\HELP\FAQ.TXT
FA310TX frequently asked questions
Version 1.3
Updated June 9, 1998
1. Drivers and Installation Procedures
1.1 The installation guide that comes with my adapter card shows
only the Windows 95 installation procedures. What about
installation guide for my Windows NT system? And what about SCO
and Novell?
Installation procedures for environments other than Windows 95
can be found on the installation disk under the HELP directory.
For example, instruction for Windows 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 the drivers?
Latest versions of the drivers as well as software distributed
with our products are available on the support web page
( http://netgear.baynetworks.com/support/ ).
1.3 Is driver available for my operating system?
We provide drivers for most of the operating environments.
Below is a driver list of what the FA310TX adapter card supports.
Windows 95 (NDIS 3.1 driver)
Windows 98
Windows NT 3.5
Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 4.0 (NDIS 4.0 driver)
SCO Unix
SCO OpenServer
Linux
Novell NetWare DOS ODI client
Novell NetWare OS2 ODI client
Novell NetWare Server 3.11
Novell NetWare Server 3.12
Novell NetWare Server 3.2
Novell NetWare Server 4.x
Novell NetWare Server 5.0
Novell NetWare client32 for Windows 95
Novell NetWare client32 for DOS and Windows 3.X
Packet Driver (FTP PC/TCP)
NDIS 2 for DOS (LANtastics)
1.4 Does the FA310TX work with linux?
We do not provide technical support for linux environment.
However, the driver source code is provided starting from
FA310TX Driver Set 4.0. The following web site contains more
information on the Linux for the DEC 21140 and the PNIC family
of controller chip.
http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/drivers/index.html#pci.
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
PC will have support for bus mastering on only one of the PCI
slots. This information can be obtained from the manual of
your PC.
2.2 Why doesn't the Full Duplex LED on the FA310TX light up when I
am connected to the network?
This may be due to one of the following reasons.
1) If you are connected to a network device that doesn't
support full duplex, the full duplex LED will not come on.
Hubs, either 10M or 100M, do not support full duplex. You
will need a device which supports full duplex such as a the
Netgear FS104 Fast Ethernet Switch.
2) If you are using the generic DEC driver which comes with
Windows, the full duplex LED may not come on. This can
happen if you have C6 version of our card and have not
followed our installation instructions to install the Netgear
driver. The card will still function in full duplex mode,
but the FDX LED will not light up. You can verify the driver by
right clicking My Computer and choose Properties, at the
Device Manager tab, click on the Expand sign (the plus sign)
of the Network adapters, you have the wrong driver installed
if you do not see Netgear FA310TX Fast Ethernet PCI Adapter
displayed. To rectify this situation, remove the DEC driver
and install the Netgear driver following the installation
procedure included with your adapter card.
3) If the network adapter fails to negotiate a full duplex link
with the network device, the LED will not light up.
Depending on the implementation method of the auto-
negotiation feature of the network device, it may not send
out auto-negotiation signals under certain circumstances
(for example, when it is set manually to run at a certain
speed). This will cause confusions to the card that sets
itself to half duplex. This can be fixed simply by allowing
auto-negotiation to happen on both ends.
2.3 What is the maximum distance between my PC and the hub?
A simple interpretation of the IEEE specification is 100 meters
using Cat 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 reputable manufacturer, especially if you
are planning to install a long cable. Another common problem is
faulty crimping of the RJ-45 connectors at either end of the
cable. You should check the color-coded configuration as well
as loose connectors. If these steps do not solve the problem,
you may have to ask for professional help to test your cable
using a cable tester.
2.5 When I run the diagnostic program, it reports failure. Is there
any problem with my card?
You should first make sure you have NOT performed the test in a
DOS box under Windows. Running the program in that mode will
produce inconsistent and unreliable results. You should boot
your PC into MS-DOS mode to run the diagnostic program. If the
program still reports failure under MS-DOS mode, then you may have
a faulty card. For additional information on the diagnostic
program, please refer to the DIAG.TXT file in the driver diskette.
2.6 Does the FA310TX support BOOTROM? If so, what is the
specification?
BOOTROM is not supported by FA310TX.
3. IRQ and other conflicts
3.1 When I am installing the FA310TX, 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 FA310TX 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:
1) 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.
2) Try using the Real Mode NDIS driver by going to Network
Neighborhood, select Netgear FA310TX Fast Ethernet PCI
Adapter and choose the Driver Type tab, click the Real Mode
(16 bit) NDIS driver check box
3) 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.
3.3 My display goes blank after I have the FA310TX installed? When
I remove the FA310TX, everything works find. What can I do to
fix it?
We have seen some hardware compatibility problems on some
versions of the Abit Motherboard with the older version of
FA310TX. If you encounter this, check to see if you have this
type of motherboard and version C1 or C2 of the Netgear
FA310TX. If so, check with your motherboard supplier or send us
an email.
3.4 After installing the FA310 into my Win95 or Win98 PC, the mouse
freezes once every few seconds after powering up. Sometimes an
error message windows pop up warning me about the NETGEAR FA310TX
network adapter not working properly.
This is probably related to driver version 4.01 working with
revision D2 adapter card. Upgrade to the latest driver which is
available on NETGEAR web site.
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 adaptor cards
using a crossover 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 should be wired as below.
1 <-> 3
2 <-> 6
3 <-> 1
4 <-> 4
5 <-> 5
6 <-> 2
7 <-> 7
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 environment.
1) 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 as the
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.
2) 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 services.
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.
3) 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.
4) 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 and File and Print Sharing Setup.
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.