Ardent Tool of Capitalism

Intel EtherExpress MC
Olicom EtherCom MC (OC-2132)

@628B.ADF Intel EtherExpress MC Network Adapter
@628B.ADF EtherCom MC Adapter
   Olicom's version. Different name, different text, different "Connector Type" choice order

Intel_EtherExpress_Disk Copy of Driver and Option Diskette, release 2.0
E16RPL.EXE RPL Image Update from 802.3 to 802.2 (BETA version)
E16CL32.EXE 32-bit ODI Driver for Netware Client 32 (DOS, NetWare, Win3.1x.)
E16LAN.EXE NetWare* 3.3 and 3.2 specification server drivers.
E16WIN95.EXE NDIS 3.1 Win95/98/98 SE Miniport Driver EtherExpress 16 Driver.
E16DISK.EXE Diagnostic and configuration. DOS, OS/2, Win NT 3.51/95/98/98SE/WfW
E16NT.EXE Windows NT* 3.51 Miniport Driver EtherExpress 16 driver.
FLSIMG.EXE FLRESTORE and Flash Adapter Images Utility and flash image files (README)
SOFT.EXE SoftSet2 DOS configuration and diagnostic utility (README)
E16LATE.EXE I/O WfW Channel Reset Utility (README)
E16ADF.EXE IBM PS/2 ADF Fixes trouble with NT and RJ45/BNC confusion

EtherCom_Drivers Olicom EtherCom Micro Channel Adapter Driver Disk (D1.0, OC-2833)
EtherCom_Diag Olicom EtherCom Adapter Diagnostics Disk (D1.0, OC-2836)

Intel EtherExpress MC / Olicom EtherCom MC
Determining EtherExpress Model
Determine MAC Address
Thoughts
ADF Section

Some of this page is the work of William R. Walsh (original HERE).
Olicom files and information provided by Ryan Alswede.

Intel EtherExpress MC / Olicom EtherCom MC

D1,2 Status LEDs - Transmit (yellow), Receive (yellow), Link (green) & Polarity (red)

Note: Olicom sold a rebadged version the Intel adapter. The POS ID is the same, the card is the same except they put stickers over where it said Intel in the silk screen. (thx Ryan Alswede)

Determining EtherExpress Model

On the lower left corner of the adapter, look for a label that has a barcode and a number in the format of 123456-001 (six digits hyphen 3 digits).

306448-xxx EtherExpress 16 MCA (BNC, AUI) MCLA8110
306449-xxx EtherExpress 16 MCA (TP, AUI) MCLA8120

The site that housed these files was HERE, but it's what Intel has classified as "vintage". 

EtherExpress LED

Difficult to Insert or Remove RJ45 cable

The retention clip on the AUI port may be in the up position, and over the bottom edge of the RJ45 port. Click the AUI retainer down.

Error 3095 and 3096 with EtherExpress MCA & MCA/TP under NT LFO

An EtherExpress adapter with RJ45 does not work with Windows NT. You do not get the network connection. The link light (L) is off. Old ADF combined sections for RJ45 and BNC connectors. Update to the 1.01 ADF.

Determining Your Adapter's Hardware (MAC) Address (by William Walsh)

Note: This is not yet proven and may very well be wrong.

At the top of the adapter (see "Enet Addrs" text in outline) is printed the text "Ethernet Address". Along with the text there is a set of six numbers and "x" characters with an arrow pointing down to U1's outline. I believe this means that the set of numbers printed on the adapter card is permanent, as the numbers take this form:

00AA00xxxxxx

I think the "x" digits are to be replaced by the numbers printed on the IC at U1, therefore (in the case of my adapter):

00AA003A4203 (there's an $ after this, but that isn't a valid MAC address character!)

Thoughts (by William Walsh)

Chipset-wise this adapter is built around some of the same components as the 3Com 3C523(TP). The 3Com card is a decent performer and can give you close to the best possible results from a 10Mbit Ethernet line. It will do this without totally flooring the CPU.

I would expect that this Intel adapter offers about the same performance. Alfred Arnold did some speed testing on this and a few other MCA Ethernet cards. You can find the results here and it does look like the 3C523 and EtherExpress are close.

Manual Configuration Required

Automatic configuration works, EXCEPT:

• When installing more than one EtherExpress in a system. Install boards one at a time and set IRQs.
• RPL / BOOT ROM Flash Memory address and BOOT ROM type must be selected manually.
• Enable Flash Memory - either for BOOT ROM or any other purpose.

At this time, I am unsure if the EtherExpress MCA is considered a "Flash" adapter and are supported by the Intel network management software for Flash based adapters. Might be...

ADF Sections AdapterID 628B "Intel EtherExpress(tm) MC Network Adapter"

Note: This version (1.01) separates the options for the RJ-45 and BNC connectors into two selections. The previous version combined these two connectors into one selection, causing a problem accessing the RJ-45 connector with the WindowsNT driver.

Note: New version of ADF file only offers I/O mapping 7/28/92.

I/O Address Range
   Each EtherExpress requires a range of I/O addresses that doesn't overlap those used by any other adapter. If an an asterisk appears to the right of the field, the range you have selected is being used by another adapter and you will have to choose a different range. If you want a more detailed explanation, refer to 'I/O address' in the index of the Complete Guide to Installing."
     <"x300h - x30Fh">, x310 - x31F, x320 - x32F, x330 - x33F, x340 - x34F, x350 - x35F, x360 - x36F, x370 - x37F, x200 - x20F, x210 - x21F, x220 - x22Fh, x230h - x23Fh, x240h - x24Fh, x250h - x25Fh, x260h - x26Fh, x270h - x27Fh

IRQ
   The EtherExpress adapter needs to be assigned a unique hardware IRQ. Although Micro Channel systems allow devices to share IRQs, network performance would suffer if the network adapter used the same IRQ as another device. If the serial port on the motherboard is set to COM1, it uses IRQ 4. Any other serial port in your system should use IRQ 3. Various other adapters may also use one of the IRQs available to the EtherExpress adapter. To verify that you have not set your EtherExpress adapter to the same IRQ as another device in your computer, run the program MCADIAGS, on the EtherExpress diskette.
     <"IRQ 11">, 10, 5, 9, 3, 15, 12, 4

Flash/Boot ROM Address Range
   The Micro Channel EtherExpress adapter has 256k of FLASH RAM on board. This can provide Boot ROM capabilities, it can be used with optional software for various utility purposes, or it can do both. To allow the use of the FLASH RAM, either for utility purposes or as a Boot ROM, an 8k address range must be assigned. If a selection causes an asterisk (*) to appear, it is conflict another device's memory address and the FLASH/Boot ROM address must be changed.
     <"Flash/Boot ROM Disabled">, D000-D1FF, D200-D3FF, D400-D5FF, D600-D7FF, D800-D9FF, DA00-DBFF, DC00-DDFF, DE00-DFFF, C800-C9FF, CA00-CBFF, CC00-CDFF, CE00-CFFF

Boot ROM Options
   For a Boot ROM to be enabled, you must assign an address range in the FLASH/Boot ROM choice field above. The EtherExpress adapter Boot ROM feature allows the workstation to be booted from a 'boot image' stored on the network server. Novell Netware and Microsoft LANMAN are supported. If you do not intend to boot this workstation from the network, choose 'Boot ROM Disabled'."
     <"Boot ROM Disabled">, Novell Boot ROM, LANMAN Boot ROM

Connector Type
   The EtherExpress board can automatically detect which connector has a cable attached. For most uses choose 'Auto detect.' If you need to override the auto-detect feature, choose the connector type you plan to use.
     <BNC>, RJ-45, AUI, Auto detect

Network Driver Information
   Information on installing the drivers for various network operating systems is available in README files on the EtherExpress option diskette. Boot the system to DOS, put the EtherExpress option diskette in a floppy drive, switch to that drive and run MCADIAGS. More information on network driver installation is available from our FaxBack(tm) service or on our BBS. Refer to the EtherExpress manual for more details."
     <"Press F1 for help">