3Com (R) Corporation
Etherlink Server 10/100 PCI
3C98X NIC Family
Microsoft Windows Server Driver Installation Notes
Table of Content
================
* Installing the MS Loopback Driver During a Fresh Installation
* Performing a Fresh Installation on a Backup Domain Controller
* Windows NT 4.0 TCP/IP Performance in Compaq Servers
* Adding Protocols when DynamicAccess Server Features are installed
* Memory Requirements for VLANS
* Self-healing driver error codes
* Windows NT Known Problems
* Windows 2000 Known Problems
Note: Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 is required to install the
DynamicAccess software.
Windows NT 4.0 TCP/IP Performance in Compaq Servers
===================================================
On Compaq ProLiant 1200, 1600, 3000, and 5500 servers,
which use the RCC PCI chip set, the NIC performance is
slow during file transfer under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
with TCP/IP at 100 Mbps. Other protocols show no
significant performance problems. Compaq is investigating
the root cause of the problem. Meanwhile, you can use the
memory write invalidate configuration utility (MWICFG) to
address your immediate needs. The utility disables the
MWI NIC register.
Downloading the MWICFG Utility
You can download the MWIFIX.EXE compressed file, which
contains the MWICFG utility and a readme file, from the
3Com public FTP site as follows:
1. To connect to the 3Com FTP site, enter the following
information into your FTP client:
Hostname: ftp.3com.com (or 192.156.136.12)
Username: anonymous
Password: <your Internet e-mail address>
A user name and password are not needed with Web browser
software such as Netscape Navigator and Internet
Explorer.
2. After you are connected, enter these commands to
download the MWIFIX.EXE compressed file:
cd \pub\nic\3c90x
bin
get mwifix.exe
3. To expand the compressed file, enter:
mwifix
Using the MWICFG Utility
To disable the MWI register:
1. Boot the system under DOS.
2. Change to the directory where you placed the MWICFG
utility.
3. At the DOS prompt, enter this command to run the
MWICFG.EXE utility:
MWICFG
4. Follow the prompts.
5. When the utility has finished running, restart the
system. To reenable the register, run the utility
with the /e option:
MWICFG /e
Adding Protocols when DynamicAccess Server Features are installed
==================================================================
When you add a protocol to the system for the first time
after DynamicAccess server features are installed,
individual NICs may be listed in addition to the NIC
groups with which they are associated. After adding a
protocol for the first time with DynamicAccess server
features installed, it is recommended that you remove
and reinstall DynamicAccess server features. In
the case of TCP/IP, you should remove DynamicAccess
server features, assign each NIC an IP Address, and
then reinstall DynamicAccess server features.
Memory Requirements for VLANS
=============================
Number of VLANs Minimum RAM Size (MB)
up to 16 128
Self-healing driver error codes
===============================
If you see the message "3Com EtherLink Server 10/100 PCI NIC
(3C980C-TXM): Could not allocate the resources necessary for
operation" in event viewer, it indicates that the self-healing driver
has detected an error condition. The error code is located in offset
28 hex in the data area of the event. Here is a list of the error
codes and their meanings.
c9 - Transmit Stall Detected
ca - Receive Stall Detected
cb - Interrupt Stall Detected
cc - Excessive Error Detected
cd - Invalid DPD List Detected
ce - Invalid UPD List Detected
Windows NT Known Problems
=========================
1. The NT Diagnostics Test fails using 100TX Hub on half duplex.
Running the Network Connectivity Test with 3C980C, 3C982 or 3C905C using
100mbs half-duplex setting and a 100TX hub fails. This problem
does not occur using a switch or using a hub set to auto detect mode.
2. Self-Healing Driver (SHD) settings for secondary NICs are ignored.
If you have a group of NICs where each NIC has its own SHD settings,
only the primary NIC settings will be used. The settings for
the secondary NICs will be ignored.
3. Diagnostics do not start.
If you invoke the 3Com NIC Doctor diagnostics program right after
Windows NT boots up, the 3Com NIC Doctor may not appear on the screen.
This is because the NT Service Database is still locked. Wait until
the NT Service Database is unlocked, then restart 3Com NIC Doctor.
4. System services do not start.
After VLANs have been configured, system services that
are set to start automatically may not start. To start them:
a Determine which services did not start.
In the Services Control Panel, services listed as automatic
should show a started status. Note those that do not.
b Determine the order to start the services.
Check the Event Viewer to see the order in which services
must be started.
c Start the services from a DOS command line.
Enter this command for each failed service:
NET START service
where service is the name of the service.
Be sure to start the services in the order shown in the Event Viewer.
5. Installing a 3C905B NIC with a 3C980B or 3C980C NIC causes a crash.
To install a 3C905B NIC along with one or more 3C980B or 3C980C NICs,
make sure that you are using the latest 3C905C network card software,
which can be obtained from the 3Com support web site. If
DynamicAccess software is installed and the 3C905B card is not
connected to a network, the computer may crash. This can be resolved
by securing a network connection for the 3C905B NIC, removing
DynamicAccess software, or by removing all 3C905B drivers.
In the future, a new release that resolves this problem will be
available for the 3C905B and 3C905C. This release will be newer than
EtherCD5.1. Remove all 3Com network card software before you attempt
to install this newer software for the 3C905B.
Windows 2000 Known Problems
===========================
1. There is no standalone diagnostics installation program.
If you remove the 3Com diagnostics program through the control panel,
you must reinstall or upgrade the driver to reinstall the diagnostics.
2. Removing a driver through the Local Area Connection Driver
Details Pane.
There are two methods to uninstall a network card driver: through the
Device Manager and through the Driver Details pane accessed through
the Local Area Connection pane. The former method is recommended. If
you use the Driver Details pane, the following message dialog may
appear at the end of the removal cycle: "An unexpected condition
occurred. Not all of your requested changes in settings could be
made". Ignore this message; the driver software is removed correctly.
3. Erroneous disconnected indicator appears after changing the media
speed.
After you use the Windows 2000 Advanced tab to change the media
speed, the 3Com icon in the system tray indicates erroneously that
the NIC is disconnected (it appears with a red circle and slash). To
correct this problem, restart Windows 2000.
4. After changing the media type in the Advanced tab, the LAN
properties window hangs.
If you change the media type in the Advanced tab, the Local Area
Network Properties window may hang. If this happens, enter
Ctrl+Alt+Del and end the Local Area Network Properties task.
5. Node address does not display when other NICs are installed.
If the 3C980C is installed in the same server as a 3C905 NIC, the node
addresses for both NICs may not display correctly in the 3Com NIC Diagnostics
program. To correct this problem, download and install the latest 3C905
driver from 3Com web site.
6. 3Com NIC Diagnostics program is not reinstalled correctly if
the NIC driver is upgraded through the Local Area Connection pane.
If you use the Add/Remove program in the Control Panel to remove the
3Com NIC Diagnostics program, you can reinstall it only by upgrading
the NIC driver through the Device Manager window or by removing and
reinstalling the NIC drivers through Device Manager. If you attempt to
upgrade the driver through the Local Area Connection Pane, the
diagnostics program will not be installed correctly.
7. DHCP Server Service installation recommends use of static IP addresses.
If you install DHCP Server Service on a server where the 3Com NIC driver and
DynamicAccess server features are already installed, the DHCP Server Service
installation detects dynamically assigned IP addresses for the
DynamicAccess miniports and warns that you should use static IP
addresses. Ignore these warnings. Do not assign static IP addresses.
8. Invoking the Advanced tab through the Network Wizard causes the
NWLink NetBIOS component to unbind.
Invoking the Advanced tab through the Network Wizard instead of through
the Device Manager and then changing property values such as the media speed
causes components such as NWLink NetBIOS to unbind. To avoid this problem,
invoke the Advanced tab and change property values through the Device Manager
as follows:
a. Right-click My Computer and select Properties from the menu.
b. Click the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager.
c. Double-click Network Adapters.
d. Right-click the NIC name and select Properties from the menu.
e. Click the Advanced tab.
f. Select the property you want to change.
g. Use the scroll list to change the value.
h. Exit the Device Manager.
9. You must uninstall the driver before removing a NIC or moving it to
another slot on the server.
In systems that do not support PCI hot plug, you must first uninstall the
driver before you physically remove a NIC from the server or move it to
another slot on the server. If you fail to first uninstall the driver,
the DynamicAccess Miniport assignment for the NIC remains in the system.
The procedure for moving or removing a NIC is:
1. Uninstall the driver from the NIC.
2. Shut down the server.
3. Move or remove the NIC.
4. Restart the server.
5. Install the driver to the NIC.
If you move a NIC without first uninstalling the driver, the procedure
to recover is:
1. Uninstall the driver and DynamicAccess software from all NICs.
2. Reinstall the driver and DynamicAccess software.
3. Reconfigure the NICs.
11. How to install the driver and advanced server feature from floppies.
After running the MAKEDISK utility, create a temporary directory in the server
e.g. c:\3c980. Insert the floppy disk #1 into the server machine and issue
this command:
XCOPY A:\*.* C:\3C980 /S
Repeat the command for the rest of the floppy disks. Then, go back to
Windows 2000 driver installation screen and enter the directory C:\3c980 as
the source directory of the driver files.
12. During a failover event, Windows 2000 may generate the following spurious
message: "The server has encountered a network error." This message is not
indicative of an error; it should be ignored.
(%VER \WINNT\README.TXT v2.1.0.1)
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.