NIC's "Good Ones"

[jkajfes]

I had such fantastic success with the Linksys Etherfast Cable/DSL modem that I thougth I'd give one of their 10/000 nics a shot.

Big mistake, unless I've done something wierd on my end.

Installed the card in a PCI slot, didn't bother to hook up the WOL cable and then tried to get it configured in Windows 2000.

wk2 warns installing the device driver is not recommended because windoze cannot veri-fry that it's compatible with the hardwire?

Tried it anyway... didn't work, big yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager.

There's no wk2 drivers on the disk and as a result the inf files are squirrely i.e. not written specifically for 2000.

Tried calling them 1-800-326-7114 been ringing a busy signal for a couple hours. Trying to hit the website and it appears to be down... folks there must be suffering a power something-or-other.

I just want to get it up and running.

So anybody know if their drivers exist for wk2 and if they might stored on another site...?

Failing that the card's outta here, don't need no hassles with a NIC on this level...

I would pick a lemon... or I had a brain fart during the attempted installs.

Anybody got any good recommends on PCI 100 nics working under wk2 that are easily recongnized under Plug and Pray?

regards
John Kajfes

[iknowhardware]

I use 3Com 3c905b...or Intel...you cannot go wrong.

[monty]

Go here (http://www.adviceforpcs.com/network/selected.asp?SessionID=3040399861045632714&ParentCategoryID=324&CategoryID=326&ProductID=822&Referrer=category.asp) for a STEAL on Intel Pro/100+ cards (2/$39)! They sell for $79.99 EACH at CompUSA. My game ping dropped 5-10 ms after installing one.

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 04-27-2000).]

[jkajfes]

interesting... I'll check them out... I did manage to log into the linksys website and they do have wk2 driver updates for the NIC in question.

...getting the driver across or into the system so the Nic's recognized requires a bit of dexterity. You have to replace a driver in the system that's newer than the on the new wk2 driver disks that you make up and you need to be specific to reference the win2000 directory on the floppy or your system will run you around in circles for a bit.

Once it's done it works... I noticed that they've had 4 versions to this card and you've got to look closely at which version you got your hands on...

Anyway it up and running in the system with minor input/configuration on the users parts... plainly doable...

thanks for the replies guys, I'll check the cards mentioned next time in a store, which will probably be 5 minutes from now... :-) talk about addictions...

[chacmool]

To: iknowhardware

Do you know the difference between a 3Com 3C905C vs. 3C905B NIC? Or is it the obvious, "C" is an update to the "B" version?

I have the 905C.

[This message has been edited by chacmool (edited 04-27-2000).]

[iknowhardware]

The 3Com 3C905C-TX iknow uses a totally different driver and better geared for remote management. It uses parallel tasking and requires less CPU utilization. It uses Dynamic Access. It is a little smarter compared to the 3C905B-TX.

I haven't explored all it's capabilities yet. Anyone? SMS?

[Noir Pouvoir]

Fudge for the brain!!

Any Tulip card works you don,t need a thing just a card! Under orig win2000 mod they started out with Tulip based cards because of thier reliablilty vs performance.. Tulip you say hah like SMC/ DLINK /etc. Cheapies by some forum members standards.

[monty]

D-Link uses the VIA Rhine driver.

Linksys uses Tulip.

[Noir Pouvoir]

Dlink DE 530 ct uses DEC tulip 21041-PA
Smc EtherPower uses DEC tulip 21041-AA
These chipsets are universal ..

[monty]

Maybe I should have posted

D-Link DFE-530TX use VIA Rhine

Linksys LNE100TX uses Tulip

[urbantech]

I'm using Intel Pro 10/100 Management Cards and they work great on Windows2000!

[Scum333]

Hey man, you want a painfree NIC. Forget what those people are telling you and get a baynetworks Netgear FA310TX. it is only about $20 and it runs fast, efficient and is compatable with everything. just take my word for it.
ars moriendi

[monty]

Well, I spoke with a guy at Intel. He said that deal had been in place for over a year, and that he hadn't heard anything about removing it.

[Game0rz]

monty and anyone else. are those intel chips that you gave a link for GOOD? like as good as those one's that other people are reccemending? im new to this but i like the best for best price!