3Com (R) Corporation
3C90x EtherLink PCI NIC Family
Remote Wake-Up Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: How can I tell if my NIC supports Remote Wake-Up?
A: There are two methods you can use to check if your NIC
supports Remote Wake-Up:
1. If the NIC is not installed in the PC, examine the NIC
and make sure it has a 3-pin Remote Wake-Up connector.
The connector is located to the right of the Boot ROM
socket (with the bracket positioned facing left).
2. If the NIC is already installed in the PC, run the
NIC diagnostics utility (in DOS or Windows):
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,'
the NIC supports Remote Wake-Up.
Windows:
1) Open the Windows Start menu, select Programs, 3Com NIC Utilities,
and then click 3Com NIC Doctor.
2) On the General screen, click NIC Details.
3) If the entry for the 'Remote wake-up connector' is 'YES', the NIC
supports Remote Wake-Up.
Q: Is my 3Com Remote Wake-Up NIC supported in a PC that is not
capable of Remote Wake-Up?
A: Yes. The NIC works in any PC that meets the system
requirements outlined in the user guide. The Remote Wake-Up
capability of the NIC can only be utilized in PCs that are
specifically designed to support the wake-up function.
Q: Which PCs support Remote Wake-Up? Which ones do not?
A: Remote Wake-Up is supported in PCs that have the following items:
1. 3-pin header on the PC motherboard for Remote Wake-Up
2. Power supply that provides auxiliary power
3. BIOS that supports Remote Wake-Up
When all three are items present, the Remote Wake-Up functionality of
the NIC should work. Presently, only certain Pentium-based PCs
possess this feature. No 486-based PCs support Remote Wake-Up.
For further information, contact your PC manufacturer or vendor to
determine if your PC supports Remote Wake-Up.
Q: Is there anything in the BIOS that I can check to see if Remote Wake-Up
is enabled?
A: Typically, the BIOS contains user-configurable settings for waking
up the PC when various activity happens. This might be under the
Power Management or Boot category of the BIOS. If you are
experiencing difficulties locating this, refer to your PC's
reference manual or contact your PC vendor for specific instructions
to access the power management features in the BIOS.
Q: What type of software is compatible for waking up my 3Com
Remote Wake-Up NIC?
A: The 3Com Remote Wake-Up NIC is compatible with software that conforms
to AMD's specification for the Magic Packet wake-up 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 synchronization stream is a 6-byte
field of F's. The Magic Packet is not protocol-specific. It can
be IP, IPX, and so on, as long as it contains the synchronization
stream and the 16 repetitions of the destination address. The Magic
Packet can be routed to wake up a remote PC provided the data is
contained within a routable packet format. Since it is a valid
Ethernet address, the Remote Wake-Up 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 Remote Wake-Up by accessing the Configuration screen of the
3Com NIC Diagnostic program for Windows. (Open the Windows Start menu,
select Run, and enter: tcaudiag -a.) It can also be disabled by editing the
system registry.
Q: What operating systems support Remote Wake-Up?
A: Currently, Remote Wake-Up is supported in Microsoft Windows 95 (OSR2),
Windows 98 SE 1, and Windows NT 4.0 only.
Q: How do I suspend my PC for Remote Wake-Up?
A: This process varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. If the PC
has its own power sustain mode, you can perform a shut down of the
PC and it will shut down into a suspend mode. This low-power
consumption suspend mode will wake up once a Remote Wake-Up event is
detected by the NIC.
Q: What are the pin assignments for the Remote Wake-Up connector
on the NIC?
A: There are 3 pins located on the connector. 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: When my Windows 95 (OSR2) PC wakes up from a suspend mode, I
lose my NetWare drive mappings. How can I correct this?
A: Once the PC goes into a suspend mode, the Remote Wake-Up NIC no longer
transmits packets out onto the wire. This becomes an issue for
NetWare since it drops the drive mapping when it no longer
receives a packet from the station. This is a NetWare-related issue
and the current work around is to reboot the PC to reestablish the
NetWare drive mappings.
Q: What is ACPI?
A: Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. It is a specification
developed by Intel, Microsoft, and Toshiba Corporation that allows more
advanced power management features through the operating system to
the hardware interfaces.
Q: Why doesn't the Remote Wake-Up feature work through the BNC or AUI port
on a 3C905B-COMBO NIC?
A: Both the AUI and BNC ports on a 3C905B-COMBO NIC require 12V power
to operate properly. When a PC is shutdown or suspended and put in the
D3cold state, (bus power removed, only AUX power available), the
required 12V is not available to the NIC. If the PC is put into a suspend
D3hot state, (bus remains powered with 12V), then the 3C905B-COMBO NIC will
support Remote Wake-Up. Refer to your PC documentation or contact your PC
manufacturer to determine if your PC supports the D3hot state during
suspend mode.
(%VER WAKEFAQ.TXT - Release Notes v5.1.0)
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.