How to Configure the 3Com 3c503 ElnkII Adapter for RPL

ID: Q95794

SUMMARY

This information has been confirmed using the LanWorks Bootware RPL PROM with the 3COM Etherlink II 3c503 network adapter.

There are two hardware settings that need to be considered when configuring your 3c503 with a Remote Boot PROM. These settings are memory base address and I/O base address.

Memory Base Address

In order for the workstation to recognize the existence of the RPL PROM, the memory jumper must be moved from the "DISABLE" position to one of the four possible memory base options [DC000,D8000,CC000,C8000]. If the workstation has been "rplenabl"-ed, and you attempt to boot the workstation while the memory jumper is still disabled, you will receive a BIOS-specific boot error. Some examples are:

ROM BIOS American Megatrends Inc. for Northgate Computers "NO ROM BASIC - SYSTEM HALTED"

Compaq System BIOS for Compaq ProLinea 4/33 and 386/33 "Non-system disk or disk error"

Compaq System BIOS for Compaq DeskPro 286N "Boot record not found"

IBM PS/2 55SX "ET-"[elapsed time counter], with other register data

I/O Base Address

This setting determines whether your card should use an external transceiver (DIX) or the on-board transceiver (BNC). The address selections are:


   [300,310,330,350,250,280,2A0,2E0]

The transceiver location alternates with each selection so a setting chosen from the group [300,330,250,2A0] would specify an internal (on-board) transceiver, while a setting chosen from the group [310,350,280,2E0] would indicate that an external transceiver should be used. If you attempt to specify the incorrect transceiver configuration, data transmission to the network will quickly fail with "buffer overflow" errors.

Note: Other possible configuration errors are:

Ethernet card improperly installed or not connected"

This message indicates that you are probably not connected to an active Ethernet cable segment.

Can't init LAN adapter, check configuration.

Usually this error message indicates that there is an I/O conflict with some other devices in you workstation. Check and reconfigure.

Reference(s):

"LanWorks/3c503 for LAN Manager Configuration Supplement"

"3COM EtherlinkII Adapter Guide"

Additional query words: 2.20

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