Connecting To A Network; Network Cable Requirements; Configuring The Nic; Windows Nt 4.0 Nic Driver - Dell Precision 410 User Manual

C
onnecting to a Network
To connect your system to and configure it for use on an
Ethernet network, you must complete the following
steps:
1. Connect the network cable to the back of your
computer.
See the following subsection, "Network Cable
Requirements," for detailed instructions.
2. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System
Setup program.
See "NIC" in Chapter 3 for instructions.
3. Configure the NIC, and install the network driv-
ers by running the 3Com Install program.
See "Configuring the NIC" found later in this chap-
ter for detailed instructions.
4. Run the Network Interface Test Group in the
diskette-based diagnostics to verify that the NIC
is operating properly.
See the chapter titled "Running the Dell Diagnos-
tics" in your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide
for detailed instructions.

Network Cable Requirements

Your computer's NIC connector (an RJ45 connector
located on the back panel; see Figure 5-1) is designed for
attaching an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet
cable. Press one end of the UTP cable into the NIC con-
nector until the cable snaps securely into place.
Connect the other end of the cable to an RJ45 jack wall
plate or to an RJ45 port on an Ethernet UTP concentrator
or hub, depending on your network configuration.
Observe the following cabling restrictions for 10BASE-T
and 100BASE-TX networks:
•
For 10-megabit (Mb) operation, use Category 3, 4,
or 5 wiring and connectors. For 100-Mb operation,
use Category 5 wiring and connections. Voice and
data lines should be in separate sheaths.
•
The maximum cable run length (from a workstation
to a concentrator) is 100 meters (m) (328 feet [(ft]).
5-2 Dell Workstation Mini Tower Systems User's Guide
•
The maximum number of workstations (not counting
concentrators) on a network is 1024.
•
The maximum number of daisy-chained concentra-
tors on one network segment is four.
C
onfiguring the NIC
This section provides instructions for configuring the
computer's integrated, 10/100-megabits-per-second
(Mbps) 3Com NIC under the following operating
systems:
•
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
•
Microsoft Windows 95

Windows NT 4.0 NIC Driver

The Windows NT 4.0 operating system automatically
detects and installs the NIC driver. To reinstall the driver,
complete the following steps:
1. Use the Dell DiskMaker program (located in the
Dell Accessories program folder) to make a dis-
kette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your
hard-disk drive.
2. Connect the network cable to the back of your
computer.
See "Network Cable Requirements" found earlier in
this chapter for detailed instructions.
3. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System
Setup program.
See "NIC" in Chapter 3 for more information.
4. Start the Windows NT operating system, and log
in as user Administrator or as a user with Admin-
istrator privileges.
For information on administrative users and privi-
leges, see your Windows NT documentation.
5. Double-click My Computer, double-click Control
Panel, and then double-click the Network icon.
NOTE: If you are installing networking on your sys-
tem for the first time, the Windows NT operating
system displays a message asking if you want to
install networking. Click Yes, and refer to your Win-
dows NT documentation for instructions.