Configuring Maximum IPX Packet Size in Windows 95

Last reviewed: August 28, 1997
Article ID: Q166321

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release versions 1, 2, 2.1

SYMPTOMS

When you are using the IPX/SPX-compatible protocol that is included in Windows 95 to communicate across an IPX router, some communications may not work if the router requires a smaller packet size than is used by the LAN media (Ethernet or Token Ring, for example).

In some cases, NCP-based communications with NetWare servers may succeed, but operations using other protocols running over IPX, such as SPX or NetBIOS, may not work.

CAUSE

You may be able to work around such routing restrictions by manually limiting the size of IPX packets sent by the communicating systems. However, when you are using the version of the IPX/SPX-compatible protocol that is included in Windows 95 (all versions), it is not possible to manually specify a maximum IPX packet size.

RESOLUTION

It may be possible to work around this issue by limiting the maximum packet size sent by the network adapter itself. Not all network adapter drivers provide such a feature, and implementing such a feature, if it exists, may vary among network adapter drivers. Contact your network adapter manufacturer for more information about this possible workaround.

It may also be possible to resolve this issue by a configuration change or updated software or firmware on the router itself. Contact your router manufacturer for more information about this possible workaround.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 95 and OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2). An update to address this problem is now available, but is not fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft does not recommend implementing this update at this time. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for additional information about the availability of this update.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about specifying the maximum IPX packet size for the IPX/SPX-compatible protocol that is included in Windows NT, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q99745
   TITLE     : Tuning NWLINK Registry Parameters

   ARTICLE-ID: Q103002
   TITLE     : REG: Network Services Entries, Part 6

For information about how to contact third-party vendors, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q125217
   TITLE     : World Wide Web and FTP Servers for Computer-Related Vendors

   ARTICLE-ID: Q65416
   TITLE     : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

   ARTICLE-ID: Q60781
   TITLE     : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

   ARTICLE-ID: Q60782
   TITLE     : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Additional query words: 95
Keywords : msnets osr1 osr2 win95 kbenv
Version : 95
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: August 28, 1997
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