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ARtem GmbH Nov 2003
NDIS Miniport Drivers ComCard 11 MS-Windows
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This README.TXT covers information that was not yet known or
available when the user documentation shipped with this product
was written. It includes update information, additional
installation instructions, limitations to the current version of
the product, and suggestions to solve known issues or problems.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
1. SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION
2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
3. NEW IN THIS RELEASE
4. INSTALLATION NOTES
5. TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS
6. KNOWN ISSUES
7. TECHNICAL SUPPORT
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1. SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION
1.1 About this software
This Driver supports the
- ARtem Comcard 11 PC Card
- USB Client
- PCI Adapter Model 0901
- Agere Mini PCI
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2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
2.1 Operating Systems
For the Comcard 11 are the following drivers availible:
Operating System Version
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- Windows 98(SE), ME, 2000, XP SR02-2.3 Variant 1 Version: 7.82
- Windows NT 4.0 7.64
- Windows 95 7.64
- DOS CAD 1.09
ODI 6.00, Variant 3
Packet 6.00, Variant 3
- OS/2 1.42
- Windows CE
CE 2.12, 2.11 1.x 7.64
CE 3.00 CE 4.xx v7.82 build 805
- Linux
In future we will only support and update for the the following OP's:
- Windows 2000
- Windows XP
- Windows 98, 98SE, ME
- Windows CE 3.00, CE 4.00
- Linux
To update the PC Card's firmware you can use the Update Utility in the
directory "PC Card Firmware". This is not necessary for windows systems,
because the actual firmware is integrated in the driver
For Windows 98/Me W2k and Xp the following firmware is used:
Stationfirmware Hermes 1: 9.40
Stationfirmware Hermes 2: 1.48
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3. NEW IN THIS RELEASE
3.1 Version 7.82 Nov. 2003
* For each OS a multi-brand INF file is generated.
As the name suggests, a multi-brand INF file contains
the card characteristics of various brands.
Multi-brand must not be confused with Combined, the latter
representing the card characteristics on various OS’es
for one brand.
* Comcard
* Improved firmware version 9.40 for station and AP is
embedded in the driver.
* Wake On LAN (WOL) functionality has been added to the
drivers for the PCI adapter.
To be able to work with WOL following settings must be
applied (XP):
1. Advanced Power management ON
2. Wake On Lan ON
3. Allow this device to wake up the computer ON
WOL reacts on so-called magic packets only.
* WPA SUPPORT
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a security option that restricts
wireless access to your network and communications as an
alternative to the IEEE 802.11 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
standard.
* WEP encrypts data using static encryption keys that must be
set to identical values on each Wireless Client and Base Station.
* WPA, also referred to as TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol)
or SSN (Simple Secure Network) will provide dynamic encryption
keys to Authorised Wireless Clients only.
To use WPA you will need a wireless infrastructure that supports
Wireless Client Authentication.
* Wireless Clients that satisfy the following requirements:
- Use hardware and drivers that support WPA (see below).
- Run an operating system that provides 802.1 x support.
* Computers running MS-Windows XP (Service Pack 1)
support the 802.1x supplicant by default.
QFE Q815485 is required and can be downloaded from the
Microsoft website.
* Computers running MS-Windows 98, ME or 2000 will need a
dedicated 3rd party supplicant.
* Wireless Base Stations must:
- Support the WPA protocol
- Be connected to a dedicated Authentication Server
(for example a RADIUS server).
The Authentication Server will validate whether a Wireless Client is
authorised to access the network and give clearance to the Base Station
to provide a dynamic encryption key plus access to the Wireless Client.
NOTE:
This release only supports WPA for wireless clients equipped with an
ARtem Onair Comcard (Hermes-1 radio)
* Enabling WPA on Windows XP
To enable WPA on Windows XP:
a) Install Service Pack 1 which can be obtained via Microsoft
or via your reseller.
b) Also the patch Q815485_WXP_SP2_x86_ENU.exe need to be
installed, the latter can be obtained via Microsoft.
b) Open the Wireless Network Connection Properties Window.
c) Click on Advanced and fill in the Association and
Authentication details.
For Windows 98/98SE/NT/2000/Me, additional Software has to be
installed to allow your PC to make use of WPA. See 4.2 for
details on how to obtain and install this software.
3.2 Version 7.64 Jun 2002
* Firmware 8.42 is used in the driver.
- Initial value for CurrentTXRate is 11 Mbps i.s.o. 2 Mbps.
- Led behaviour has been modified:
Power led off: radio disabled
Power led continuously on: radio enabled
Power led flickers every 100 ms: radio enabled and
power management ON
Activity led off radio disabled
Activity led flickers once per 10s: radio enabled
but no network found
Activity led flickers every 100 ms: radio enabled and
Rx/Tx activity
* Extended functionality of Control Panel Applet
The Control Panel Applet has been extended such that it
supports multiple cards to be configured in a single
system.
* Added support for
- Windows XP
- 802.1x authentication
- Ultra high density
- Promiscuous mode
- PCI Adapter Card
* Extended functionality of Control Panel Applet
The Control Panel Applet has been extended such that it
supports multiple cards to be configured in a single
system.
3.3 Version 7.42 March 2002
* Station Firmware 8.10 (WEPplus) integrated
* Added support for
- Windows XP
- 802.1x authentication
- Promiscuous mode
* Extended functionality of Control Panel Applet
The Control Panel Applet has been extended such that it
supports multiple cards to be configured in a single
system.
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4. INSTALLATION NOTES
4.1 Standard Installation
- For Windows 2000, XP, ME, 98, 98SE and 95 read the
"Comcard 11 Installation.pdf".
Insert the PC Card, choose the driver's INF-File and go ahead.
- For the other OP's read the readme file in the according directory.
4.2 Installing WPA Software for Windows98 Me and Windows2000
The drivers delivered in this release support WPA.
However for windows 98 Me and Windows 2000 you need install
to you need additional third party Software to enable WPA on
your PC. Via this software will take care of authentication and
the processing of the WPA specific protocol.
This Software is can be obtained via the following companies:
Funk: www.funk.com
Meetinghouse Data Communications: www.mtghouse.com
The drivers in this release, with WPA support, are tested
using the software delivered by Funk.
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5. TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS
5.1 Windows 98 and ME
Under Windows 98/Me only one wireless card is supported.
So, if you get the error message "Wrong driver version" and you are
sure using the correct driver version may be multiple wireless drivers
are installed.
Therefoe, please unstall all wireless drivers of the same Type (USB or PCMCIA)
and reinstall the driver again.
5.1 Windows 2000
If you are using Windows 2000 with a PCMCIA Adapter it is necessary to
enable IRA sharing.
Please double click the IRQshare.url to read the MS article
if an internet connection is availible.
To install the patch double click the file "IRQshare.reg".
5.2 Windows 2000
Description: On some computer systems with a recent BIOS
(later than December 2001) the wireless adapters
based on a PCI bus interface may not work properly.
Affected hardware:
* MiniPCI adapter
* PCI Swapbox adapters based on the Ti 1410 chip
* PCI Swapbox adapters based on the Ti 1225 chip
Affected Windows 2000 versions:
* MS-Windows 2000, 2000 SP1, 2000 SP2, Professional
* MS Windows 2000, 2000 SP1, 2000 SP2, Server
* MS-Windows 2000, 2000 SP1, 2000 SP2, Advanced
Server
Perceived defect behavior: Although the
installation of drivers and software in the works
all right, for the Windows 2000 operating system,
the adapter does not get/renew an automatically
assigned IP Address.
Impact: Your computer will not be able to connect
to networks that use the TCP/IP protocol.
Most of today's networks use TCP/IP for standard
network traffic. TCP/IP is mandatory for internet
access.
Resolution: Whether this issue will occur is related to the
hardware of the host computer system.
In most cases it can be resolved easily by
installing a Microsoft Windows 2000 patch
(post Service Pack 2 update) that you can
download from the Microsoft website at:
http://www.support.microsoft.com
On this page use the Search option to search for
the item "Q265296".
From the results select the option:
"Toshiba PC Card Controller May Power 3.3-Volt R2
PC Card at 5 Volts (Q265296)"
Download the item "Q265296_w2k_sp3_x86_en.exe" and
follow the Microsoft instructions for this update.
5.3 USB Device may hang when connected to non-Agere Base Station
Description: In exceptional circumstances you may encounter
situations where the USB Client driver hangs when
it is connected (associated) with non-Artem Base
Station.
This situation may typically appear in situations
where the infrastructure includes a Cisco 350
access point, that has fragmentation enabled,
using a nominal threshold value, such as 400 bytes.
Impact: A data transfer may timeout in app. 10 seconds,
leaving the connection lost.
The connection can only be restored if the device
is dis- and reconnected
Resolution: If your network includes Cisco 350 Access Points
Disable fragmentation.
ARtem will release USB adapter drivers with
a fix for this problem via their web site as soon
as this fix will become available.
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6. KNOWN ISSUES
6.1 PCI Card and Wake-On-LAN Support
This information is not applicable to the Ti1410/Ti1225 based PCI
adapters. The PCI Card (the PCI adapter that comes with a
factory-installed radio card) supports the "Magic Packet" for
WakeOnLAN to allow the Wakeup from Hibernate and wakeup from
standby mode for computers running one of the Microsoft
operating systems below:
- MS-Windows 98 and 98 SE (Second Edition)
- MS-Windows 2000
- MS-Windows Me (Millennium Edition)
- MS-Windows XP Home/Professional Edition
As MS-DOS, MS-Windows 95 and NT4 do no support power management,
Wake on standby/ wake on hibernate is not supported.
WakeOnLAN requirements:
- Your computer runs a BIOS version that supports WakeOnLAN
Consult your computer manufacturer for BIOS updates for
your computer.
- A properly installed Windows installation
Use your Windows Device Manager to verify that there are no
question marks or exclamation marks.
If there are conflicts or issues reported by the
Windows Device Manager, consult the Internet for
updated drivers.
To activate WakeOnLAN:
1) Look into the BIOS and familiarize yourself with
WakeOnLAN-related settings.
2) Determine the PCI version compliancy level of the motherboard
of your computer:
* For motherboards that are PCI V2.3 compliant:
a) Do not connect the 3 wire WOL cable.
b) Make sure you insert the Wireless LAN PCI Card into
the PCI slot that supports wake-up.
Note that some motherboards only support WakeOnLAN in
specific PCI slots. (3v3aux).
* For motherboards that are PCI V2.1 compliant, connect the
the 3-wire WOL cable.
3) Start your computer, and use the Windows Control Panel to
check if your computer supports Hibernation.
a) Open the Control Panel, and double-click the item
"Power Options"
b) Check if the windows "Power Options Properties"
includes a tab called "Hibernate":
* If YES, your computer supports WakeOnLAN (proceed with
step 4).
* If NO, your computer does not support WakeOnLAN.
4) Start the Windows Device Manager and display the properties
for the PCI Card.
5) Next select the Advanced tab.
6) Set Wake On LAN to the value on an click OK.
7) Next, proceed as described below for the operating system of
your computer:
* For Windows 95/98/ME: restart your system.
* For Windows 2000/XP: go to step (8)
8) a) Start the windows Device manager and display
the properties of the Wireless LAN PCI Card
b) Next select the Power Management tab
c) Check the items:
* "allow the computer to turn off this device
to save power"
* "allow this device to bring the computer
out of standby".
d) Click OK to confirm your choices and exit the
Device Manager.
This will complete the procedure to enable WakeOnLAN.
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7. TECHNICAL SUPPORT
7.1 Finding Information
On the ARtem Web Site you can find the most recent
device drivers, software updates and user documentation.
World Wide Web: http://www.artem.de
7.2 Contact Technical Support
If you encounter problems when installing or using this
product fill out the "Report.txt" and contact us.
* E-Mail (Hotline): techsupp@Artem.de
* E-Mail (Service): info@Artem.de
* Phone (Service): +49-731-1516-311
* Phone (Hotline): +49-731-1516-211
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END OF FILE
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