User Guide

NIC: Dell^™ Dimension^™ Vxxx and Vxxxc Systems

NIC Drivers for Microsoft� Windows� 98 | NIC Drivers for Microsoft Windows NT� 4.0 | Dell NIC Diagnostics | Intel� EtherExpress™ Pro/100B Technical Information

NIC Drivers for Microsoft^� Windows^� 98

To reinstall the network interface controller (NIC) drivers for the Windows 98 operating system, follow these steps:

1. Start the Windows 98 operating system.
2. If you have not already done so, make a diskette copy of the network drivers by clicking Dell DiskMaker in the Dell Accessories folder.

NOTE: The Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 NIC drivers are also available from the File Library on the Dell Web site.

3. Right-click the Network Neighborhood icon on your Windows desktop and click Properties.
4. Highlight Intel Etherexpress PRO Adapter in the Network window.
5. Click Remove.
6. Click OK.
7. Reboot the computer.
8. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
9. Double-click the System icon.
10. Click the Device Manager tab.
11. Highlight the Network Adapters icon.
12. Click Properties.
13. Insert the Intel Network Interface Controller Driver for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 diskette in drive A.
14. Click Update.
    Windows 98 automatically searches drive A first.
15. Highlight Intel 8255x-based PCI Ethernet and click OK.
16. Click Next twice.
17. Click Finish.
18. Click Close twice.
19. Remove the diskette from drive A, and reboot the computer.

NIC Drivers for Microsoft^� Windows NT^� 4.0

To reinstall the NIC drivers for Windows NT 4.0, follow these steps.

NOTE: Microsoft Service Pack 3 was installed at Dell and is operative when you receive the system. If you removed Microsoft Service Pack 3, be sure to reinstall it before reinstalling the NIC drivers. Microsoft Service Pack 3 is available at http://www.microsoft.com.

1. Start the Windows NT operating system.
2. If you have not already done so, make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers by clicking Dell DiskMaker in the Dell Accessories folder.

NOTE: The Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 NIC drivers are also available from the File Library on the Dell Web site.

3. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
4. Double-click the Network icon.
5. Click the Adapter tab.
6. Click Add.
7. Insert the Intel Network Interface Controller Driver for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 diskette in drive A.
8. Click Have Disk in the Select Network Adapter window.
9. Highlight Intel Etherexpress PRO Adapter on drive A and click OK.
10. Click Close.
11. Remove the diskette from drive A, and reboot the computer.

Dell NIC Diagnostics

To run the Dell NIC diagnostics, perform the following steps.

1. Clean boot the system by restarting the system and pressing <F8> when the operating system is loading, and then select Command prompt only in the Windows Startup Menu.
2. Insert the Intel Network Interface Controller Driver for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 diskette into the diskette drive.
3. Type a:/setup.

NOTE: The 8-26 NIC driver from the Dell Web site causes an error screen to appear. Press <Enter> to continue.

4. The Main menu screen appears after the diagnostics program loads.

5. Select Automatic setup in the Main menu.
   Automatic setup allows you to view the NIC's configuration, test the NIC, and install NIC drivers. For diagnostic purposes, be sure to note the NIC's network speed and the duplex settings that are displayed on the screen during the tests.
6. When Automatic setup performs the responder test, the following screen appears. Select Return to previous menu to continue.

7. When prompted to install NIC drivers, press <Esc>. The Main menu screen reappears.
8. Select View adapter configuration. The View adapter configuration screen appears.
   The View adapter configuration screens allows you to view the NIC's Duplex, Network speed, and other settings.

9. Press <F5>. The Advanced PCI Configuration screen appears.
   This screen allows you to view the NIC's PCI configuration settings.

10. Press <Esc> until the Main menu screen appears.
11. The Install network drivers option in the Main menu does not install the network drivers. Install the NIC's network drivers directly from the operating system as explained in NIC Drivers for Microsoft Windows 98 and NIC Drivers for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.
12. Select Test adapter in the Main menu screen. The Main menu Test adapter screen appears. This screen provides five different diagnostics options. The tests are explained in the following paragraphs.

• Test adapter — The Test adapter option tests the NIC's hardware at both 10 megabits per second (Mbps) and at 100 Mbps.
• Display diagnostic log — The Display diagnostic log enables you to view precise failures during the diagnostics tests. If the diagnostic log has been disabled, an error message with instructions on how to enable it appears.
• Change test options — This option allows you to change different test options. It is recommended to view the options before running the other Test adapter options and make changes, if required. The Change test options are listed below in the following table:

• Set up as responder — This option sets up the system to return packets that are transmitted by another Intel NIC. Always set up a responder before running an echo server test.
• Continuous Network test — This option determines the media type, network speed, tests for a network responder, and tests for network activity. This option is useful for testing for intermittent network problems. This test continues to run until it is terminated by pressing <Esc>.

Intel^� EtherExpress™ Pro/100B Technical Information

Refer to Intel EtherExpress Pro/100B Technical Information on the Dell Web site for more information about the NIC.