\HELP\FAQ.TXT NETGEAR Model Fa311/FA312 Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------------------------------- Updated Jan 10, 2001 1. Drivers and Installation Procedures 1.1 The installation guide that comes with my adapter cards shows only the Windows 98 installation procedures. What about instal- lation guide for my NT system? And what about SCO Unix and Novell NetWare? Installation procedures for environments other than Windows 98 can be found on the installation disk under the HELP directory. For example, instruction for NT 4.0 is located in \HELP\WINNT. Alternatively, you can view the instruction by typing A:\HELP to view the installation procedures of the various environments. 1.2 Where can I get the latest version of drivers? Latest versions of drivers as well as software distributed with all NETGEAR products are available on the Support Page: http://www.netgear.com/support/ 1.3 Is the driver available for my operating system? We provide drivers for most of the operating environments. Below is a list of what the Fa311/FA312 supports. * Microsoft Windows 95 * Microsoft Windows 98 * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 * Microsoft Windows 2000 * Microsoft Windows ME * SCO OpenServer * RedHat of Linux * Novell NetWare 32-bit Client for DOS or Windows 3.x * Novell NetWare server 4.1x * Novell NetWare server 5.0 * Novell NetWare Client / Windows 95 * NDIS 2 for DOS (LANtastic 5.0 & 6.0) 2. Cable and other Hardware Questions 2.1 I have put the card into one of the slots of my PC, but it is not being recognized by the PC. Why? You should make sure the card is plugged into a PCI slot. The PCI slot is shorter in length compared to the ISA slots. You must also make sure the PCI slot supports BUS MASTERING. Some older PC will have support for bus mastering on only one of the PCI slots. This information can be obtained from the manuals of your PC. 2.2 Does the Model Fa311/FA312 adapter card support full-duplex opration? The Model Fa311/FA312 adapter cards can operate in either full or half duplex. Its duplex mode is automatically negotiated with the switch/hub that the adapter card is connected. Alternatively, you can fix the duplex mode. The method to configure the Model FA312/ FA311 adapter card is unique to each driver/operating system. Please refer the installation instruction of each operating system for further detail. 2.3 What is the maximum distance between my PC and the hub? A simple interpretation of the IEEE specification is 100 meters using Category 5 cables. 2.4 The cable length between my PC and the hub is within 100 meters, but I still cannot establish a link (the link LED fails to come on). Is there a problem with my hub, switch or the network adapter? You can check the health of your network devices and network adapter by connecting them using a short ready-made Cat 5 cable (preferably a pre-tested one that is available from most computer shops). If a link still cannot be established, then there may be a problem with the card. Otherwise, we have a cable problem. The most common problem encountered is of the quality of the cable. Since we are sending very high frequency signals down the wire, a good quality cable is mandatory. You should verify your cable is from a name brand manufacturer, especially if you are planning to have a long cable. Another common problem is faulty crimping of the connectors (RJ45) at either end of the cable. You should check the color-coded configuration as well as loose con- nectors. If these steps do not solve the problem, you may have to ask for professional help to test your cable using a cable tester. 3. IRQ and other conflicts 3.1 When I am installing the Fa311/FA312, I run into IRQ conflict. Can I change the IRQ setting and how? IRQs (Interrupt Requests) are communication channels which allow hardware devices such as an adaptor card to talk to the processor. Some devices require setting jumpers for the IRQ. All PCI adapters use a software approach and let either the operating system or the BIOS to assigning the IRQ number. If you run into IRQ conflict, it is usually that your system resources is running low. You may have to disable some of the devices which you are not using such as the USB port or the IDE port on your older sound card in order to free up IRQs. 3.2 After the Fa311/FA312 is installed, my system takes a lot of time to shutdown. What can I do to fix it? We have seen a number of incidents of this symptom and found various problems with the interactions of the operating system and device drivers during shut down. Since there are many devices being manufactured for the PC, it is impossible to compile an exhaustive compatibility test. It should be safe to power off the computer after a couple of minutes. If you are adventurous, you may try one of the following: * Try removing the NETBEUI protocol stack if you don't need it by going to Network Neighborhood, click Properties and select NetBEUI and click Remove and OK. * Try using the Real Mode NDIS driver by going to Network Neighbor- hood, select Netgear Fa311/FA312 Fast Ethernet PCI Adapter and choose the Driver Type tab, click the Real Mode (16 bit) NDIS driver check box * If you have a HP Pavilion system, remark the CD drive line in your CONFIG.SYS by adding the word REM at the beginning of the line. 4. Connecting and Sharing 4.1 Can I connect two computers together without using a hub? If you only have two systems that you want to get them connected together to do some file and printer sharing, you can save the cost of buying a hub by connecting the adapter cards using a cros- sover cable. Crossover cables, which are different from the normal UTP cables in their pin configuration, are available in most computer shops. If you want to make one yourself, the cable is wired as below. 1 <-> 3 4<->4 2 <-> 6 5<->5 3 <-> 1 7<->7 6 <-> 2 8<->8 4.2 I have two computers connected without problems. However, I can't seem to be able to access the files and the printer. In order to share resources such as files and printers on a PC with other users on the network, you must configure the PC to do so. Below is a step by step guide to get that set up in the Windows 95/98 environment. * Make sure a protocol is installed - This is the protocol used by the two computers to talk to each other. We'll use the NetBEUI protocol that should have been installed by default when you install your network card. To confirm, you can click the right mouse button on the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop and choose Properties. You should see NetBEUI displayed. Repeat this on the other computer. * Tell Windows that you want to share resources on a computer with others - On the computer you want to have resources shared by others, right click on the Network Neighborhood icon and select Properties. Select File and Print Sharing. Check the I want to be able to give other access to my files and the I want to be able to allow others to print to my printers boxes as you see appropriate. * Tell Windows what resources you want shared - Go to Windows Explorer, right click on the resources (such as printers, drives and folders) you want to make available to the network and choose Sharing. Select Shared as and type in name you want this resource to be identified on the network (e.g. CDRIVE for your disk drive and LASER for your laser printer). You can also specify access rights and passwords for the resource using the same dialog box. * Assign drive names and printer ports by mapping them - At this point, on the other PC, you should be able to see the shared resources by browsing the Network Neighborhood. Right click on the resources will allow you to assign drive names and printer port. You can find additional information on how to set up a network in our Network Starter Guide: http://www.netgear.com/support/networkguide/index.shtml#nwosDownload 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.