ReadMe File for HF000X V0.82 Windows 2K/2K3/LH/NT3.51/NT4/Vista/XP Driver package part
Table of contents
1. Overview
2. Contents
3. Installation
4, Driver options
5. FAQ
6. Known issues
7. Revision and file history
8. Disclaimer
9. Copyright notices
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1. Overview
HF000X is a driver package for the Diamond Multimedia HomeFree Wireless
LAN line of cards and adapters for Windows 2k, 2k3, NT3.51, NT4, LH,
Vista, XP, 95, 98 and ME operating systems, supporting PCMCIA, ISAPNP
and PCI cards and adapters.
Windows NT 3.51/4.0 development is discontinued. Included support for all
cards and adapters is not functional and for documentary and experimental
purposes only! Refer to the folder 'Obsolete' for the related material.
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2. Contents
HF000X contains the following files for NT based operating systems
Root\
HF000X .DSK - The Disk Tag file for 9x and NT 5 based operating systems
HF000X .INF - The combined INF file for 9x and NT 5 based operating systems
HF000XN .CAT - The dummy catalog file for NT 5 based operating systems
READMENT.TXT - This file
DRV\
SKYLINE .SYS - The W9x driver for HomeFree WLAN cards and adapters
GUIDES\
WIN2K .TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows 2K
WIN2K3 .TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows 2K3
WINLH .TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows LH
WINNT351.TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows NT3.51
WINNT4 .TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows NT4
WINV_RC1.TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows Vista RC1
WINV_RC2.TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows Vista RC2
WINVISTA.TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows Vista RTM
WINXP .TXT - The easy network installation guide for Windows XP
OBSOLETE\DHCPSRV\
DHCPSRV .INI - The sample INI file for DHCPSRV V1.5
DHCPSRV .TXT - The ReadMe file for DHCPSRV V1.5
OBSOLETE\NT351-40\HLP
SKYLINE .HLP - The HLP file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .HPJ - The Help Project file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .RTF - The Help Rich Text file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
OBSOLETE\NT351-40\ISAPNP
HF000X .DSK - The Disk Tag file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 Operating systems
OEMSETUP.INF - The INF file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .HLP - The HLP file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .SYS - The W9x driver for HomeFree WLAN cards and adapters
OBSOLETE\NT351-40\PCI
HF000X .DSK - The Disk Tag file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 Operating systems
OEMSETUP.INF - The INF file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .HLP - The HLP file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .SYS - The W9x driver for HomeFree WLAN cards and adapters
OBSOLETE\NT351-40\PCMCIA
HF000X .DSK - The Disk Tag file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 Operating systems
OEMSETUP.INF - The INF file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .HLP - The HLP file for NT 3.51 / 4.0 operating systems
SKYLINE .SYS - The W9x driver for HomeFree WLAN cards and adapters
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3. Installation
You MUST be familiar with network terms and setup procedures.
For an easy step-by-step network and driver installation, browse the
'GUIDES' folder in your distibution copy of 'HF000X', read and print
the guide for your operating system and follow its instructions.
For information how to set up DHCP support for your local network,
browse the 'OBSOLETE\DHCPSRV' folder.
Additional utilites from the original manufacturers Windows 9X drivers
are not compatible with and to Windows NT3.51/4, 2000, 2003, LH, Vista
or XP. Replacements are not available.
Additional internet sharing utilites from the original manufacturers
Windows 9X installation software are not are not neccesary for Windows
ME and XP, both including the 'Network Installation Assistent' to
create a diskette, containing necessary files to grant support for
bridge based internet access from client machines.
You may use network properties and settings to configure workgroups,
shared drives etc. compatible with and to W9X settings and properties.
Remember, every computer needs a different Computername and IP-Address,
to avoid malfunction and error messages during machine startup.
Examples
W9X TCP/IP configuration
User : GUEST (Setup)
Computername: COMP1 (Setup / network properties, ident.)
Workgroup : HOMEFREE (Network properties, ident.)
Description : MYNETWORK (Network properties, identification)
IP-Address : 192.168.000.001 (Protocol properties)
Subnet mask : 255.255.255.000 (Protocol properties)
DNS : - (Protocol properties)
CoNetId : MYNETWORK (Network properties, adv. / Homeping)
ME TCP/IP configuration
User : GUEST (Setup)
Computername: COMP2 (Setup / network properties, ident.)
Workgroup : HOMEFREE (Network properties, identification)
Description : MYNETWORK (Network properties, identification)
IP-Address : 192.168.000.002 (Protocol properties)
Subnet mask : 255.255.255.000 (Protocol properties)
DNS : - (Protocol properties)
CoNetId : MYNETWORK (Network properties, adv. / Homeping)
XP TCP/IP configuration
User : GUEST (Setup)
Computername: COMP3 (Setup / network properties, ident.)
Workgroup : HOMEFREE (Network properties, identification)
Description : MYNETWORK (Network properties, identification)
IP-Address : 192.168.000.003 (Protocol properties)
Subnet mask : 255.255.255.000 (Protocol properties)
DNS : - (Protocol properties)
CoNetId : MYNETWORK (Driver / Network properties, adv.)
Vista TCP/IP configuration
User : GUEST (Setup)
Computername: COMP4 (Setup / network discovery, settings)
Workgroup : HOMEFREE (Network discovery, settings)
Description : MYNETWORK (Network discovery, settings)
IP-Address : 192.168.000.004 (Network properties IPV4)
Subnet mask : 255.255.255.000 (Network properties IPV4)
DNS : Router default (Network properties IPV4)
CoNetId : MYNETWORK (Driver / network properties, adv.)
Windows LH, Vista Beta 2, RC1, RC2 and RTM need a DNS server or gateway
to access local area networks, alternative protocols are not available.
Instead of a dedicated hardware, you may set up a software DHCP and DNS
server as a workaround solution.
CoNetId 'MYNETWORK' is 'hardwired' into the INF file. To customize
the entry use the driver / network advanced properties page to
change the default or current value.
All text entries should or must be in upper case. Avoid country
dependant character sets.
Windows 2K and 2K3 default to 'TCP/IP', no shared resources or
access rights during network installation. Shared drives and printers,
access rights and path have to be supplied manualy.
Additional information about network installation and configuration
is supplied in the 'easy step-by-step installation guide' files
'WIN2K.TXT' and 'WIN2K3.TXT
Windows 95 defaults to 'IPX/SPX' without 'NetBIOS', no shared resources or
access rights during network installation. 'TCP/IP' protocol, shared drives
and printers, access rights and path have to be supplied manualy.
Additional information about network installation and configuration
is supplied in the 'easy step-by-step installation guide' files 'WIN95.TXT',
'WIN95A.TXT', 'WIN95B.TXT' and 'WIN95C.TXT'.
Windows 98 /SE and ME default to 'TCP/IP', no shared resources or
access rights during network installation. Shared drives and printers,
access rights and path have to be supplied manualy.
Additional information about network installation and configuration
is supplied in the 'easy step-by-step installation guide' files
'WIN98.TXT', 'WIN98SE.TXT' and 'WINME.TXT'.
Windows LH and Vista default to 'TCP/IP', no shared resources or
access rights during network installation. Shared drives and printers,
access rights and path have to be supplied manualy.
Additional information about network installation and configuration
is supplied in the 'easy step-by-step installation guide' files
'WINLH.TXT', 'WINV_RC1.TXT', 'WINV_RC2.TXT' and 'WINVISTA.TXT'.
Windows XP Home and Pro default to 'TCP/IP', no shared resources or
access rights during network installation. Shared drives and printers,
access rights and path have to be supplied manualy.
Additional information about network installation and configuration
is supplied in the 'easy step-by-step installation guide' file
'WINXP.TXT'.
XP and XP with Service Pack 1 do not support 'NetBEUI', use
'NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS compatible protocol' for XP and
'IPX/SPX compatible protocol' with activated
'NetBIOS over IPX/SPX' for W9X instead.
XP with Service Pack 2 supports 'NetBEUI'.
Minimum 'TCP/IP' configuration is easy to set up and preferable to
'NetBIOS over IPX/SPX'.
Configurations testet
Protocol OS Adapter Driver OS Adapter Driver
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TCP/IP connecting W2K / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting W2K / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting W2K / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting W2K / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting W2K3 / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting W2K3 / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting W2K3 / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting W2K3 / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting WLH / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WLH / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WVISTA / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WVISTA / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95 / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95B / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95B / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95C / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95C / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W98 / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W98SE/ HFPCMCIA (Generic)
TCP/IP connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W98SE/ HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
IPX/SPX connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Generic)
IPX/SPX connecting WXP / HFPCI (Generic) to W95A / HFPCMCIA (Diamond)
Configurations untestet
TCP/IP connecting WNT3.51 / HFPCMCIA (Generic) to any
TCP/IP connecting WNT3.51 / HFISAPNP (Generic) to any
TCP/IP connecting WNT3.51 / HFPCI (Generic) to any
TCP/IP connecting WNT4 / HFPCMCIA (Generic) to any
TCP/IP connecting WNT4 / HFISAPNP (Generic) to any
TCP/IP connecting WNT4 / HFPCI (Generic) to any
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4. Driver options
Physical driver and network parameters can be modified, changing default
values in the advanced network properties page, optimizing performance
or to customize settings.
'Default CoNetId' (network identification) is a unique identifier
distinguishing accessable nodes of one wireless lan from foreign
wlans.
Default : 'MYNETWORK'
Max. length : 32 letters and digits
Case : Upper and lower case possible
'Driver Description' is automaticaly administered by the system, no
user interface available.
Default : 'Auto'
'Interrupt Number' is automaticaly administered by the system, no
user interface available.
Default : 'Auto'
'I/O Base Address' is automaticaly administered by the system, no
user interface available.
Default : 'Auto'
'Maximum Link Speed' limits the actual transfer speed (bitrate) of
possible connections; higher bitrats possible, because of hardware
capability of the IR controller, but not tested.
Default : 1 Mbps
Values : 1, 2, 4 Mbps (12, 24, 48 MHz IR controller clock xtal)
'Network Address' allows to substitude the current network address
for special applications.
Default : 'Auto'
Max. length : 12 hexadecimal letters and digits
Case : Upper case only
'Tx Minimum Holdoff' defines receive after transmit timeout holdoff
to prevent packet collisions. Smaller values allow quicker packet
acknowlegement but increase packet collisions. To optimize through-
put, data sources require higher values (1200-2000), data drains
should be set to smaller values (400-800).
Default : 1000
Values : 100, 200, ... 2000
'Vendor Description' identifies the vendor of the network.
Default : 'HOMEFREE'
Max. length : 32 letters and digits
Case : Upper and lower case possible
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5. FAQ
Q. Driver (V0.3-0.8x) crashes 2000, 2003 and XP after idle periods in
single machine environement.
A. Deactivate device when unneeded.
Q. Bubblegum boxes keep popping up, reporting endlessly 'No cable connec-
ted' and 'Cable reconnected'.
A. Deactivate device when no network connection is available.
Q. During driver installation (V0.3-0.8x) the system crashes sometimes
after a short period of time. Running programs seem to accelerate this.
A. An active second node (even unconfigured) and terminating all running
programs prevents this.
Q. Data transfer speeds with Windows 2003 servers seem slower than those
with Windows 2000 servers.
A. Adjust 'Tx Minimum HoldOff' to compensate different response timings.
Q. HF000X for Windows 9x supports HomePing WLU. Can HomePing be used
with 2000, 2003, LH, Vista and XP, too?
A. HomePing is unable to open the registry as needed. Additional para-
meters can be emulated. BIGSKYLN.VXD can't be opened.
Driver limitations keep other wireless lan utilities from recognizing
HomeFree cards and adapters, use protocol analysation utilities instead.
(-> NetGroup 'Analayser', System Internals 'TDIMON')
Q. Why was the development of HF000X for NT 3.51/4.0 discontinued?
A. NDIS for NT 3.51/4.0 does not support 'NdisMQueryAdapterResources',
a workaround is not functional. The driver for Diamond HomeFree wlan
cards and adapters can't claim system assigned hardware resource para-
meters. Limited support for PCMCIA and ISAPNP cards may be made available
by user intervention.
Q. My network shall make use of a DHCP server. Must i have a special
version of Windows or a dedicated computer for this task?
A. Static or dynamic DHCP server support is not included as a service
in most versions of Windows. A software DHCP-server can be executed
as a background task on one client machine, running almost any
non-server version of Windows.
(-> Uwe A. Ruttkamp 'DHCPSRV 1.5')
Q. My Windows 2000 always crashes with a bluescreen during startup, after
choosing the wrong interface type during installation. How can i recover
my system without a complete reinstallation?
A. Boot your computer with an emergency floppy disk or CD, delete 'SKYLINE.SYS'
from 'WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS', reboot from your harddisk un- and reinstall
the network controller driver software with the correct selection.
Q. My computer won't be visible in my local area network, when i run Windows
Longhorn, Vista Beta 2, RC1, RC2 or RTM. It always reports an invalid IP
configuration for my Diamond Multimedia HomeFree card or adapter.
A. A local area network with Windows Longhorn or Vista requires a valid
network properties setting for DNS-server or gateway, the entry is no
longer optional. If a hardware router is not available, a software
DHCP- and DNS-server may provide the neccesary support.
(-> ObiWan & NT Canuck 'BIND-LE', Meilof Veeningen 'Sans V1.0.1')
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6. Known issues
'Unpredictable crashes with driver V0.3-0.8x'
Users report system crashes within minutes to hours after startup, if no
second node is available, but never when connected, greater vulnerability
of Windows 2003 compared to XP, almost none of Windows 2000 and none of
Windows Vista.
Design peculiarities of 'SKYLINE.SYS' limit compatibility with NT 5 based
operating systems on secondary NDIS functions and can't be circumvented.
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7. Revision history
08/21/2004 , V0.10, Crosscompare version for ALL_OS.INF assembled
08/25/2004 , V0.20, All OS version stripped down to XP only
09/01/2004 , V0.30, Additional skyline parameters isolated/preset
08/03/2005 , V0.40, Minor additions, updated ReadME
08/08/2005 , V0.50, Reintegration into ALL_OS.INF
12/01/2005 , V0.60, Advanced network properties, WHQL conformity
01/04/2006 , V0.70, Minor changes and additions, network installation guides
03/04/2006 , V0.80, Updated ReadMe, additional guides, Beta NT3.51/4/LH support
09/27/2006 , V0.81, Minor additions, additional guides, Vista RC1 support
01/21/2007 , V0.82, Additional guides, Vista RC2, RTM and DHCP/DNS support
File history
HF000X , V0.30, 2K/2K3\XP
HF000X9 , V0.50, 95ABC/98/98SE/ME/2K/2K3/XP
HF000X9_060, V0.60, 95ABC/98/98SE/ME/2K/2K3/XP
HF000X9_070, V0.70, 95ABC/98/98SE/ME/XP
HF000X_080 , V0.80, 95ABC/98/98SE/ME/NT3.51/NT4.0/2K/2K3/XP/LH/Vista B2
HF000X_081 , V0.81, 95ABC/98/98SE/ME/NT3.51/NT4.0/2K/2K3/XP/LH/Vista RC1
HF000X_082 , V0.82, 95ABC/98/98SE/ME/NT3.51/NT4.0/2K/2K3/XP/LH/Vista RC2 + RTM
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8. Disclaimer
This driver is provided in good faith and the hope that it is useful for
users, however the author explicitly disclaims all liability for damages
that are a result of the usage of this driver.
The author is not affiliated with any company mentioned, nor is any support
available from them.
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9. Copyright notices
BIGSKYLN.VXD and SKYLINE.SYS are Copyright (C) Alation Systems, Inc.
HOMEPING.EXE is Copyright (C) Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.
HomeFree (R) is Registered Trademark (TM) Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.
Windows (R) 95, 98, ME, 2K, 2K3, NT3.51, NT4, LH, Vista and XP are Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp.
NetGroup Analsyser is Copyright (C) Politecnico di Torino, Italy
TDIMON is Copyright (C) Mark Russinovich
DHCPSRV is Copyright (C) Uwe A. Ruttkamp
BIND is Copyright (C) University of Berkley
Sans is Copyright (C) Meilof Veeningen
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.