PCMCIA Adapter Trouble-Shooting

Here are some suggestions if you are having trouble getting Invisible Ethernet PCMCIA adapters to work with the DOS and Windows 3.X version of Invisible LAN.

PCMCIA Installation Notes

There are different PCMCIA support programs, please consult your notebook's user manual.

If you are using a memory manager, the Invisible Ethernet PCMCIA card uses 20K Memory space (a 16K block that defaults to D400H, and a 4K block at C800H). Be sure to exclude these regions from your memory manager (for example,. X=C800-C8FF X=D400-D7FF). Then, run CARDGO (optionally, with parameters) to enable the PCMCIA card.

Note: You must run CARDGO before running the NET30 command.

Testing the Adapter

One thing to try (just to make sure the PCMCIA Adapter works):

1. RENAME CONFIG.SYS C or Press F5 at loading time with MSDOS 5 or 6 (this prevents any device drivers from loading).
2. Run CARDGO (with parameters, if needed) to enable the PCMCIA card.
3. Run NETDIAG and specify NE2000 as the network hardware type.

If the above 3 steps are successful, then the PCMCIA Ethernet is working on InvisibleLAN.

Hardware Configuration

Some built-in Sound chips use interrupt 5, which is the normal default for the PCMCIA Ethernet card. If you have a built-in Sound chip, then we recommend /INT=11 for IRQ 11 to be included in your parameter string.

The most common compatibility issues and solutions that you may encounter are:

1. When starting InvisibleLAN, if the software stops at:
   
       Invisible Ethernet
   
   Check the following:
    
   • Make sure that you've selected the correct Network Hardware Type: NE2000.
      
   • Make sure that the Invisible Ethernet PCMCIA (for coaxial) has a T-connector and cable(s) connected to it, and that the cable system is terminated. OR (for twisted-pair) make sure that the cable is connected between the adapter and the hub.
      
2. Selecting the interrupt line.
   
   The default interrupt line is IRQ 5, which is commonly used for LPT2. In case of IRQ conflict ,try another IRQ:
   
   Use the parameter /INT=, that is, CARDGO /INT=[2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, or 15].
    
3. Selecting base I/0 port.
   
   The default base I/O address is 300H. In case of an I/O conflict, try another I/O base. Please note: if you are using LPT1, do not use 360H.
   
   Use the parameter /PORT=, that is, CARDGO /PORT=[300, 320, 340, or 360].

Running NETDIAG

You may run NETDIAG from your NET30 sub-directory. When asked to select the network hardware type, please select: NE2000 (most 16-bit Ethernet)

If NETDIAG runs successfully, then you will see a chart with all the other stations that have been correctly installed.

Notices: Copyright 1996 by Invisible Software, Inc. Invisible Software and InvisibleLAN are trademarks of Invisible Software, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

This document was prepared on 02/23/96, and was believed to be accurate as of that date. Procedures, specifications, and compatibility may change without notice, and therefore this document may be out-of-date and/or inapplicable to current product versions. Invisible Software provides this document "AS IS" and without warranty of any kind. Under no circumstances shall this document be construed as creating or expanding any warranty of product performance.

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