Date: Mon, 17 Nov 97 06:06:30 -0900
From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com>
Subject: Tidbit - A Win95 Ethernet Daymare

Keyword: Advocacy, Windows Daymares

This tidbit is from:

Jerry Kindall

As a Web developer I often find it useful to look at my Web pages on a 
Windows machine. I also thought it might be nice to be able to run the 
occasional DOS game or other application, and I contemplated doing a 
little Linux hacking. These were all the reasons I decided to buy a used 
Gateway 2000 486 DX2/50 a couple years ago. Later I put more RAM in the 
machine and replaced the sluggish 486 chip with an Evergreen 586/133 
upgrade. I also installed an Ethernet card and bought Miramar's PC MacLan 
Connect so I could easily share files between the PC and the Mac. I got a 
second video card for my Power Macintosh 7500 so the PC's monitor could 
do double-duty as a second monitor for my Mac (thanks to a switchbox).

OK, the PC hardware I have is not exactly state of the art these days, 
but it suits my needs well enough for the things I occasionally use it 
for. And I'd never really had a serious problem with the machine. Sure, 
when I installed my ISA Ethernet card, the Win95 Plug-and-Play feature 
selected the wrong IRQ, but that was easily corrected. Plug-and-play 
ALMOST worked and I was pretty darned impressed that Microsoft came so 
close.

But now I'm making a cross-town move into an area that offers high-speed 
Internet access over the cable TV network. The system they use is one-way 
(inbound data only via cable, return path is via modem). MediaOne, the 
cable operator, uses the General Instruments SurfBoard for their service. 
The SurfBoard is an ISA card which connects to the cable TV outlet. With 
a download of WinGate, a free proxy server for Win95, I figured I'd be 
all set to surf the net from my Mac. (OK, there'd be a few problems with 
Timbuktu and some other services I use that don't work very well from 
behind a firewall. Still, I figured the raw speed would more than make up 
for this inconvenience, and MediaOne will have true cross-platform 
two-way service early next year anyway.)

Problem #1. The SurfBoard is, as I mentioned, an ISA card. My PC has 
three ISA slots and two PCI slots. Two of the ISA slots are occupied 
(Sound Blaster and Ethernet card). The third is blocked by the heat sink 
on the Evergreen CPU ugrade. Solution: Order PCI Ethernet card from 
Datacomm Mall ($28.99). I decide it would be a good idea to install the 
new Ethernet card and make sure it works before I move, so if I have 
problems with the SurfBoard I will be able to confidently place the blame 
squarely where it belongs. Hardware and driver installation are 
relatively painless. Windows detects that the new card is there, prompts 
me to insert the disk, installs the drivers, and restarts. (However, I 
have to remove the drivers for the old card manually.)

Problem #2. Installing the PCI Ethernet card (removing the ISA card) 
causes PC MacLan Connect to stop working. (It complains that the network 
protocol is not correctly installed and that I should go to the Network 
control panel and re-install them.) Solution: Go to the Network control 
panel and re-add (and re-configure) the MacLan drivers, following the 
instructions in the MacLan help. Reboot.

Problem #3. It still doesn't work. Same error message, in fact. Upon 
visiting the Network control panel I see that the MacLan drivers I just 
added have disappeared. Solution: Re-add them. Reboot. Repeat twice more 
until I figure out it's not going to work.

Problem #4. OK. Perhaps there is actually something wrong with the 
Ethernet hardware. Start up the diagnostics from the floppy disk that 
came with the card. Aha, it fails the IRQ test. OK, I see the PCI bus has 
assigned this card IRQ #11. Solution: Reconfigure the PC's BIOS so it 
thinks IRQ #11 is used by an ISA card; reboot. Now it uses IRQ #9.

Problem #5. Still the same problem with MacLan. Still the same problem 
with the Ethernet diagnostics (it fails the IRQ test). However, it dawns 
on me to try pinging my Mac. This works. Obviously the diagnostics are 
wrong (I later determine that they want to be run from DOS-only mode, not 
from a DOS window in Win95 -- the card's own Windows driver interferes 
with the diagnostics). So I have determined that the Ethernet hardware is 
functional, the TCP/IP protocol works fine, it's just MacLan that doesn't 
work. Solution: Re-install PC MacLan Connect.

Problem #6. The PC MacLan Connect installer tells me that if I want to 
re-install MacLan, I must first de-install the MacLan drivers using the 
Network control panel. It asks me if I want to do this. Solution: I say 
Yes. The program kindly opens the Network control panel for me.

Problem #7. The drivers I am being asked to delete are not listed. This 
is not a huge surprise since that was Problem #3. Solution: Follow the 
instructions as best I'm able and reboot anyway, then re-launch the PC 
MacLan Connect installer once again.

Problem #8. I get the same message and choice as in #6. Solution: This 
time, I answer No.

Problem #9. The PC MacLan Connect installer quits. Solution: Re-launch it.

Problem #10. Same error, same choice. Saying Yes opens the Network 
control panel where I am asked to remove drivers which are not listed. 
Saying No quits. It seems that I am caught upon the horns of a dilemma. 
Solution: Eventually I hit upon the idea of adding the drivers that don't 
exist, then removing them immediately without rebooting. After removing 
the drivers, I reboot. Finally the MacLan installer deigns to allow me to 
install. To be completely safe I decide to uninstall first, then 
re-install. During the Uninstall process it tells me it couldn't delete 
the MacLan folder, but everything else seems to work. I launch the 
installer again to do a fresh install.

Problem #11: Now it wants my serial number. I have one, of course, but 
I'm in the middle of a move and it's probably in a box somewhere, 
possibly at the other house. Solution: Er, well, I hate to admit it, but 
I use someone else's for now. (Sorry, Miramar. I did buy a copy, really.) 
Installation completes and I restart.

GLORY BE! IT WORKS! AT LAST! Of course, I have to re-set-up the MacLan 
AppleShare server but that's not a big deal since I was basically the 
only user.

Anyway... I'm so glad Windows has Plug-and-Play to make my life easier! 
Every computer should have this technology. NOT!