3com fast etherlink xl pci 10-100base-tx Manual De Usuario

about the 3C905B-TX NIC.

Table 4-2   Frequently Asked Questions 

Which PCI slot is best for my 
PCI NIC?

3Com PCI NICs are designed to work in any bus 
mastering PCI slot, preferably slot 1. Avoid any 
PCI slot next to an ISA slot. This is often a shared 
slot and does not support bus mastering.The 
NICs perform best in those slots that support bus 
mastering data transfers. Refer to your PC 
manual for information on which slots support 
bus mastering data transfers. 

Do I have to configure the 
3C905B-TX NIC?

PCI is a self-configuring bus architecture. Most of 
the time you only need to install the board in your 
PC; PCI does the rest. However, on some PCI 
computers, you may be required to configure the 
computer’s BIOS manually after installing your PCI 
NIC. Refer to the owner’s guide for your PC.

What interrupts should I avoid?

You should avoid using any interrupts used by 
ISA/EISA boards that do not properly support 
shared interrupts (level-triggered). 

If you do not know or are unsure whether other 
devices or adapters in your PC support shared 
interrupts, then avoid using them. 

Avoid using the same interrupt as your local hard 
drive (normally IRQ 14 for IDE drives and IRQ 11 
for most SCSI host adapters), since not all hard 
drives support shared interrupts at this time. 

Avoid using 9 because it cascades with 2.

For Novell NetWare servers, avoid using IRQ 7 or 
15. These IRQs only support nonshared devices 
and may cause problems if they are shared 
between two devices. 

Are my Fast EtherLink XL network 
drivers Microsoft-certified? 

Yes, the Fast EtherLink XL network drivers are 
Microsoft-certified. 

Are my Fast EtherLink XL Bus 
Master ODI drivers 
Novell-certified? 

Yes, the Fast EtherLink XL ODI drivers are 
Novell-certified. 

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