Intel Pro/100 Ethernet Adapter Freezes Whole Computer (Win95) \ VOGONS

Intel Pro/100 Ethernet Adapter Freezes Whole Computer (Win95)

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First post, by bevist

Posted on 2021-02-15, 08:05

bevist Offline

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Rank: Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: 2021-01-17, 10:14

Hey all,

I have an Intel Pro/100 Desktop ethernet adapter in my Windows 95 build.
The card works, drivers are installed, and I can connect to my fileserver and even browse the web.

But within 5 minutes, without fail, the whole system freezes, forcing me to restart.
I have no idea what's causing this, nothing gets logged and I'm pulling my hair out.

For reference:
Mobo: Luckystar 486e
CPU: Am486 DX4 @ 100Mhz
RAM: 128MB
Storage: 4GB CF Card, DVD-ROM Drive
OS: Windows 95 OSR2

PCI Slot 1: Intel Pro/100 Card
PCI Slot 2: S3 VGA Card
PCI Slot 3: None

ISA Slot 1: None
ISA Slot 2: None
ISA Slot 3: Soundblaster Vibra16
ISA Slot 4: None

Any help would be much appreciated, I feel so close yet so far!

Reply 1 of 3, by dionb

Posted on 2021-02-15, 09:19

dionb Offline

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Posts: 5753
Joined: 2017-12-23, 15:35
Location: Amsterdam

What resources get allocated to the card? And to the Soundblaster? This could be an IRQ or DMA conflict. Is it a PnP Vibra or non-PnP?

Also with older PCI systems the slot you use can make a lot of difference. Try it in other slots.

Finally there are usually BIOS settings regarding PCI (interrupt lines per slot) and ISA resource reservations (if it's a non-PnP sound card)

Reply 2 of 3, by bevist

Posted on 2021-02-15, 22:55

bevist Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: 2021-01-17, 10:14

dionb wrote on 2021-02-15, 09:19:

What resources get allocated to the card? And to the Soundblaster? This could be an IRQ or DMA conflict. Is it a PnP Vibra or non-PnP?

Also with older PCI systems the slot you use can make a lot of difference. Try it in other slots.

Finally there are usually BIOS settings regarding PCI (interrupt lines per slot) and ISA resource reservations (if it's a non-PnP sound card)

The network card gets allocated IRA 10, VGA gets 9 and the Soundblaster gets 5.
I believe the Vibra is Pnp, but my BIOS has no settings regarding ISA resource reservations, only PCI.

Reply 3 of 3, by auron

Posted on 2021-02-16, 00:20

auron Offline

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Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 641
Joined: 2015-08-20, 01:56

maybe try running pci.exe to get a full report, some of the switches can give you more information (see documentation for that). it can show if there are issues with the interrupt table in BIOS.

are you even sure the network card is causing this (i.e. did you already verify the memory is good etc.)?

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