Extremely odd problem

Windows 98 SE recognizes that I have an ethernet card in
the device manager and the network properties, and TCP/IP
is installed for it. Windows seems happy with it and
claims it's working correctly (no conflicts or anything
like that). However, winipcfg doesn't show an entry for my
ethernet card (REPOTEC 1624W), but instead shows me "NDIS
4.0 driver", which to my knowledge doesn't exist anywhere
else on the computer. The settings it lists for it are
also nothing like the set-up it should have for my ethernet
card, so I don't think it's a name confusion issue. I'm
guessing that the reason the computer refuses to use the
card to connect to the network is the same as the reason it
won't show up in the winipcfg utility. Why wouldn't my
ethernet card show up in winipcfg, and how can I make it do so?

Thanks,
TRL

In article <05a301c3cf3a$87779600$(E-Mail Removed)>, "TRL"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>Windows 98 SE recognizes that I have an ethernet card in
>the device manager and the network properties, and TCP/IP
>is installed for it. Windows seems happy with it and
>claims it's working correctly (no conflicts or anything
>like that). However, winipcfg doesn't show an entry for my
>ethernet card (REPOTEC 1624W), but instead shows me "NDIS
>4.0 driver", which to my knowledge doesn't exist anywhere
>else on the computer. The settings it lists for it are
>also nothing like the set-up it should have for my ethernet
>card, so I don't think it's a name confusion issue. I'm
>guessing that the reason the computer refuses to use the
>card to connect to the network is the same as the reason it
>won't show up in the winipcfg utility. Why wouldn't my
>ethernet card show up in winipcfg, and how can I make it do so?
>
> Thanks,
> TRL

It's not unusual for Winipcfg to show a different name for an Ethernet
card than what you see in Device Manager and network properties. For
example, one of my computers shows "NDIS 5.0 driver" for a Realtek
RTL8139A card, and the card works fine. "NDIS 4.0 driver" is a
generic driver for cards that comply with the Network Driver Interface
Specification (Version 4), which was created by 3Com and Microsoft.

What are the settings that Winipcfg shows? What are the settings that
you expect to see?

It might help to un-install and re-install the Ethernet card. It
might help to install the latest driver for your the card, which you
can download from www.repotec.com
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

Thanks!

The driver download seems to have solved part of my
problem, and winipcfg believes my ethernet card exists now.
The only trouble I've got left is that it's looking for my
DHCP server at "255.255.255.255", when I want it to look
for it at "192.168.0.1". Any idea how I can persuade it to
look there?

Thanks,
TRL


>It's not unusual for Winipcfg to show a different name for
an Ethernet
>card than what you see in Device Manager and network
properties. For
>example, one of my computers shows "NDIS 5.0 driver" for a
Realtek
>RTL8139A card, and the card works fine. "NDIS 4.0 driver"
is a
>generic driver for cards that comply with the Network
Driver Interface
>Specification (Version 4), which was created by 3Com and
Microsoft.
>
>What are the settings that Winipcfg shows? What are the
settings that
>you expect to see?
>
>It might help to un-install and re-install the Ethernet
card. It
>might help to install the latest driver for your the card,
which you
>can download from www.repotec.com
>--
>Best Wishes,
>Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)
>
>Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
>for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
>addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.
>
>Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
>http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
>
>Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
>http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm
>.
>

In article <07a301c3cf6b$878b00b0$(E-Mail Removed)>,
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>Thanks!
>
> The driver download seems to have solved part of my
>problem, and winipcfg believes my ethernet card exists now.
> The only trouble I've got left is that it's looking for my
>DHCP server at "255.255.255.255", when I want it to look
>for it at "192.168.0.1". Any idea how I can persuade it to
>look there?
>
> Thanks,
> TRL

It isn't possible to specify where to look for a DHCP server. By
definition, a DHCP client doesn't have an IP address and doesn't know
what IP addresses are available on a network. A DHCP client can only
broadcast a "DHCP Discover" message on the network and wait for any
DHCP server to reply.

255.255.255.255 is an invalid IP address, and a DHCP server address of
255.255.255.255 means that your computer failed to communicate with an
actual DHCP server. If the network card shows an "IP
Autoconfiguration Address" in the range 169.254.0.0 to
169.254.255.255, that's another sign of the failure.

In that case, the problem could be with the network card hardware,
driver program, cabling, hub or switch port, etc. It might help to
explicitly configure the network card's speed and duplex settings to
be compatible with the network.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm