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Book Page i Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM
®
Fast EtherLink XL
PCI 10/100BASE-TX
Network Interface Card
User Guide
Member of the 3Com Fast EtherLink XL family
of network interface cards
http://www.3com.com/
Part No. 09-1363-000
Published February 1998
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Book Page ii Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 3Com Corporation n 5400 Bayfront Plaza n Santa Clara, California n 95052-8145 Copyright © 1998, 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without written permission from 3Com Corporation. 3Com Corporation reserves the right to revise this documentation and to make
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Book Page iii Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM CONTENTS CONTENTS ABOUT THIS GUIDE Finding Specific Information in This Guide 1 Conventions 2 1 INTRODUCTION Industry-Leading Performance 1-2 DynamicAccess Software 1-2 Remote Wake-up 1-3 Installation and Configuration 1-3 10/100 Mbps Support 1-3 PC and Server Requirements 1-3 How Do I Install the 3C905B-TX NIC? 1-4 2 INSTALLING THE NIC Connecting to the Network 2-3 Connectin
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Book Page iv Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM Installing the Novell NetWare Server Driver 3-10 NetWare Version 4.1 3-10 Multiple NICs 3-11 Supported Network Drivers 3-12 4 TROUBLESHOOTING Status LEDs 4-1 3Com NIC Diagnostics Program 4-2 Accessing the 3C905B-TX Help System 4-3 Displaying Release Notes, Frequently Asked Questions, and the KnowledgeBase 4-3 Running the NIC Self-Test 4-4 Running the Echo Test 4-6 3Com Support Services 4-7
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Book Page v Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM A SPECIFICATIONS Specifications A-1 RJ-45 Connector Pin Assignments A-2 B TECHNICAL SUPPORT Support from Your Network Supplier B-1 Online Technical Services B-1 World Wide Web Site B-2 3Com Bulletin Board Service B-2 Access by Analog Modem B-2 Access by Digital Modem B-3 3ComFacts Automated Fax Service B-3 GLOSSARY INDEX 3COM CORPORATION LIMITED WARRANTY FCC CLASS B ST
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Book Page vi Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM
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Book Page vii Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM FIGURES 1-1 3C905B-TX NIC 1-1 1-2 3C905B-TX NIC Installation Steps 1-4 2-1 Inserting the NIC 2-2 2-2 Connecting the Network Cable to the RJ-45 Port 2-3 2-3 Connecting the NIC to the Connector 2-4 4-1 LEDs 4-2 4-2 3Com NIC Diagnostics Program General Screen 4-4 4-3 Diagnostics Screen 4-5 4-4 3Com NIC Diagnostics Program Support Screen 4-7 4-5 Problem Report Main Screen 4-9 4
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Book Page viii Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM TABLES 1 Notice Icons 2 2 Text Conventions 2 3-1 Network Driver Text File Names 3-12 4-1 LED Descriptions 4-2 4-2 Frequently Asked Questions 4-15 5-1 Option Settings 5-1 viii
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Book Page 1 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM ABOUT THIS GUIDE About This Guide provides an overview of this guide, describes guide conventions, and tells you where to look for specific information. This guide describes how to install, configure, and ® ® troubleshoot the 3Com Fast EtherLink XL PCI 10/100BASE-TX network interface card (NIC). This NIC is called the 3C905B-TX NIC in this guide. If the information in the README.TXT file on the ® EtherDisk diskette shipped w
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Book Page 2 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 2 ABOUT THIS GUIDE Conventions Table 1 and Table 2 list conventions that are used throughout this guide. Table 1 Notice Icons Icon Notice Type Description Information note Important features or instructions Caution Information to alert you to potential damage to a program, system, or device Warning Information to alert you to potential personal injury Table 2 Text Conventions Convention Description Commands The w
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TX DATA ACT 10 L N 100 K Book Page 1 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM INTRODUCTION 1 ® The 3Com 3C905B-TX network interface card (NIC) provides a high-performance connection to an Ethernet or Fast Ethernet network. This NIC operates at 100 Mbps or 10 Mbps automatically, depending on the speed of the connected hub. Figure 1-1 3C905B-TX NIC There are two types of 3C905B-TX NICs: the 3C905B-TX NIC and the 3C905B-TX-NM NIC. The 3Com Remote Wake-Up NIC (3C905B-TX), shown in Figure 1-1, o
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Book Page 2 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 1-2 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Unless specifically indicated, the name 3C905B-TX is used throughout this guide to refer to both NICs. This chapter describes the 3C905B-TX NIC features and PC and server requirements. Industry-Leading Performance The 3C905B-TX NIC provides the following performance features: n Interactive Access technology to minimize CPU utilization ® n Parallel Tasking II architecture for high throughput and low processor utilizatio
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Book Page 3 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM Remote Wake-up 1-3 Remote Wake-up Remote Wake-Up support is enabled for the 3C905B-TX NIC. If you are using the 3C905B-TX NIC in a PC that supports Remote Wake-Up through the PCI bus, the 3Com NIC receives wake-up signals and wakes the PC from a sleep state. Installation and Configuration The 3Com NIC Diagnostics program allows you to test the 3C905B-TX NIC, configure it, and display the NIC configuration information. If you are running DOS, you
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Book Page 4 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 1-4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Make sure that you are running the latest BIOS for your PC or server, even if your PC is new. Contact your PC manufacturer for more information. How Do I Install the 3C905B-TX NIC? To complete installation, install the NIC in your PC or server, connect it to the network, and install the network driver. The installations steps are depicted in Figure 1-2. Insert Chapter 2 3C905B-TX NIC Connect NIC Chapter 2 to network W
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Book Page 1 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM INSTALLING THE NIC 2 There are two types of 3C905B-TX NICs: the 3C905B-TX NIC and the 3C905B-TX-NM NIC. They are both installed in your PC and connected to the network in exactly the same way. After you connect the 3C905B-TX NIC to the network, you connect the Remote Wake-Up cable to the motherboard. Before you begin, make sure that you also have the user guide and the 3C905B-TX EtherDisk diskettes, and that your PC meets the requirements desc
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Book Page 2 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 2-2 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE NIC 7 Insert the 3C905B-TX NIC into an empty PCI slot, shown in Figure 2-1. Make sure that the NIC is firmly seated in the slot. Screw 3C905B-TX NIC PCI slot Figure 2-1 Inserting the NIC 8 Secure the NIC with the screw you removed earlier. If you are installing the Remote Wake-Up connector, go to “Connecting the Remote Wake-up Cable” at the end of the chapter before replacing the PC cover. 9 Replace the PC cover an
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Book Page 3 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM Connecting to the Network 2-3 Connecting to the Network You must connect the NIC to the network before installing the network driver. To connect the 3C905B-TX NIC to the network cable, follow these steps: 1 Connect the network cable to the RJ-45 port on the 3C905B-TX NIC, as shown in Figure 2-2. RJ-45 port RJ-45 connector LEDs Figure 2-2 Connecting the Network Cable to the RJ-45 Port 2 Connect the other end of the network cable to a 10BASE-T o
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Book Page 4 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 2-4 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE NIC Connecting the Remote Wake-up Cable WARNING: Install the NIC in slot 1 in the PC (as described earlier) before plugging in the 3-pin connector. Only properly trained and authorized personnel should perform service. Contact your PC manufacturer for information about safe service techniques. 1 Insert the cable into the connector on the NIC, shown in Figure 2-3. Twist the cable twice before attaching the cable to
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Book Page 1 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM INSTALLING THE 3 NETWORK DRIVER This chapter describes how to install the network driver that completes your PC connection to the network. The 3C905B-TX software is installed with the network driver. Instructions are provided for Windows 95, Windows NT, and NetWare DOS client and server driver installation. Table 3-1 provides a complete list of supported drivers and text files that describe how to install them. Go to the section your MIS depar
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Book Page 2 Thursday, April 2, 1998 9:28 AM 3-2 CHAPTER 3: INSTALLING THE NETWORK DRIVER Follow these steps to install the network driver in a PC running Windows 95: 1 Install and configure Windows 95 before installing the 3C905B-TX NIC. 2 Install the 3C905B-TX NIC and connect it to the network, as described in Chapter 2. 3 Restart the PC. Windows 95 automatically detects the NIC in the PC. If Windows 95 does not detect the 3C905B-TX NIC, see Chapter 4,“Troubleshooting.” 4 Select Driver fr
