3Com EtherLink III (3C509) in EISA Machines

• Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

If the 3Com EtherLink III (3C509) network card is configured in EISA mode and is in an EISA machine, the driver (ELNK3.DOS) fails to load when you start the system.

CAUSE

This problem occurs on any EISA bus machine that has only one EISA 3Com EtherLink III card because Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 Setup adds an IOADDRESS= parameter to the PROTOCOL.INI file.

NOTE: This problem does not occur in later versions of Windows for Workgroups.

WORKAROUND

Remove the IOADDRESS= line from the appropriate section of the PROTOCOL.INI file.

MORE INFORMATION

The EISA mode of the 3Com EtherLink III card forces the card to an I/O address that cannot be set from Control Panel. Later, when the machine is restarted, the driver (ELNK3.DOS) double-checks to see that a driver is present at the IOADDRESS= location. In the EISA case, this is not true so the driver reports an error, and does not load.

Because the ELNK3.DOS driver can find the EtherLink III card in either an ISA bus or an EISA bus machine, it does not need the IOADDRESS= or SLOT= parameter in the PROTOCOL.INI file. These settings should only be used if there is more than one EtherLink III card in the machine.