3Com 3C3FE574BT User manual

http://www.3com.com/
http://www.3com.com/productreg
3Com
®
10/100 LAN PC Card
Published October 2000

3Com Corporation
5400 Bayfront Plaza
Santa Clara, California
95052-8145
Copyright © 2000 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be
reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation,
transformation, or adaptation) without written permission from 3Com Corporation.
3Com Corporation reserves the right to revise this documentation and to make changes in content from
time to time without obligation on the part of 3Com Corporation to provide notification of such revision or
change.
3Com Corporation provides this documentation without warranty, term, or condition of any kind, either
implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties, terms or conditions of
merchantability, satisfactory quality, and fitness for a particular purpose. 3Com may make improvements or
changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this documentation at any time.
If there is any software on removable media described in this documentation, it is furnished under a license
agreement included with the product as a separate document, in the hard copy documentation, or on the
removable media in a directory file named LICENSE.TXT or !LICENSE.TXT. If you are unable to locate a copy,
please contact 3Com and a copy will be provided to you.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LEGEND
If you are a United States government agency, then this documentation and the software described herein
are provided to you subject to the following:
All technical data and computer software are commercial in nature and developed solely at private expense.
Software is delivered as “Commercial Computer Software” as defined in DFARS 252.227-7014 (June 1995)
or as a “commercial item” as defined in FAR 2.101(a) and as such is provided with only such rights as are
provided in 3Com’s standard commercial license for the Software. Technical data is provided with limited
rights only as provided in DFAR 252.227-7015 (Nov 1995) or FAR 52.227-14 (June 1987), whichever is
applicable. You agree not to remove or deface any portion of any legend provided on any licensed program
or documentation contained in, or delivered to you in conjunction with, this User Guide.
Unless otherwise indicated, 3Com registered trademarks are registered in the United States and may or may
not be registered in other countries.
3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. 3ComFacts is a service mark of
3Com Corporation.
Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), and Windows NT are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc.
All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are
associated.

C
ONTENTS
1
S
ETUP FOR
W
INDOWS
2000
Installing the PC Card 1
Confirming Installation 1
Uninstalling the Card 1
Removing Card Software 2
Removing the Card 2
Troubleshooting 2
2
S
ETUP FOR
W
INDOWS
M
ILLENNIUM
E
DITION
(W
INDOWS
M
E
)
AND
W
INDOWS
98
Installing the PC Card 5
Confirming Installation 5
Uninstalling the Card 6
Troubleshooting 6
3
S
ETUP FOR
W
INDOWS
95
Installing the PC Card 9
Confirming Installation 9
Uninstalling the Card 10
Troubleshooting 10
4 S ETUP FOR W INDOWS NT
Inserting the PC Card and Running the Installation 13
Installation Using Softex Software 13
Installing the Network Interface 14
Installation Using System Soft Software 14
Installation Using Point Enabler 14
Installing the Network Interface 14
No Networking Installed 15
Networking Already Installed 16
Uninstalling the Card 16
Troubleshooting 16

5
C
ONNECTING THE
PC C
ARD AND
U
SING THE
U
TILITIES
Connecting and Inserting the PC Card 19
Disconnecting the Cables 20
LAN Connector LEDs 21
Type III PC Card 21
Type II PC Card 22
Installing 3Com Utilities and Documentation 23
Opening the User Guide 23
Making Your Own Installation Diskettes 23
6
I
NTELLIGENT
A
UTO
I
NSTALL FOR
W
INDOWS AND
DOS E
NVIRONMENTS
7
I
NSTALLING
NDIS 2 N
ETWORK
D
RIVERS
Before You Begin 27
Banyan VINES 27
IBM LAN Server 4.0 for DOS 28
Artisoft LANtastic 6.0 29
DOS Prompt 29
Windows 29
DEC PATHWORKS 29
Microsoft LAN Manager 30
8 I
NSTALLATION FOR
W
INDOWS FOR
W
ORKGROUPS
Before You Begin 33
Installing the Network Driver 33
A
3C
OM
S
UPPORT
On-Line Support 35
World Wide Web Site 35
3Com Support Web Site 35
3Com Software Library 35
3Com KnowledgeBase 35
Frequently Asked Questions 35
3Com FTP site for all FE574BT-Family files 35
3Com Facts Automated Fax Service 36
Support from Your Network Supplier 36
Support from 3Com 36
Returning Products for Repair 38
I
NDEX
R
EGULATORY
I
NFORMATION

1
S
ETUP FOR
W
INDOWS
2000
Installing the PC Card
1 With the computer powered up and Windows 2000 running, insert the
Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive. The auto-start feature starts the
installation. If auto-start is disabled on your computer, click Start>Run and type
d:\setup.exe (where d: is your CD-ROM drive).
2 Connect the PC Card to the network as shown in Chapter 5.
3 Insert the PC Card into the PC Card slot.
After inserting the PC Card, if auto-start is enabled and nothing happens within
five seconds, reboot your computer and log in to Windows 2000. The installation
process will begin when the computer restarts.
4 Respond to the prompts as they appear.
During the installation process, you may receive prompts for the Windows 2000
installation CD. Insert the CD and indicate the correct path.
5 Restart your computer if prompted.
Confirming
Installation
1 Double-click the My Computer icon.
2 Double-click the Control Panel icon.
3 Double-click the System icon. The System Properties box appears, detailing your
system setup.
4Click the Hardware tab and then the Device Manager button. A list of devices
appears, arranged by type.
5Double-click Network Adapters. The LAN card name appears, confirming
successful installation.
6Double-click the entry for the LAN card to display a description of the card and its
current status. The device status should indicate “This device is working properly.”
7Click Cancel to return to System Properties.
8Click OK to exit System Properties.
Uninstalling the Card If the card installation is unsuccessful for any reason, your best course may be to
completely uninstall the LAN card and its software and repeat the installation
procedures. A fresh install can also solve problems that can arise from removing
the card or shutting off your computer while diagnostics were running.

2CHAPTER 1: SETUP FOR WINDOWS 2000
Sometimes earlier installations or interrupted installation attempts leave problems
that affect card operation. Possible problems include:
■One or both of the card functions not working.
■Windows 2000 not detecting the card.
■The system issuing a warning tone at startup.
If you are having any of these problems, remove the LAN card and software using
the procedures below, then reinstall the card.
Removing Card
Software
Open Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager. Select the LAN card
components and click Remove.
Using the Device Manager to remove the card will uninstall the card, software,
and documentation. Be sure to remove the LAN interface.
You can also remove the online user guide separately.
1Open Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager.
2Select 10/100 LAN PC Card-Fast Ethernet and click Remove.
3Click Action on the toolbar above and choose Uninstall.
Removing the Card Check your computer manual for information on removing cards. Store the card in
its original or similar packaging.
Troubleshooting
CAUTION: Exit any communications or networking applications before removing
the card.
Symptom Solution
Basic troubleshooting,
applicable for all problem
situations
Inspect all cables and connections.
Check whether your card is fully inserted into the slot
Check the Web site for your computer to verify whether you have
the latest BIOS for your system. If not, download the newest BIOS
version, and follow the upgrade instructions.
Check for multiple installations of the card.
Check whether your system’s PC Card CardBus Controller is
installed and running properly: go to Control
Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager/PCMCIA Card and verify
that the controller is present and shows no errors.
Check the Control Panel/PC Card application to confirm that your
card is recognized by the system.
In the Control Panel/Network application, make sure that you
have appropriate Clients and Protocols installed.
Check the Control Panel/Network application. Select 10/100 LAN
PC Card-Fast Ethernet, open the Advanced tab, and select Check
for cable.

Troubleshooting 3
The LAN device is not
functional. LEDs on the PC
Card, connector, or
network adapter cable are
off or mismatch the real
network speed.
Use Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager to inspect
the status of your LAN card.
If you see a red X, enable the card by checking the appropriate
box under Properties
If you see a yellow exclamation point, click the icon to see what
the conflict is. Verify that there are adequate system resources. Try
to free system resources (for example, disable the infrared port),
then remove and reinstall the card.
Losing network
connection after
disconnecting or changing
the media speed when
using NetWare servers and
IPX/SPX protocol.
This happens when the frame type is selected automatically. A
temporary solution is to reboot the system after disconnecting/
reconnecting the cable in NetWare networks. The permanent
solution is to use specific frame types such as 802.2 or 802.3.
Slow or dropped
connection on a 10/100
switch or hub.
Disable Auto Polarity:
1With the Installation CD inserted in the CD-ROM drive, browse
to D:\AUTOPL\AUTOPL.EXE, where D: is your CD-ROM drive.
2Double-click AUTOPL.EXE.
3Select 3Com LAN Card.
4Click Disable.
5Click OK.
6Click Close.
Symptom Solution

2SETUP FOR WINDOWS MILLENNIUM
EDITION (WINDOWS ME) AND
WINDOWS 98
Installing the PC Card
1With the computer powered up and Windows running, insert the Installation CD
into the CD-ROM drive. The auto-start feature starts the installation. If auto-start is
disabled on your computer, click Start>Run and type d:\setup.exe (where d: is your
CD-ROM drive).
2Connect the PC Card to the network as shown in Chapter 5.
3Insert the PC Card into the PC Card slot.
After inserting the PC Card, if auto-start is enabled and nothing happens within
five seconds, reboot your computer and log in to Windows. The installation
process will begin when the computer restarts.
4Respond to the prompts as they appear.
During the installation process, you may receive prompts for the PC Card
Installation CD. Insert the CD and select the path from the drop-down list. Click
OK. The path is d:\install\disks\574BT (where d: is your CD-ROM drive).
During the installation process, you may also receive prompts for the Windows Me
or 98 installation CD. Insert the CD and indicate the correct path.
5Restart your computer if prompted.
Confirming
Installation
1Double-click the My Computer icon.
2Double-click the Control Panel icon.
3Double-click the System icon. The System Properties box appears, detailing your
system setup.
4Click the Device Manager tab. A list of devices appears, arranged by type.
5Double-click Network Adapters. FE574BT-3Com 10/100 LAN PC Card-Fast
Ethernet, appears, confirming successful installation.
6Double-click FE574BT-3Com 10/100 LAN PC Card-Fast Ethernet to display a
description of the card and its current status. The device status should indicate
“This device is working properly.”

6CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MILLENNIUM EDITION (WINDOWS ME) AND WINDOWS 98
Uninstalling the Card Sometimes previous or unfinished installations leave problems that affect card
operation. If the card installation is unsuccessful for any reason, your best course
may be to remove the card and its software and repeat the installation procedures
with a fresh installation of the operating system. Possible problems may be
indicated if:
■The card is not working.
■Windows ME or 98 is not detecting the card.
■The system issues a warning tone at startup.
If you are having any of these problems:
1Open Control Panel/System/Device Manager.
2Select FE574BT-3Com 10/100 LAN PC Card-Fast Ethernet and click Remove.
3Remove the LAN PC Card from the PC Card slot.
4Reboot and reinstall the card.
Troubleshooting
Symptom Solution
Basic troubleshooting,
applicable for all problem
situations.
Inspect all cables and connections.
Check whether your card is fully inserted into the slot.
Verify that you have the latest BIOS for your system. If not, check
the Web site for your notebook and follow the BIOS upgrade
instructions.
Check for multiple installations of the card.
Check whether your system’s PCMCIA or CardBus Controller
is installed and running properly: go to
Control Panel/System/Device Manager/PCMCIA Card. Verify that
the controller is present and shows no errors.
Open Control Panel/PC Card to confirm that the system recognizes
your card.
In Control Panel/Network make sure that you have the correct
clients and protocols installed.
The LAN PC Card is
not functional. LEDs
on the PC Card,
connector, or network
adapter cable are off or
mismatch the real
network speed.
Use Control Panel/System/Device Manager to inspect the status of
your LAN card.
If you see a red “X”, enable the card by checking the appropriate
box under Properties.
If you see a yellow exclamation mark, click the icon to see what
the conflict is. Verify that there are adequate system resources. Try
to free system resources (for example, disable the infrared port),
then remove and reinstall the card.
Losing network
connection after
disconnecting or changing
the media speed.
This can occur when using NetWare servers and IPX/SPX protocol.
It happens when the frame type is selected automatically. A
temporary solution is to reboot after disconnecting and
reconnecting the cable in NetWare networks. The permanent
solution is to use specific frame types such as 802.2 or 802.3.