3Com (R) Corporation
EtherDisk (R) Diskette for the
3C90X Fast EtherLink XL/EtherLink XL Bus Master NIC Family
NDIS 3/4 or NDIS 2.0 Driver and Windows 95
The NDIS 3/4 driver for Windows 95 is the 32-bit driver version that
Windows 95 defaults to. The NDIS 2.0 driver is the real-mode 16-bit
driver. The actual driver files that 3Com supplies are EL90XND3.SYS
(NDIS 3 driver), EL90XND4.SYS (NDIS 4 driver), and EL90X.DOS (NDIS 2
driver). Some versions of Windows 95 do not have
a built-in driver for the Fast EtherLink XL NICs, so the drivers must
be installed from the 3Com EtherDisk diskette #2.
First-Time Installation
------------------------
The 3Com EtherDisk diskette #2 and the Windows 95 installation files will
be needed during the installation.
1. After installing the NIC as described in the user guide, start your
computer. When Windows 95 starts, it acknowledges the NIC, and the
following message appears on the screen:
Windows has found new hardware and is installing software for it.
NOTE: If Windows 95 Recognizes the NIC and starts copying files right
away then you have an existing version of the installation.
To update your installation and the driver reboot your system
and then follow the instructions in the Updating your Driver
section below. If Windows does not detect new hardware, the
system may have installed a generic PCI Ethernet driver. Refer
to the hint section for details.
If the message above does not appear, it is likely that Plug and Play
mode has been disabled. In this case, proceed as follows:
a. Click the Add New Hardware icon on the control panel screen.
b. Continue to click Next until Windows 95 asks if you want it to
search for new hardware.
c. Click no and then click next.
d. Choose Network Adapters in the Hardware Types menu and
then click next.
e. Click Have Disk... and then skip to step 3.
2. Select Driver from Disk Provided by Hardware Manufacturer and click OK.
3. Insert the EtherDisk 2 diskette in the A: drive and click OK.
4. Select the NIC that you installed in your computer from the list that
appears; then click next.
5. If this is the first time you have installed a NIC on your computer,
Windows 95 may ask you to supply the computer name and workgroup
name. If your system administrator has supplied you with this
information, use it. If not, you can supply your own computer name and
workgroup name.
6. Windows now requires files from the Windows 95 installation media.
Enter the location of the media. For example, if the Windows 95
CD-ROM is in drive E, type:
E:\WIN95
7. Click No if you are asked whether you want to reboot.
8. When you return to the desktop, double-click the My Computer icon,
then Control Panel, and then Network.
9. Examine the Configuration. The default network setup for Windows 95
is the following five components:
Client for Microsoft Network
Client for NetWare Networks
3Com Fast EtherLink XL 10/100Mb Ethernet NIC
IPX/SPX Compatible Protocol
NetBEUI
10. If any of these components are missing and are required for your network,
add them by clicking the Add button.
Add protocols by choosing the protocol and clicking on the Add button.
In the Select Network Protocol, choose the vendor in the left pane,
in the right pane, select the protocol and click OK. Add clients
by choosing the client and clicking the Add button. In the Select
Network Client window, choose Microsoft in the left pane, choose the
client in the right pane, and press the OK button.
11. The NDIS 3/4 driver is installed by default, so skip to the next step if
you wish to use the NDIS 3/4 driver.
To install the NDIS 2.0 driver, Proceed as follows:
a. Click on 3Com Fast EtherLink XL 10/100Mb Ethernet NIC and then the
properties button.
b. Under the Driver Type tab, click Real mode (16 bit)
NDIS Driver and then click OK.
12. When prompted, restart your computer.
Hints
-----
1. If an error message appears, saying that the .INF file cannot be found
in the specified location, verify that Windows 95 is looking at the
correct location. The file should be in the root directory of the 3Com
EtherDisk diskette #2. The filename is W95EL90X.INF.
If it is missing, download the file from 3Com's download sites, and
make sure you expand it properly. Refer to the SUPPORT.TXT file on this
diskette for more information.
2. To verify that the actual NDIS driver was copied to your Windows 95
system, compare the date of the EL90X.SYS file in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directory of your hard drive with the date of the one in the
\WIN32\I386 directory of the 3Com EtherDisk 2 diskette. The dates
should be the same.
3. If Windows 95 does not detect new hardware, then the system may
have installed a generic PCI Ethernet driver. In this case:
a. Double-click on the System icon in the Control Panel.
b. Change to the Device Manager tab.
c. Under the Network Adapter section, the 3Com driver will be listed
with a yellow exclamation in front of it.
d. Under the Other Devices section, there will be a PCI Ethernet
Controller listed with a question mark in front of it.
e. Highlight the PCI Ethernet Controller under Other Devices and click
on the Remove button. Select Yes if asked to confirm removal of
this device. Select No if asked to restart the computer.
f. Highlight the 3Com Fast EtherLink/EtherLink XL driver under Network
Adapters and click on the Remove button. Select Yes if asked to
confirm removal of this device. Select No if asked to restart the
computer.
g. Click OK to save all changes. Restart the computer.
Updating Your Driver
--------------------
To update the driver and the support files follow the following
instructions:
1. Open the Network Control Panel.
2. Click Add..
3. Select Adapter and Click Add..
4. Click Have Disk..
5. Insert the EtherDisk 2 Diskette into the A drive and click OK.
6. Select the NIC you have and click OK.
7. Remove all EtherLink XL adapters from the control panel by selecting
them one at a time and clicking Remove.
8. Click OK
9. When Windows 95 asks the question Do you wish to reboot the system
Click YES.
10. Go to step one of the First-Time Installation section, but when
Windows 95 starts copying files right away it will be
copying the updated versions.
General Overview of Peer-to-Peer Networking
-------------------------------------------
In a peer-to-peer network, a relationship exists between two or more "like"
computers. Each computer may make portions of its devices (such as disk
drives, CD-ROM drive, and printers) available to other computers on the
network. You can decide what to make available to other users. When you
share a disk drive or folder, you also need to decide if you want to grant
other users the right to store and change information on your drive or
folder.
The general characteristics of a peer-to-peer network are:
The network provides the capability to share resources with any computer on
the network. When you share resources, your computer acts as a server for
all other computers in the network while still retaining all its capability
for your use. In a server-based network, only the resources on the
dedicated server can be shared.
A peer-to-peer network is more difficult to administer than a server-based
network. Its flexible resource-sharing and lack of central management and
control make management difficult.
However, the network works with your existing equipment and does not require
the purchase of a dedicated server. This lowers the cost of networking.
Peer-to-Peer Networking with Windows 95
----------------------------------------
Microsoft Windows 95 comes with a built-in peer-to-peer network. It
also supports a wide range of network environments and network software
vendors to work with dedicated networks.
To configure Windows 95 for peer-to-peer networking, follow the steps
below.
Install Windows 95 and configure the network as outlined in the previous
instructions in this document. To use peer-to-peer networking, you must have
the Microsoft Network client in your network configuration.
Before you can share resources on your computer, you need to add file and
print sharing capability to your network configuration. To install file and
print sharing, do the following:
1. Click the Start button on the Windows 95 taskbar
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Control Panel.
4. Double-click the Network icon.
5. In the Network window, click Add...
6. Select Service from the list of network components and click Add...
7. Select Microsoft from the list of manufacturers in the left column.
8. Select File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks from the right
column.
9. Click OK.
10. Go back to the Network window and select the Identification tab.
11. Assign a computer name that will identify you on the network.
This name must be unique.
12. Assign a workgroup name.
The workgroup name must be the same on all the computers on your
network with which you want to share information. More than one
workgroup may exist on a network, but members of a workgroup cannot
directly see members of a different workgroup.
13. Describe your computer.
This tells what is on your computer. It further defines who you are
on the network.
14. When you have finished entering this information, click OK.
15. Click OK at the bottom of your Network window.
Windows 95 prompts you for the location of the Windows 95 CD-ROM or
diskettes containing the files needed for sharing.
16. Assuming the CD-ROM is drive D: on your computer, type:
D:\WIN95
17. When Windows 95 prompts you to shut down and reboot the computer,
click the Yes button.
After Windows 95 reboots, you are ready to share resources.
18. To share a device, such as a disk drive, proceed as follows:
a. Double-click My Computer on your desktop.
b. Click the right mouse button over each device you want to share.
c. From the menu that appears, select Sharing...,
d. Click Shared As, pick a share name for the device, and click OK.
The device is now shared.
19. To share folders rather than an entire disk drive, proceed as follows:
a. Select a drive and click the left mouse button to open the drive.
b. Select the folder and click the right mouse button.
c. Select Sharing from the menu.
d. When the Share menu opens, select a shared name and the way you
want to share the folder.
Read Only means no user can write to or delete your shared files and
folders. Read and write access gives other
users permission to delete or change files and folders. For more
detail, refer to your Microsoft Windows 95 manual on how to share
resources with other computers on your network.
(%VER W95NDIS.TXT - NDIS 3.0 in Windows 95 v1.0h)
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.