network cable connection. This feature can be useful when troubleshooting a system that is not waking up. Note that WAKEONLINK default entry is enabled. Q: What OS's support RWU? A: RWU is only supported in Microsoft's Win95 OSR2 and NT4.0. Q: How do I suspend my PC for RWU? A: This process will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. If the PC has its own power sustain mode, you could perform a shut down of the machine and it will shut down into a suspend mode. This low power consumption suspend mode will wake up once a magic packet is detected by the RWU NIC. Q: What are the pin outs for the AUX power on my NIC? A: There are 3 pins located on the connector on the board. With the dovetail key slot at the bottom, pin 1 is located on the right. Pin 1.....+5V Standby power Pin 2.....ground Pin 3.....PME signal Q: Is there anything in the BIOS that I can check to see if RWU is enabled? A: Typically, the BIOS contains user configurable settings for waking up the PC on PME or LAN signals. This might be under the Power or Boot category of the BIOS. If you are experiencing difficulties locating this, please refer to your PC's reference manual or contact your PC vendor for specific instructions on accessing the BIOS. Q: What if my RWU function is not working? What can I check? A: In the event that the PC doesn't boot up when a magic packet is sent, perform these general troubleshooting steps: 1) Verify that the function Wake On Link and Wake on Magic Packet are enabled. (Note: the default settings are enabled.) In order to do this, right click the Network Neighborhood icon. Move the cursor to "Properties" and left click the mouse. Double click the 3Com NIC icon and click the "Advanced" tab. Make sure the Wake On Link and Wake on Magic Packet are enabled. If these settings do not exist, either the NIC is not a RWU NIC or the driver installation file is outdated. For the latest Fast Etherlink XL/ EtherLink XL drivers and installation files, download EtherDisk 3.0, or later, from the 3Com web site: www.3com.com. 2) After both settings are enabled, suspend the machine. At this state, the machine is in a standby mode with the NIC's Link LED still enabled. Unplug the TP cable from the back of the PC. This should invoke a Power Management Enable (PME) signal which will power on the PC. If this doesn't occur, the next step is to verify the driver version. The driver has to be at least version 3.00.00. One easy way to determine the driver version is to locate the el90x.sys file located in the Windows\System directory. Right click on the file and left click on Properties. Under the "Version" tab, you will find the version of the el90x.sys driver. If the version is lower than 3.00.00, download an updated version of the driver available at the 3Com web site: www.3com.com. 3) If the version of the driver is up to date and the keywords are enabled and the machine is still not waking up, check the BIOS. Since the BIOS plays an important role in the function of Remote Wake Up, the settings for waking the PC must be enabled. Boot the machine and enter into the BIOS. Locate the function for Wake up on PME signal or/and Wake up on LAN event. Verify that these are enabled. If you are experiencing difficulties locating these settings, consult your PC's reference manual or contact your PC vendor for clarification. 4) The next step, after all the preliminary verifications are done, is to unplug the PC from its power source, open up the PC's chassis and check its connection. Locate the 3Com NIC and verify that the auxiliary power cable is plugged in to the NIC as well as the motherboard. Unplug and reinsert the cable if necessary. 5) If all the above has been performed and the NIC is still not waking up, install a known good working RWU NIC and the auxiliary power cable in the machine and recheck since the NIC in question may be faulty. If the machine works with a known good RWU NIC, contact your PC vendor or reseller for a replacement of the 3Com NIC. After verifying with a known good working NIC and the machine still doesn't wake up, there might be a problem with the motherboard which would require consultation with your PC vendor. Q: When I install the RWU NIC, the install process doesn't prompt for any files and the Remote Wake Up functionality doesn't work. What's wrong? A: Problems could arise if the user installs a new NIC (3C905-TX-W or 3C905B-TX), in a PC which had Windows 95 OSR2 installed. During the installation of the new NIC, the Windows NIC install process uses the old W95EL90X.INF file shipped with the system and will not copy over the new drivers. Moreover, no warning messages will occur. Thus, with a RWU NIC, the failure to copy new drivers to the OS will result in the Remote Wake Up function being disabled. To alleviate this problem, locate the old W95EL90X.INF, EL90X.DOS, EL90X.VXD files located in the C:\Windows\Options\Cabs directory and either rename them or delete them. Currently, the Gateway 2000 E-3000 is the only machine that 3Com has experienced this issue. Q: When my Windows 95 OSR2 machine wakes up from a suspend mode, I loose my NetWare drive mappings, how could I correct this? A: Once the machine goes into a suspend mode, the RWU NIC no longer transmits packets out onto the wire. This becomes an issue for NetWare since it will drop the drive mapping when it no longer receives a packet from the station. This is a NetWare related issue and the current work around for this is to reboot the machine to reestablish the NetWare drive mappings. Q: Will my RWU NIC respond to ARP requests when it is asleep? A: No. Since the NIC will not transmit when it is asleep, it will not respond to ARP requests. Thus, if the management station and the Remote Wake Up machine are on different subnets of the router and the router's ARP table is flushed, the RWU NIC would not be able to respond to the ARP request generated by the router that results from the magic packet that is sent from the management station to the IP address of the RWU client. Fortunately, most management applications utilize broadcast IP address rather than unicast packets to the RWU station. A broadcast IP address causes the router to broadcast the magic packet to the client's subnet which wakes the RWU station up. Q: What is ACPI? A: Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. It is a specification developed by Intel, Microsoft, and Toshiba Corp which allows more advanced power management features through the operating system to the hardware interfaces. 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. (%VER README.TXT - Release Notes v1.1b)