kheper wrote on 2024-06-17, 15:46:

I own two, 3Com 509b-TPO ISA cards. Both fail to work in my 486 Windows 95 box. Tried them in a PIII box, running OpenBSD 7.2. B […]
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I own two, 3Com 509b-TPO ISA cards. Both fail to work in my 486 Windows 95 box. Tried them in a PIII box, running OpenBSD 7.2. Both exhibit the same behavior. When an OS attempts to configure them at boot, the status lights on the cards turn from green to off. I disabled PNP under Dos with the 3c5x9cfg utility, and I tested a variety of IRQs and Base I/O addresses. Nothing works. I'm stumped. (In the early 2000s, I can almost swear that one of these cards worked under OpenBSD.) The odds of two bricked cards seem unlikely.

CPU: Intel Overdrive DX2ODP66
MB: Biostar mb-1433/50UCV-E pcb rev: 3
Video: Diamond Speedstar Pro VL (Cirrus Logic chip)
I/O controller: Winbond
Memory: 16MB
HD: 528MB Seagate
OS: Windows 95 OSR2

I can't say for OpenBSD, but for Windows 95 cards that predate Plug&Play would have been a nightmare (Windows often won't detect them unless they were present during installation). Do you see the card in Device Manager and how does the failure present on the Windows side? No IP-address, no hardware detected, etc.?

The cards are recognized by the Device Manager. I installed the MS and the 3com versions of the drivers. Tried many Base I/O addresses in the Device Manager. No IP can be obtained automatically, and - when I configure a static IP address, no host on the LAN can be pinged ("Request timed out."). The cards cannot see the LAN or the gateway - because the status lights are off.

My preferred settings are I/O 300h, IRQ 10.
But PNP should work as well.

What about the diagnostics in 3C5X9CFG.EXE - do they pass?
Have you tried with some other software, eg. mTCP ?

BTW: are you sure your switch properly supports 10 Mbps?
Some modern switches have problems with that...

kheper wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:28:

The cards are recognized by the Device Manager. I installed the MS and the 3com versions of the drivers. Tried many Base I/O addresses in the Device Manager. No IP can be obtained automatically, and - when I configure a static IP address, no host on the LAN can be pinged ("Request timed out."). The cards cannot see the LAN or the gateway - because the status lights are off.

I assume you've got the Windows 95 networking fundamentals in order (you've installed the MS TCP/IP stack, the DUN/WinSock upgrades, etc.) - so trying to rule out some other stuff, I assume if you plug in any other device to the same ethernet cable, they'll link and you'll get an IP address? What exactly are you connecting this old box into? Also what type of cable is it? There was a time not in the too distant past that this also mattered, especially for these ISA/EISA-era cards.

Grzyb wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:33:

My preferred settings are I/O 300h, IRQ 10. But PNP should work as well. […]
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My preferred settings are I/O 300h, IRQ 10.
But PNP should work as well.

What about the diagnostics in 3C5X9CFG.EXE - do they pass?
Have you tried with some other software, eg. mTCP ?

PNP failed on Windows 95 and OpenBSD 7.2. I ran tests under the 3c5x9cfg. All tests were passed.

Grzyb wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:35:

BTW: are you sure your switch properly supports 10 Mbps?
Some modern switches have problems with that...

I have the card connected to a Comcast EMT. I'll look into it, but even when the cable is removed from the card's jack, the status light goes out, during a Windows boot.

leonardo wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:40:

kheper wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:28:

The cards are recognized by the Device Manager. I installed the MS and the 3com versions of the drivers. Tried many Base I/O addresses in the Device Manager. No IP can be obtained automatically, and - when I configure a static IP address, no host on the LAN can be pinged ("Request timed out."). The cards cannot see the LAN or the gateway - because the status lights are off.

I assume you've got the Windows 95 networking fundamentals in order (you've installed the MS TCP/IP stack, the DUN/WinSock upgrades, etc.) - so trying to rule out some other stuff, I assume if you plug in any other device to the same ethernet cable, they'll link and you'll get an IP address? What exactly are you connecting this old box into? Also what type of cable is it? There was a time not in the too distant past that this also mattered, especially for these ISA/EISA-era cards.

Stack is installed. Can't install any upgrades - until the network functions. The cable works fine with a 3Com 905b PCI card in the PIII box. I'm connecting to Comcast's EMT. The cable is identified as CAT 5.

kheper wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:48:

Grzyb wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:35:

BTW: are you sure your switch properly supports 10 Mbps?
Some modern switches have problems with that...

I have the card connected to a Comcast EMT. I'll look into it, but even when the cable is removed from the card's jack, the status light goes out, during a Windows boot.

Hmmm... it could be that the Comcast box and the NIC fail to negotiate a link rate, hence why the light on the NIC goes out. It would be interesting if you had an old router or Wi-Fi AP that you could plug into the card to see if you're then able to get an IP-address.

leonardo wrote on 2024-06-17, 17:12:

kheper wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:48:

Grzyb wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:35:

BTW: are you sure your switch properly supports 10 Mbps?
Some modern switches have problems with that...

I have the card connected to a Comcast EMT. I'll look into it, but even when the cable is removed from the card's jack, the status light goes out, during a Windows boot.

Hmmm... it could be that the Comcast box and the NIC fail to negotiate a link rate, hence why the light on the NIC goes out. It would be interesting if you had an old router or Wi-Fi AP that you could plug into the card to see if you're then able to get an IP-address.

I have an old hub, an old switch and an old Linksys router. Tonight - first, I 'll try a crossover cable from the Windows box into the card in the PIII Box.

leonardo wrote on 2024-06-17, 17:12:

kheper wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:48:

Grzyb wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:35:

BTW: are you sure your switch properly supports 10 Mbps?
Some modern switches have problems with that...

I have the card connected to a Comcast EMT. I'll look into it, but even when the cable is removed from the card's jack, the status light goes out, during a Windows boot.

Hmmm... it could be that the Comcast box and the NIC fail to negotiate a link rate, hence why the light on the NIC goes out. It would be interesting if you had an old router or Wi-Fi AP that you could plug into the card to see if you're then able to get an IP-address.

Kudos to leonardo and Grzyb. I opted for the Linksys router approach. Configured it as a router to the Comcast EMT (router), and I'm able to access LAN hosts and hosts on the internet. I may try an old hub or a switch. However, the box takes an incredibly long time to boot, and - when pinging some LAN hosts, the command prompt freezes; it stops responding. I may need to tweak the IRQs and the Base I/O addresses - further. Setting the card back to PNP may also be advantageous.

I use a WIFI extender to connect to my ISP Router.
I use Wireless-N compatible TP-Link or Linksys.
Works great.
This will get you on your hone network so you can access other computers or NAS.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2024-06-18, 16:23:

I use a WIFI extender to connect to my ISP Router.
I use Wireless-N compatible TP-Link or Linksys.

That 's just what the Doctor ordered. I do not have one, but looking into purchasing.

I just bypass the ISP provided router entirely (supply my own) or (if it needs to be in the middle because it's a modem-router or something like that) set it into bridge mode so it can't mess everything up, then deploy a real router directly connected to it. It's the only way to be sure. 😎

As a follow up - and to others who may have the same problem, the Comcast EMT that I was issued contains 4 ethernet ports. 3 x 1Gbps and 1 x 2.5Gbps. Where it was positioned, it was so dark that I could not see the red line, indicating the 2.5Gbps port. The 2.5 port does not work with 10BASE-T cards, but the 1Gbps ports do. Apparently, the 2.5Gbps port is not backwards-compatible with 10BASE-T cards.

kheper wrote on 2024-06-20, 20:05:

As a follow up - and to others who may have the same problem, the Comcast EMT that I was issued contains 4 ethernet ports. 3 x 1Gbps and 1 x 2.5Gbps. Where it was positioned, it was so dark that I could not see the red line, indicating the 2.5Gbps port. The 2.5 port does not work with 10BASE-T cards, but the 1Gbps ports do. Apparently, the 2.5Gbps port is not backwards-compatible with 10BASE-T cards.

I swear, it's always something like this - and then you spend days reinstalling and reconfiguring your setup for basically no reason. 😁