NIC Card Driver problem

Hi,
I am trying to Install DSL into a Windows 98se computer that did not have NIC Card...Purchased one (MachTech card), PCI Ethernet 10/100...Installed the card and even though the computer recognizes the card, in Device Manager it shows up under "other devices" instead of under "Network Adapters "...When I put the CD that came with it, it starts to run but then stops...I went to start/run box and typed in D:/Setup.exe and same problem...Followed that up with going to the Control Panel, clicked on New Hardware and same problem...Removed the NIC Card from Device Manager/other devices, rebooted, same problem...Physically removed the card and placed it into another PCI slot and same problem...I am at wits end, as all the above info is all I am aware of to do...It's a possibility the card could be defective but if it's showing under other devices, I am not so sure that is an indication it's defective...What puzzles me is when I go to "My Computer" to click on the "D-Drive" it's there but as soon as I click on it, it displays "syskonnect" and takes me thru setup directory...This all seems to be out of the ordinary...Not sure if because this card is a "MachTech" instead of a "Linksys" that is also an issue or not..Your help will be appreciated...

 

Update...

On the advice of a computer technician, I removed the NIC Card physically from the computer and tried downloading the Drivers off the CD that came with it...With or without the card in place,that option did not work either.So our next choice is to try and see if there are newer drivers and download them to a CD...Will post back with those results but in the mean time I will still appreciate any and all assistance.

 

Final Update:

Downloading the latest drivers to a seperate CD did not work... Tried using the USB to Install DSL and that did not work either...So we have determined that this computer has other issues and will be giving it's last rights soon...

Note; The TechMate NIC Card has a slightly different gold bottom to it,
instead of one short end and a long one like the Linksys card has, it
has two short ends with the long stretch in between...I believe this
was an issue as well...But because it still fit into the PCI slot, I tried
it anyways...

 

Hi,

Sorry to hear you haven't had much luck.

About the only thing I can suggest is to boot into Safe Mode. Go to Add/Remove programs and remove anything that may be related to network cards. Go to Device Manager and highlight and remove any NICs listed there.

Shutdown and remove the card. Boot into normal Windows and try running the driver installation program again. I would not put the card back in until the driver program has installed successfully.

I think it may be a resource problem. Do you have any ISA cards installed? These are resource hogs and maybe causing problems with other hardware.

If you get to a stage where the problems are at your limit, backup your data and reformat. When you get to a working desktop after installing Windows, install the motherboard/chipset drivers, then the graphics drivers, then your other hardware drivers. See if the card will install then.

Matt

 

Hi,
Thanks for the info but we might be a tab bit too late now...In my many attempts to install the NIC card, under other devices in device manager, you would see PCI Ethernet Controller...Nothing listed in Network Adapters...In one of my attempts, it said Unsupported device instead of PCI Ethernet Controller...As I mentioned the design of the NIC Card did not look like Linksys card does and I'm just not so sure if we should proceed with it anymore...My other concern is I can not get the DSL installation to work off the USB connection, and that makes me wonder if this computer is worth the time and effort...I actually considered trying to upgrade it and see what happens ??? Anyways, on my last attempt the PCI Ethernet Controller is not even showng up under Other Devices now and I'm no further ahead now than I was when I started...At this point we have thrown in the white flag...

 

I understand your frustration.

It will call the card an "Ethernet Controller" until it gets the correct drivers installed and can communicate with it. Windows will then be able to identify that it is a "Network Adapter ". I have just been trying to install one myself. It was showing as an Ethernet Controller. I downloaded and installed the drivers that were supposed to be correct, no luck. I found out the chipset type and discovered drivers for those. It is now listed as a Network Adapter (with the chipset type).
Look at the largest chip on the card. Put the name and number into a Google search (or you could post it back here).

I could not find information on MachTech as being an "Ethernet" manufacturer, only as being a computer system manufacturer. You also mention TechMate, that seems to be a used computer parts company.
Syskonnect seems to be a German Ethernet component manufacturer (they list only Win 95 drivers for their 10/100 cards, although these should work in 98). Could it be that you have the wrong driver installation CD.

I said to go to Safe Mode because even though you don't see hardware listed in Device Manager in "normal" Windows, you may well find lots of old hardware listed under Device Manager in Safe Mode. These can and do cause problems. This may also be the reason why you are seeing the card being listed "Unknown Device" now and no longer "Ethernet Controller ". Have a quick look at what Jan found in Safe Mode Device Manager:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=49509
If you find a long list of Ethernet Controllers in Safe Mode Device Manager, highlight and Remove them all. There would be no point to putting the card into the computer unless you have drivers that are likely to work.

All hardware devices/drivers are dependent on the motherboard/chipset drivers. Windows will install and run using a basic set of drivers from the Win 98 CD. You need to have the manufacturer's specific drivers installed to be certain that the hardware is functioning correctly. When I set up this computer several years ago, the USB did not work even though I had installed all the drivers off the motherboard CD. I found the correct/updated drivers at the chipset manufacturer's website.
If you are confident that the best motherboard/chipset drivers are installed, highlight and Remove anything listed under USB Controllers in Safe Mode. They should be automatically reinstalled when you reboot. After that, if the USB Controllers are not listed with the chipset name (ie Intel, VIA, SIS, etc) then they do not have the correct drivers installed.

I find it a challenge to identify all the parts, find the correct drivers and get them all working. If you don't have original drivers that came with the computer/devices, it can turn into a Sherlock Holmes saga. Fun for me, maybe not for you.

Anyway, this may help you in the future.

Matt

 

Hi,
Thank you for all that, it's always a pleasure to learn more steps to what seems like there are no more options...I had the computer place I purchased the NIC Card from download the latest and what I was told the proper drivers for the card to a CD...With or without the CD that came with the card, and with or without the new CD that the updated drivers were loaded onto did not make a difference...I am going to peek at what you suggested but I never liked the NIC Card from the start and will be purchasing the one I am familiar with...I will post back the end results of everything in a day or two...
As always, I appreciate any and all info and can not thank everyone enough.

 

Update...

I went with a gut feeling that maybe the CD Rom was not working and maybe that was why things were not loading (Drivers)...I replaced the CD-Rom with a second hand one and it still would not work, so I then replaced the CD-Rom cable and wah-lah it worked...The only CD to do an upgrade was a Windows/Me CD and I upgraded the computer...This weekend I will try to install the Linksys NIC Card and see what happens (I expect good results)...When I get that done, I will post back here...

 

Ahhh Dr Watson, I suspected the CD cables all along!

Well spotted!

Don't miss out on checking in Device Manager in Safe Mode. You may need to clear out the "cobwebs ", they could cause problems trying to install the new drivers.

Here's luck.
Matt

 

Hi,
In the Device Manager I noticed an exclamation mark by the CD-Rom...So I was contemplating putting the old CD-Rom back with the new cable and see if that worked and removes the exclamation mark...Thanks for that tid-bit but how I came across that was I went in there just to see what was listed under Network Adapters and spotted the problem right after...

 

The exclamation mark is probably due to the when the computer was unable to communicate with the CD drive. It should be just a matter of highlighting and Removing that listing. When you reboot Windows should automatically install the correct drivers.

If the exclamation mark comes back, shutdown and disconnect the cables to drive, boot into Safe Mode, remove all the listings under CDrom drives, (I might boot into normal Windows at this stage) shutdown and reconnect the cables.

If it still comes back I would suspect the IDE controller. Remove the IDE Controller under Hard Disk Drive Controllers. If it still comes back, I would reinstall the motherboard/chipset drivers and check for updated versions.

Matt

 

Hi,
I just installed the New NIC Card "Dynex "...All went very well...The device manager is showing the card listed under Network Adapters "FINALLY "...
I then followed your directions regarding the CD-Rom, highlighted it, clicked remove, rebooted the computer and the exclamation mark is gone...Once again I thank you for your assistance...I now will bring it to my friends house and downlaod DSL for him...

 

Good to hear!

Thanks for letting us know how it all happened and worked out.

Matt