Help needed for an A1200 and how to use an ethernet card in the PCMCIA port

[Nearly-Right]

I have an A1200 and I have an Ethernet 3Com 3CCE589EC PCMCIA card which I want to use with it.

I have never needed or used the PCMCIA port on OS3.x for anything other than a Squirrel SCSI before, and I of course know there are problems with the ccresets with PCMCIA Ethernet cards with an A1200.

I have installed the CardReset, and CardPatch files onto my OS3.9 system with the entry in my Startup-sequence after the setpatch entry as follows: CardReset TICKS 15 FORCE AUDIO YES, and on the next line CardPatch, but when I boot my machine with the card fully inserted in the PCMCIA slot it stops/hangs just after the Workbench screen title appears, and before any graphics/backdrop/icons appear.

If I insert the card after bootup, and virtually as soon as I use my Spider/Mediator based USB mouse the system locks up/hangs.

I have an 060/240Mhz PPC Blizzard card (Revision 1 I seem to remember), and I have seen that there may be problems with using the software with such a card/CPU so wondered if there is a hardware fix that sorts the problem out?

Or any other advice about how to correctly fit and use the 3Com Ethernet card correctly, preferably from someone using such a card, thanks.  :-?

[Nearly-Right]

Thanks for your info, DoogUK but I don't have a Squirrel fitted to the machine I refer to, as it is in a tower, and using the PCMCIA port is a nuisance, though accessible (JUST).

I don't even have the squirrel.device still installed on the HD, so that is obviously not causing the problem.

I should ask, do you have a Mediator board fitted or not?

The Mediator or some of the cards fitted in it may have a bearing on the PCMCIA Ethernet card clashing with some of that hardware, as mine is almost fully populated with a VooDoo 3 3000, Soundblaster PCI 128, Spider 2.0 USB, TV/FM card, and PCI RTL8139 Ethernet card. I have an 060 which I read somewhere might cause a clash with the CardReset, CardPatch fixes, but I can't be sure.

Do you have any hardware fitted in your A1200 to fix the PCMCIA problems, or is it all software fixed ?

Which A1200 board revision is yours, and has it had any hardware fixes done to it?

I have heard that a hardware fix, a capcitor fitted to the Gayle chip and an adjoining pin can sort the problem, but I don't want to melt the machine just yet, though I'm OK with a soldering iron.  8-)

[Nearly-Right]

Hi Richard, thanks for the info, and yes I'd like to know if there is a particular order the commands should be shown in, in order to work correctly.

By the way, do you have the hardware socket on the Gayle chip on your A1200 to solve the hardware side of the problem, or is your solution merely software based? ;-)