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Madge and Olicom Network Adapter Fault Finding Guide

In order to help us find the cause of your problem with your Madge or Olicom network adapter it will help if you follow the following steps.

This will help tell us if there is a hardware fault with your adapter and will speed up the RMA process if necessary. If there is not a hardware fault, it will help us diagnose what the cause of the problem is.

During this initial process you will have to download a diagnostic utility from the Madge web site and then run it on your PC.

Step 1 – Verify Support for the Adapter

This guide supports the following madge and Olicom adapter cards.

• All Madge PCI Token Ring adapters including Smart, Presto and HSTR ranges
• All Madge ISA and EISA Token Ring adapters including Smart and Blue ranges
• All Madge PCMCIA and Cardbus Token Ring adapters
• Olicom PCI Token Ring adapters model number 3137, 3139, 3140, 3140V2, 3141, 3540
• Olicom PCMCIA and CardBus Token Ring adapters model numbers 3250 and 3221

If your adapter is included in the above list then proceed to Step 2. For other adapter cards you will need to use the diagnostic tools included within the operating system.

Step 2 - Download Diagnostic Software

Madge have written a diagnostic software utility called “Assist” for use with Madge and Olicom adapters.
Download the file Assist.exe into a temporary directory on your PC (eg. C:\Temp)

Step 3 - Extract Software and Build Bootable Diagnostic Disk

When you have downloaded the Assist.exe into the temporary directory, follow the following instructions. You will need a blank 3.5 inch floppy disk.

• Open a DOS box within Windows
• Change directory to the temporary directory (eg. C:\Temp)
• At the command prompt, type “Assist” and press ENTER

When the program finishes writing to the floppy drive, you may close the DOS box and remove the floppy disk.

Step 4 - Running the Assist Diagnostics Program

When you have built an Assist diagnostic disk do the following:

• Make sure the adapter is installed in the PC.
• The PC should be switched off.
• A cable should be connected from a working Token Ring hub or switch to the Token Ring adapter under investigation. This point is very important
• Put the Assist disk into the PC and switch it on
• The disk should boot and the display should show System Resources on one line, and your adapter on the other.
• If the program does not display the Token Ring adapter:
  o Switch off the PC.
  o Re-seat the adapter in the slot or move it to a different ISA/EISA/PCI or PCMCIA slot and try again (Switch off the PC before moving the adapter card to a different slot).
  o Retry the adapter in all free slots until you have either run out of slots, or the program detects the adapter.
• If you have a mouse attached to the PC, you can use it to highlight the adapter. Otherwise use the arrow keys and the tab key on the keyboard to highlight the adapter.
• Select Diagnostics
• You will now see a display with three tabs labeled; “Standard Diagnostics”, “Connection Diagnostics” and “Test Parameters”
• Select “Standard Diagnostics” tab and then select “Test”. For each test, a green tick indicates pass and a red cross indicates fail. (Note: Standard Diagnostics will not work if you are connected to a Token Ring switch operating DTR mode. In this situation you can only use Connection Diagnostics).
• Make a note of the results of the test.
• Select “Connection Diagnostics” tab and then select “Test”. For each test, a green tick indicates pass and a red cross indicates fail. (Note: Connection Diagnostics will only work if you have another PC or Server connected on the Token Ring network which is also running Assist. If this is not possible then you can only use Standard Diagnostics).
• Make a note of the results of the test.

Step 5 - What to do Next

If the adapter passes all of the tests in Step 4 above, but fails when the normal operating system is loaded, then it is likely that there is not a hardware problem with the adapter.
Instead it is more likely that there is a configuration of technical problem for which you will need to contact Madge Technical Support for more help.

If the Assist program fails to find the adapter, or the adapter fails one of the diagnostic tests, then it is likely that the adapter has a hardware failure and you should go to the RMA section to determine the warranty status and verify that you will be entitled to a replacement adapter card.