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EtherExpress™ 32/Flash32 Cards
Troubleshooting Notes from Tech Support

Contents: Diags Report A Failure On 82596 CHIP

EtherExpress Flash 32 adapter

Symptom:
Diagnostics (v1.0) reports an incorrect failure of the 82596 in certain machines. This message is seen occasionally with 60- or 66-MHZ machines.

Description:
Problem with the 82596 self test in the diagnostic program. The drivers are not affected by this message.

Solution:
Obtain the updated FL32DIAG v1.1 diagnostic program. This file FL32DIAG.EXE is available through Intel's online services.

ERROR MESSAGE: "DISK BOOT FAILURE", OR "BOOT DEVICE NOT FOUND" WITH ADAPTEC SCSI DISK CONTROLLER.

EtherExpress Flash32 adapter

Symptom:
Error Message: "Disk Boot Failure", or "Boot Device not found" with Adaptec SCSI disk controller.

Description:
Installing the Flash32 with SCSI disk driver (ie Adaptec 1740). With Adaptec's controllers, when there has been any EISA configuration change, the ROM (default location CC000h) will not initialize the SCSI controller.
Solution:
Continue so that FlashSet comes up. It will inform you that it detects an Adaptec and that it has to reboot the computer. FlashSet will configure all Flash32s in the system NVRAM and reboot, setting the FlashSet bit to run again. This will then give you a normal boot sequence, bringing up FlashSet so you can modify the configuration.

EISA CONFIGURATION OR HARD DISK APPEARS TO BE DAMAGED BY FLASHSET

Symptom:
EISA configuration or hard disk appears to be damaged by FlashSet

Description:
An Adaptec SCSI controller can be the cause of this problem. You install a Flash32 and move another card in the process (to make room.). You get the "boot failure" message. Instead of pressing F1 to continue, you power down and remove the Flash32. You still get the boot failure message (because the card you moved is in a different slot and is still creating a configuration error.)

Another cause could be that the NVRAM was incorrectly read into memory during FlashSet.

Solution:
Run the ECU from a floppy. If a floppy isn't available, EISA machines generally have a switch or jumper to enable the default configuration. If your most recent configuration is on the hard drive, usually the default configuration (via floppy or motherboard switch) has the hard drive configured. After cofiguring the system so it recognizes the hard drive, run the ecu from the hard drive.

FLASHSET SCREEN LOOPING WITH MESSAGE THAT FLASHSET WAS SUCCESSFUL.

Symptom: FlashSet screen looping with message that FlashSet was successful.

Description:

  1. The bios of the PC conflicts with int 19 which the Flash uses on boot up.

    or

  2. FlashSet runs when it detects there is a configuration error. So, if there is a card in the machine that creates a configuration error and it is NOT a Flash32, FlashSet will run over and over and over. This is because Flashset configures all the Flash32 cards, but cannot configure the other card(s), so there is STILL a configuration error.

    This scenario could occur if the user installs more than one card at the same time (our Flash32 and a modem card for example). Just moving an existing card to another slot could also cause the problem.

Solution:

  1. For bios related problem, contact the computer manufacturer or your Network Services Supplier for updated bios.
  2. Install the Flash32(s) first, boot and run Flashset, then install other cards and run the ECU. The user could also run the ECU before installing any cards, and disable the flash on the Flash32 cards to prevent Flashset from running.

Netware* Server Hanging, Workstations Lose Connection To EtherExpress Flash32 Adapter

Symptom: NetWare* server hanging, workstations lose connection to Flash32.

Description: This problem could be caused by long wait states on the EISA bus. The situation occurs when the PC gives long wait states when the memory controller is doing some cache line manipulations while a bus master owns the EISA bus. These long wait states cause the Flash32 to hold the bus too long and generate an EISA busmaster time out.

Solution:
There are a two options to try.

  1. Check the CMOS of the PC and look for settings for WRITE BACK CACHE or WRITE THROUGH CACHE. Enable the WRITE THROUGH. Changing this

    parameter should eliminate the problem of long wait states, although it may increase CPU utilization..

  2. Another method to avoid the bus time out problem is by using ON/OFF parameters for the Flash32 to get it on and off the EISA bus earlier. The ON/OFF timers provide a throttling mechanism to control how the 82596 requests bus ownership. The units for the number is local clock periods (25MHz clock). The ON parameter limits the number of clock cycles that the card will hold the bus for on data transfers. The default value is 200. The OFF parameter sets the minimum number of clock cycles that the card will remain off the bus between data transfers. The default value is 2. Thus a low ON number causes the 596 to transfer data in a series of short bus-ownership cycles (arbitration cycles) rather than fewer, longer transfers. Although this may seem less efficient, the individual data transfer cycles actually run at the same speed either way, so there is very little affect on throughput. One may have to try different values for these numbers. Suggested values are ON=10, OFF=10 or ON=20, OFF=2
For NetWare server driver, the syntax would be as follows.
LOAD FL32 SLOT=3 ON=10 OFF=10
Note for Multiple Frame Types:

The FL32.LAN driver will first parse the command line parameters to obtain the ON/OFF values but the given parameters are used to initialize the 82596 only for the first instance of the driver (the first frame type loaded).

This is true for both v5.23 and v6.02. In v6.02, however, the DriverReset routine will reinitialize the network chip with the stored parameter values each time it is called, in which case, the last stored paramater values (the valuse given for the last driver instance) will be used to initialize the chip.

ON/OFF values should ONLY be given for the first frame type loaded.

Prompts For Driv And Glob Paramters When Loading The Netware* Server Driver

Symptom:
Prompts for DRIV and GLOB paramters when loading the NetWare* server driver.

Description:
The incorrect slot number is specified on the load line.

Solution:
Verify the slot number that the Flash32 is installed in and specify that on the load line for the server driver.

Error Message When Loading Flash32 Netware* Server Driver: Fl32-Nw-091: The Hardware Configuration Conflicts Module Initialization Failed

Symptom:
Error Message when loading Flash32 NetWare* server driver: FL32-NW-091: The hardware configuration conflicts Module Initialization failed

Description:
Loading the driver with a name whose first four letters are "inte" cause the error message.

Solution:
Remove the "e" or change it to another letter and the driver will load.

App Notes: Etherexpress Flash32 Adapter And Adaptec SCSI

Here is a summary of how the Flash32 adapter, Adaptec SCSI disk controller and EISA configuration interact. The behavior described applies to Adaptec 1740 and 2740 disk controllers, hereafter referred to as "Adaptec controllers".

Adaptec controllers have a BIOS ROM located at CC000h (default). This ROM is executed every time you boot. If there has been any sort of EISA configuration change (card added, moved, or removed), the ROM does not initialize the SCSI controller, and you will get a "boot failed, press F1 to continue, F2 for setup" type of message (message text will vary from system to system). This behavior occurs regardless of type of adapters installed in the machine. Because the Adaptecs work this way, any EISA configuration change forces you to run the ECU from a floppy.

If you insert one or more Flash32 adapter(s) into a system that includes an Adaptec controller, here's what happens:

  1. The Adaptec ROM runs first. On 2740s, you get a "BIOS not installed!" error and a "press F1 to continue" type message because the addition of the Flash32(s). On the 2740, if you must press F1 to continue. The 1740 tested continued with no key press.

  2. Now Flashset runs. Flashset detects the presence of any Adaptec controller (EISA ids beginning with the letters ADP). It puts up a message explaining the it has detected an Adaptec controller and that it is going to reboot. Flashset then configures all the Flash32 adapters in the system and updates the EISA configuration NVRAM. It reboots the system, and it has set the option to have FlashSet run again. Why does it reboot? To get the Adaptec controller initializes so that a normal hard disk boot can proceed after Flashset runs a second time (step 4 and 5 below).

  3. The system reboots, and the Adaptec ROM runs again. This time there is no configuration error, and the Adaptec initializes itself.

  4. Now Flashset runs again, normally this time. It runs normally because there is no configuration error. Flash32 Flashset uses the presence of an Adaptec controller and a configuration error to trigger the special behavior described in step 2. If there is an Adaptec and a configuration error, you get the "reboot" behavior in step 2. If there is no configuration error, or no Adaptec, you get normal Flashset.

  5. Now (still in Flashset), you save the configuration, and if you tell Flashset not to run again, you will not see it at the next boot.

Error: Manchester Encoder Chip Failure

Product: EtherExpress 32 adapter Other: DOS 6.2

Symptom:
Using a workstation running DOS 6.2, the EtherExpress 32 card fails the internal loopback diags. Running diags again without rebooting, the card will pass. Run once more, the card will fail again. During testing, the workstation was able to connect to the network even though it failed diags. The message "The board's Manchester encoder chip is not working correctly" is displayed.

Solution:
Boot the workstation with a different version of DOS to run diags.

Error: Busmaster Interface Chip Failed

Overview This is an error message from the EtherExpress 32 network adapter diagnostics. In some systems this error is confined to the diagnostics and the board will work fine when you load the driver. In other systems, the driver will load, but the system will not be able to communicate with the network. If possible, we recommend you resolve this problem before loading the driver.

Solution:
There are several possible causes and Solutions.

DOS 5.0 / DOS 6.x Problem The memory management for DOS 5.0 or 6.0 appears to cause a conflict with the Diagnostic software for the EtherExpress 32 adapter. You can correct this conflict by loading HIMEM.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file.

Not in a Bus Master Slot Not all EISA slots are bus mastering slots. Try another slot.

Chip Failure The 82586 is failing. Replace the board.

Error: Address Prom Has Incorrect Node Address

This error occurs when loading the driver. The most common cause is loading the wrong driver or the driver is in conflict with another driver.

Loading wrong driver Novell writes the NE3200 drivers that Intel includes on the EtherExpress 32 adapter disk. Novell's older versions of the NE3200 driver (below v3.15) do not work with the EtherExpress 32 card. These older versions of the driver check the EEPROM for a Novell ethernet node address. If they do not find Novell's node address, they return this

error. To correct the problem, load the NE3200 driver (v3.18) included on the EtherExpress 32 network adapter diskette. You should copy the driver to your C: partition and change the autoexec.ncf to load the driver from C:.

Conflict with another NLM Customers have reported that if they load Pserver before the EtherExpress 32 network adapter driver this error occurs. Loading the driver before loading Pserver corrects this problem.

Using EtherExpress 32 Network Adapters With Odi Workstations

Overview There are two problems that have been seen with the EtherExpress 32 cards and the ODI driver.

One of the problems is with the EtherExpress 32 network adapter DOS ODI driver and applications that use extended memory or memory managers (i.e. Microsoft Windows 3.x). Previous releases of this driver would not protect memory regions from the above mentioned applications. This could cause files that the EtherExpress 32 card stored in memory to be overwritten (corrupted) if an application wrote to that address space. The problem has been seen most often with shared Windows installations. The Symptom: is corrupted files. There have been instances of printing problems from Windows.

Another problem is that when using the EtherExpress 32 network adapter DOS ODI driver, a print job is sent to the print queue and it indicates that 65,000 copies of the print job are to be printed.

Solution:
There is an updated ODI driver, file E32NDISK.EXE. It contains NE3200.COM (dated 5/4/92), NET.CFG and README.TXT. The keyword DOUBLE BUFFER must be included in the NET.CFG with this version of the driver. This version of the driver defaults to an 802.2 frame type. If a different frame type is needed, a FRAME statement should be added in the NET.CFG file includes a sample NET.CFG for both of these cases. These are available through Intel's online services.

Example NET.CFG file:

LINK DRIVER NE3200 SLOT 5 DOUBLE BUFFER FRAME ETHERNET_802.3 PROTOCOL IPX 0 ETHERNET_802.3 PROTOCOL IPX BIND NE3200 Bind 1, if using IPXODI v2.x or later
We recommend that everyone using the EtherExpress 32 card in an ODI workstation use this (or later) ODI driver.

In a NET.CFG file, use a single space or tab for indents. The slot number should match the slot in the EISA configuration file. Make sure the NET.CFG file is located in the same directory as the driver and that

there is not a second NET.CFG in the root directory. For more information about creating and formatting a NET.CFG file, see your Novell NetWare* documentation.

Problems Logging In With An EtherExpress 32 Card In The Server

Product:
EtherExpress 32 LAN Adapter Other HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: NetWare* 3.11, NE3200.LAN v3.18

Symptom: Intermittent problems where users are not able to log in to the network if an EtherExpress 32 card is in a NetWare 3.11 server.

Description:

  • Transmit errors may cause the driver to hang. The packet receive buffer will continue to increase because packets are coming in, but the board will stop transmitting. These transmit packets will pile up in the queue. You may also see the communication buffers fill up.

  • Another busmaster card with more than one EtherExpress 32 card in the computer can cause problems. A "channel" conflict between the two busmaster cards may cause the EtherExpress 32 card to hang. One of the more common cards that can cause this problem is the Adaptec 1740 SCSI controller.
Solution:
The NE3200.LAN driver v3.24 fixes these problems. Order document 6325 for instruction on installing v3.24 of this driver.

E32DISK.EXE

This is a self extracting archive containing the current production diskette for the Intel EtherExpress 32. (disk p/n 304510-003)

The following software has changed from the previous production disk:

  • Added OS/2 ODI driver for NetWare workstations.
  • NetWare 3.11 server driver: Fixed a timeout problem with fast 80386 and 80486 based computers.
  • EISA configuration file: Now supports sharing interrupts.
  • NDIS OS/2 and DOS drivers: Added LAN Manager 2.1 support.

LDXPRS.EXE

LANDesk Express software v2.60.

Windows-based network management tool that lets you monitor any DOS or Windows workstation attached to a NetWare network, without leaving your desk.

FL32DIAG.EXE

Contains the diagnostics program for the EtherExpress Flash32 adapter (FL32DIAG.EXE).

FL32DISK.EXE

Abstract:

This is a self extracting archive containing the current production diskette for the Intel EtherExpress Flash 32 LAN adapter. (Software p/n 651916-001, SW Release 3.0) The software drivers on this disk are: Novell DOS ODI ver 4.07; Novell OS/2 ODI ver 4.01; Novell 4.x server ver 6.11; Novell 3.1X server ver 3.25; NDIS 2.0.1 DOS & OS/2 ver 7.11; Win NT 3.5 and WFW 3.11 ver 1.09.

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