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General discussion

3Com EtherLink III ISA (3C509/3C509b) in ISA mode

by janal95 Aug 8, 2007 2:25AM PDT

This NIC is installed on a Compaq 4550 running Windows 95 OSR2.
I found and installed the drivers from 3Com.
I bought a crossover cable for $4.28.
I tried to setup a LAN with my Windows XP.
I know that swamp is deep.
I think that I followed all the TCP/IP instuctions, ect.
I can't ping from either computer without an error message.
This is not a crisis but an affirmation of giant advacements.
I read somewhere on the Internet that this adapter will not work if installed on Windows XP.
Does this also mean XP cannot recognize it on the Windows 95 ?
I'm going to donate the 4550 to my friend's computer club, so it's not a total loss if they install a modem(other stuff too) and someone can peek at the Internet.

Discussion is locked

13 Posts
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Yes it's quite deep.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Aug 8, 2007 12:15PM PDT

On those you have awakened the old IRQ monster. Sadly today I don't think many will remember about the IRQ nasties or that we have to deal with such.

There is some hope and it's not Windows for such a machine to peek at the Internet. I'd install Linux since I won't have to deal with it and it will work.

Bob

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the error message would help
by bus Aug 8, 2007 12:34PM PDT

I'm not sure what your goal is (file sharing?), but I did use these NICs in win95 and 98 computers on a win98se based LAN without much problems. I was sharing printers, drives, and internet connection across win95 and win98 computers.

I can not answer 100% but I guess a 3COM ISA NIC can't be installed on an XP computer. But I know this card will work on a win95 computer. I think the real question is "Will the Win95 OS and XP OS talk to each other over a working LAN?"

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More 3C509/3C509b
by janal95 Aug 8, 2007 8:03PM PDT

I only wanted to share files and printer on the XP.
I understand the ICS doesn't work between XP and Win 95.
It would be interesting to look at the speed of the LAN vs. DCC parallel for a large file.
There's a chance that a relative has an old copy of Win 98SE2 that will become mine.
I can use the 4550 without breaking my real stuff.
This may take weeks.
Can an old programmer who can't spell instructions (original post) enter all the correct parameters for fixed addresses and more ? !

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RE: error messages 3C509/3C509b
by janal95 Aug 8, 2007 8:18PM PDT

The XP system displays the connect and sends the packets(none received) before the timeout stops the connection.
The ping utility gives "IP DEST HOST UNREACHABLE" message.

The Win 95 system (from ping IP address of remote machine) gives "Bad IP address IP". I guess at this stage it doesn't matter that the Network user is logged on and the Neigborhood Network displays the computer name and shared file. The WINIPCFG displays the fixed address of the TCP/IP.
It's almost like I know what I'm doing but that's not true!

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Even old programmers would fume and lose months on...
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Aug 8, 2007 9:31PM PDT

The old ISA IRQ issues. You didn't write one word if you were looking into setting the IRQ for your card or if you remembered the bad old days.

Bob

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Yes I do remember trying to set IRQs with ISA type cards
by bus Aug 9, 2007 8:50AM PDT

Two years ago I built a retro Win98se computer and tried to install ISA 3COM NIC. It would not work. I ended up using a PCI version of the same card and still had to setup 2 hardware profiles so the IRQs would not conflict with the ISA modem, USB wireless adapter and ISA Sound Blaster card(if my memory holds I believe you are the person who talked me through that ordeal). I still have to adjust the IRQ of the sound card when running in DOS.

The win95 computers I used in the past came with the NICS installed and not much else(a 5.25 floppy, no CDROM). I got them just by filling out a form and taking them home form work. I guess I missed out on the fun of non shared IRQs. 2 of these computers are now set up with Win98(I believe that win98 install saw the cards and just carried over the correct settings). I left one still running Win95 (it has the SB CDROM drive from Panasonic that is more a SCSI than IDE). I believe you are the person who warned me about these kinds of drives. Because of your heads up I was finally able to setup the CDROM drive to work in DOS. Thanks.

I'm going to look into "Will a win95 computer talk to an XP computer over a LAN?". My guess is "NO".

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"Will a win95 computer talk to an XP computer over a LAN?" =
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Aug 9, 2007 10:03AM PDT

Yes it can. But the burning issue I see is the basic NIC is not functional yet. Sorry but the details and any "do this" is not in these posts yet.

As to that old CDROM drive, the interface was called MKE Panasonic (but since this is so long ago those memories could be faulty.)

Bob

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Thx for the reply to "Will a win95
by bus Aug 10, 2007 2:28AM PDT

computer talk to an XP computer over a LAN?"----Yes it can.

This leads me to ask ?How is one to tell the ISA NIC is not working?? Here is why I ask. Long ago and far away, I installed a 3COM ISA NIC into a Win98se Compaq desktop computer. I had to change the IRQ/address around to fix the conflicts during the install and all seemed well. The card worked and I was able to share files, printers, an internet connection over my Win98se based LAN, but when I went to use/share the CDROM drives in the Compaq that had the ISA NIC installed, the drives no longer worked. I ended up removing the ISA NIC an installing a PCI version of the NIC before I was able to get the CD drives working again. In this case the NIC was working but the install process had caused a conflict which disabled the CD drives, bottom line the install failed and had to be redone using PCI hardware to restore full function of the computer. Hum, does this mean that because the original poster(janal95) did not indicate a problem with IRQs that the ISA NIC install has failed or the card itself is defective?

The reasons I followed up on the old CDROM drive (you are correct, the interface was referenced to as MKE Panasonic) was I have one, it might have been a work around for the IDE CDROM drive problem discussed above, or an old computer with no more slots, and just the fact that I hated having a CDROM drive that wouldn?t work in DOS. I now have it working in DOS using the drivers from file 56x_dos.exe which I downloaded from Panasonic not Sound Blaster.

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Update 95B to 98SE
by janal95 Aug 15, 2007 4:33AM PDT

Dumped the 95B LAN project.
Installed 98SE.
NIC adapter still untested because CD-ROM failures to load Microsoft service components (not ready and I/O read errors).
Looking for a Lite-On 242 on e-bay and e-mailing them and HP/Compaq for information.
Cleaning the drive doesn't help.
Anyhow, could this CD-ROM be replaced with a CD-RW that fits the bay?
There is a 3.5" floppy which works and an untested 100MB ZIP drive on the system.

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I've been replacing such with ...
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Aug 15, 2007 3:08PM PDT

Since DVD-RW drives are 29.99 here that's what I use. They work just fine and see no need to settle for CDRW drives.

Hope this helps,

Bob

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Progress ??
by janal95 Aug 15, 2007 10:05PM PDT

The CD-ROM read the file sharing components and XP CD resource disk to complete the setup on Win 98SE. Sometimes, I think when the machine is cold after a night of AC, it works for a while.
The ping utility from the XP Home now shows back and forth activity.
However, the connection status shows packets sent but none received.
Without debugging experience, I don't know if this is correct.
The Neighbor Network on the 98SE shows the name of its computer(no XP machine), the shared folder I created and another called "shared docs"(there is no printer connected in the system).
The ping ip address of remote machine indicates "unkown host ip".
I followed the tutorial of J. Helmig on the internet site to get this far. I excluded the step of setting up a new user account when using XP Pro because I thought that it didn't apply to XP Home.
I guess the cable is ok but the adapter or setup is still in doubt.
Thanks for all the info!

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MS Windows Training Kit
by janal95 Aug 15, 2007 10:53PM PDT

I found this on the Net and it's almost overwhelming like going back to work and writng code.
It's a detailed explanation for using Win 98 Networking.
I used the "auto" address command instead of static addresses in the Helmig example.
I don't think that time is a factor in a 2 computer Lan!
If I only had two other systems(computers) using the hardware correctly which included a NIC adapter, the 3COM hardware swap could be made to determine that the current one in the 98SE2 is functional.
I need some benchmark time at Poughkeepsie!!!(Microsoft)
There still are tiny alligators in the swamp.

Thanks for all responses.

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REAL PROGRESS !!!
by janal95 Aug 16, 2007 10:13AM PDT

After changing to static addresses per the J. Helmig instuctions, the connect from the XP to the 98SE worked, and I copied a file from the 98SE to the XP and from XP to 98SE. Old adapter and new cable are good.
I guess that I'll setup the AIO printer on the 98SE.
It's just a case of operator confusion and inexperience.
I'll study the technet to see how to use the ICS feature.
Thanks for all the space.

AL 33761

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