Token Ring Cards and Local Addressing with WFWG (93039)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11

This article was previously published under Q93039

SUMMARY

Some token ring network interface cards (NICs) can use a "local addressing" feature with Windows for Workgroups. This feature allows the network card's internal network address to be bypassed and defined manually.

MORE INFORMATION

The local address is defined by placing the following line in the network card section of the PROTOCOL.INI file:
   [MS$IBMTR1]            (Using the IBM Token Ring card)
   Netaddress="<value>"   (The quotation marks are required)
				
The value for the Netaddress= setting must be stated as a series of 12 hexadecimal digits within quotation marks, with no spaces separating the digits. There is no default for the Netaddress= setting.

The address must be within the range 400000000000 through 40007FFFFFFF; however, for strict IBM compatibility, use only decimal digits (0-9), as in "400001020304."

Incorrectly Entered Netaddress Values

If the Netaddress= value is incorrectly entered (without quotation marks, for example), one of the following error messages may be displayed during startup:

While loading PROTMAN.DOS:
PRO0006E: Integer overflow in PROTOCOL.INI parameter Unable to open Protocol Manager
While loading the netcard driver:
MAC0001: Initialization Failure Press any key to continue...
While executing NET USE in AUTOEXEC.BAT:
Error 3653: The protocol manager could not be found.
To correct these errors, verify that there are 12 digits, that they are within quotation marks, and that there are no spaces between entries.

Computers Using the Same Netaddress

You may also experience one of the following problems if there are duplicate computers on the network using the same Netaddress= value:

  • Computers cannot connect to the network. (This problem occurs when the first computer to enter the ring causes another machine that is attempting to use the same Netaddress= value to fail.)
  • Lost connection to the ring when starting Windows for Workgroups or starting the real mode redirector.
  • Inability to browse or connect to other computers within Windows for Workgroups.
No error messages are displayed if you start a machine that is attempting to use a network address that is already in use, but network access problems, as described above, do occur.

To troubleshoot a possible network address conflict, remove the Netaddress= line in the PROTOCOL.INI by placing a semicolon at the beginning of that line. If problems persist, there is may be some other conflict, such as IRQ, I/O address, or device driver.

The following token ring network cards support local addressing with Windows for Workgroups:
   Netcard                   Driver
   --------------------------------------

   ProNET-4/16 (P1892)       NDIS89XR.DOS
   3Com TokenLink            TLNK.DOS
   IBM Token-Ring Adpater    IBMTOK.DOS
   IBM Token-Ring II         IBMTOK.DOS
   IBM Token-Ring A          IBMTOK.DOS
   IBM Token-Ring 16/4       IBMTOK.DOS
   IBM Token-Ring 16/4 A     IBMTOK.DOS
				

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/13/2003
Keywords:KB93039