3Com 3C905C Network Card

[Guest]

I've read all the posts and still haven't solved my problem. I have a Dell
Dimension 8100 PC with a 3Com 3C905C network card. That's what it says when I
went to the dell website and contacted them. All I see for cards are:

3Com 3C920 Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller (3C905C-TX Compatible)
3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI for Complete PC Management NIC (3C905C-TX)

I'm assuming I have the 2nd, but the first one should also work (since I see
now plain 3C905C option)

I have tried the dell driver (ZEDE5A11.exe) which a customer support rep
said it was Vista compatible (That didn't work.) I tried one from the 3Com
website (3c905c_4_41.exe) which someone who posted said that helped him.
(That didn't work,) and I also tried a driver from DriverGuide.com
(3Com_3c90x_NIC.exe) which said it WAS compatible with Vista x86 and that
didn't work. Anyone else having the same problems with this card?

Anyone solve this problem??

 

[Paula]

I had the same problem. That card will not work with Vista.
I had to run down to office supply store any buy a new card.
They are cheap enough. Get one.
I bought the LinkSys LNE 100TX works fine.
I installed the drivers off the CD through the update driver module in
device manager.
Paula

 

[Guest]

I also wanted to note that when I tried to install these drivers under device
manager, I got the following error message:

Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device
There was a problem installing htis hardware
3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI For Complete PC Management NIC (3C903C-TX)
This device cannot start. (Code 10)

I also get this for the 3C920 version which is supposed to be compatible

After I close this, the network adapter shows up in device manager under the
network adapter category, but it still doesn't work

When I ping in cmd prompt, I get: PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.

Hope this info helps someone solve this problem.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Right click the desktop, choose personalize. Click on Visual Appearance,
then on advanced. Change the dropdown to icon spacing and make changes to
your liking.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Guest]

3 Com cards just won't work PERIOD. I had a 3C980C in my rig. What I did was
went the route of adding a second hard drive and installing Vista to that for
a Dual Boot XP/Vista system. When I went to run Vista though, it wouldn't
install the card at all. So fortunately, I had an extra card, which was a
D-Link. Vista found that just fine!

So if anyone else plans on installing the BETA 2, just make sure you have a
compatible NIC card. I recommend D-Link, and stay away from 3COM.

I would hope that in future and final releases, Microsoft would add 3 Com
support to Vista.

 

[Paula]

The problem is there aren't any "VISTA" drivers for that card. You can
wait around and see if 3Com ever develops any but I doubt it since that card
is old.
Paula

 

[Guest]

Thanks. Got to staples 5 min before closing and it was the only one they had.

 

[Guest]

Microsoft doesn't write device drivers for products manufactured by other
companies. In this case, 3Com is at fault for not giving the software to
Microsoft.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Ignore that response, I grabbed the wrong message to reply to.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[RoadRunner]

Thats odd because my 3com connection is working with Vista , all I did was start the a new network wizard and pointed at my cd rom which I have a older driver for the previous windows , afterward I saw a option to choose 3com which I did , then afterwards I was connected , Then I went to microsoft update site using Vista and did a scan for updates which it show one for 3 com , I have no problems with 3com and Vista
Microsoft doesn't write device drivers for products manufactured by other
companies. In this case, 3Com is at fault for not giving the software to
Microsoft.

 

[Chad Harris]

Dear Mr. Spin--

The card ***absolutely does work in Vista*** and it has worked in every
build of Vista that MSFT has hatched. It seems that a lot of people jump
to conclusions a little too rapidly about drivers that won't work in Vista.

In fact, you certainly can install a driver for your 3Com on your Dell
Dimension 8100. I had no problem with a that driver in every Vista Build
until 5381--the one before public Beta 2 5384.4. My card driver didn't load
with the install of 5381, and it's always inconvenient when you need a
driver but can't surf the net to get it. I think that's a kind of dilemma.
Fortunately with a dual boot, you have an OS that can do that for you on the
box.

I got my driver that is working fine on Vista from here if I remember
correctly:

http://support.3com.com/infodeli/tools/nic/3c905.htm

***The self-extracting zip was titled 3c905c_4_41*** and you can probbaly
find it in scores of places. It works. I'm looking at it in I folder I
called Drivers on my Vista drive. It took a lot of serious deliberation to
come up with the folder name.

Again I'm seeing posts you can't do something, and you can and I did and it
works like a charm.

Good luck,

CH

 

[dotcom]

Yeah, I saw that driver and tried to install it. Didn't work. OK, maybe I
didn't try hard enough but after seeing the latest date on it (2001) I
thought to myself...do I really *want* to try and get something that old to
install? Bought a new NIC...everything is fine.
dotcom

 

[Chad Harris]

Mr. Dotcom--

"Do I really want to get something that old to install"?

Too funny. I understand the yuppinista/buppinista focus particularly of
people in my country the US that old is bad--new is good. It's all about
the latest gadget right? If it's "old" it's no good. I see it a little bit
differently. It's commendable to keep up with all that is cutting edge, but
it's also essential to know what you can and can't make work. The attitude
that this NIC card won't work in Vista has a two word description--"TOTALLY
FALSE."


But talk about scientifically completely unsound. My NIC card works
perfectly on Vista. I don't see any reason to change it when I have a dozen
priorities to buy over a NIC card whether they are "cheap or not." It went
like this for me. On every box for every build of Vista since the original
one, I didn't have a NIC card problem until 5381 and when it didn't load it
simply occured to me to get a driver. Using a dual boot made it very easy
to do this--and I installed the driver and it works perfectly on Vista.
There are no iffs ands or butts about it and all these posts that 1) the
3COM driver doesn't work on Vista are j ust crazy. I have Vista smoking on
my box--and it works fine. What doesn't work fine are the multiple features
that MSFT seems to have a complete tin ear about and plans to ship broken.

1) System Restore based on VSS--it doesn't manufacture restore points and
the Restore Team doesn't seem to care about this. Chris Jones has told them
he wants it out the door whatever gets slapped together and ships. When
someone goes to XP it wipes out Restore points on their Vista boot. That is
nothing less than unacceptable and it never should have been comported that
way by seasoned developers and highly paid product managers at Redmond MSFT.
PERIOD. It needs to be fixed yesterday and they are doing nothing about it.
Further they have so much condescension for the public Vista was released
Beta 2 to the public as a marketing ploy--they don't give a damn that there
is no system restore or Windows RE documentation anywhere on a Technet,
MSDN, or http://www.microsoft.com site. Show me where there is.

2) Right now I see over 10 if not 20 or 30 posts that Vista is trashed when
Windows RE if the user had a DVD could fix that Vista box. Why isn't
Windows RE mentioned? Because the Windows RE team hasn't gotten off their
butts in 10 months to supply the public or the Beta testers for that matter
any significant comprehensive information on the Windows RE feature, but
MSFT's bookstore site will sell you 10 books on Vista which do. All you
need is some money. Money is a language that MSFT understands well with
respect to Vista support and information--pay them for the books and you'll
get a little more information.

http://www.microsoftbookstore.com/Store.aspx?ain=Default Give us your
money--We're MSFT!!!!!!

Good luck,

CH
_____

 

[Chad Harris]

Paula you keep posting fiction in here. I've used the drivers for that 3
Com card since Vista hatched beta builds, and I am using the same driver in
the current build and it works perfectly. There is no fictional "waiting"
that you invoke.

There are "Vista" drivers for the card and the same driver I used in XP
works in Vista. One trick to getting in the driver is that when you run the
Hardware Wizard to install the driver whether you run it from a right click
at Dev Mgmt or the Hardware Wizard that you tell it you will pick the
location and browse to where you have downloaded the driver. I'm on Vista,
and the driver works and that makes it lol a Vista driver. A driver that
works on Vista is a Vista driver pure and simple. I don't care when it was
released. I don't know what else this NIC card is supposed to do? Make
coffee?: Walk the dog? It works fine on XP and it works fine on Vista. It
did not boot up in Vista 5381 for some reason, so I installed it. It works
on 5384.4 and in RC1 it will either boot up when I set it up, or I'll
install it.

This "I doubt since the card is old" is about as bright as saying a heart is
30 years old so it won't pump with a normal EKG but it did at age 20."
Science ain't your thing is it Paula? A few years doesn't mean jack squat
as to whether a driver will work on Vista. So far you have said two drivers
don't work Paula based on your premonitions that in fact do work.

CH

 

[Chad Harris]

They just do Work 'PERIOD" in every build of Vista lol unless I'm imagining
surfing the net. I can give you a few imaginary links on the range Cowboy.
A number of people just don't know alternative ways to install a driver
PERIOD is what it amounts to and I've tried to post the way to get them in
when Vista balks.

CH

 

[Mike]

The problem is there aren't any "VISTA" drivers for that card. You can
wait around and see if 3Com ever develops any but I doubt it since that
card is old.

I have a 3C905B-TX. Unless the "B" is vastly different from the "C", the
XP driver works fine.

Mike