User guide

11
Note: The Link LED on the NIC should be lit green when there is link.
Possible causes of a “Link, but no
usable network connection”
problem...
Solutions…
1. The NIC drivers may not be
properly installed.
Note: There will be “Link, but no usable network connection” only when
the Link LED is lit and the Link test is a PASS.
• First ensure that the operating system you are using Windows 98/
ME/2000.
• Install the NIC drivers per the installation instructions of this User
Guide.
• Run the 3M NIC Diagnostics.
• Execute the Network test (two PCs are needed)
• If the two NICs can both send and receive frames on this low
level, it is evident that a higher-level configuration problem is
probably preventing the network connection.
2. The network settings may not be
properly configured.
• Review your network settings to ensure that they are properly
configured. Also ensure that the network address and computer name
are unique to the LAN.
Possible causes of a “Link and
network connection, but poor
performance” problem...
Solutions…
1. There may be a duplex mismatch. • Ensure that the duplex setting on the NIC and the duplex setting on the
NIC’s link partner (hub, switch, etc.) are the same. A duplex mismatch
will result in a faulty network connection and poor performance.
2. There may be cabling issues. • Badly terminated and damaged cables can cause severe network
performance.
3. Dust particles on fiber optic
networking equipment.
• Dust particles located on the VF-45
TM
ports of switches and media
converters, and also on the VF-45
TM
plugs of patch cords, can prevent
light from passing through. This can result in a poor performance
problem. Dust particles can be safely removed from these sensitive
areas by using “HFE-Based Cleaning Fluid” (VOL-0570A), another
3M product.
4. Network congestion and bottle
necking
• Network congestion and bottlenecking can definitely result in poor
network performance.
• More switches and routers may be needed on the network to
resolve this problem
5. Mis-configured or over-burdened
network server
• A mis-configured or over-burdened network server can also cause
performance issues on a network
6. Using IPX/SPX as the primary
protocol
• Ensure that IPX/SPX is not the primary protocol being used on a
Windows 98/ME/2K server.
Note: The IPX/SPX throughput of the NDIS5 driver for the
VOL-N100VF+TX NIC is comparable to that of NDIS5 drivers for other
NICs. Throughput is typically about 33% less than when using the TCP/
IP protocol.