Help with Asante Ethernet card & Macintosh IIci

[LimeiBook86]

Hello everyone,

About a month or so ago I got a Macintosh IIci for free on Craigslist. It happened to include a IIci Cache card, XILINX NuBus video card, and an Asante NuBus ethernet card. The video card doesn't seem to work although I may not have things setup right or have the right software.

Anyway the problem I have is with the Asante ethernet card. Model 09-00061-01 A2. The date says 1994. Now to my surprise Asante has a fantastic archive of old legacy products, including manuals and software downloads. Unfortunately I can not seem to find my card on the list. The closest thing I could find to mine was here. MCiNB-10T (09-00061-13)

So I downloaded the software, but when I go to install it I get an error saying the ethernet card can't be found. Now if I plug an ethernet cable from my MacBook to the ethernet card a green LED will light up on the card, which leads me to assume it works. I've tried two NuBus slots, later I guess I can try the other one after I remove the port cover carefully.

I'm guessing maybe it needs a different piece of software to work? I've tried to google more information about this model, but I can't seem to find any information. I guess the card could be broken, but maybe somebody here can help me out.

Some notes:

Computer: Macintosh IIci, 17MB RAM, System 7.5.3

Asante Ethernet card info: P/N 09-00061-01 A2 (Says MCiNB U3 on a chip) Says 1994 MCNB REV. A elsewhere. Has three connectors on the card, BNC, 15-pin AUI, and ethernet. Also before upgrading, System 7.1 only shows 'Built-In LocalTalk' under the Network control panel. The card I have looks similar to this model with the addition of the BNC connector on mine.

Any ideas or advice would be great, thanks!

 

[tmtomh]

I thought the Asante cards (most of them, at least) worked with Apple's own drivers. If so, perhaps your problem is that the particular 7.5.3 installation on your machine doesn't have the Apple NuBus ethernet extensions installed or enabled?

M

 

[LimeiBook86]

I thought the Asante cards (most of them, at least) worked with Apple's own drivers. If so, perhaps your problem is that the particular 7.5.3 installation on your machine doesn't have the Apple NuBus ethernet extensions installed or enabled?
M

Well I used the 19-part System 7.5 download from Apple's web page. I did a "Installation for All Macintosh Systems" and not a specific install for my system. Which is why I ended up with PowerBook and 601 CPU control panels on my Macintosh IIci. Maybe that's the problem, I'll reinstall System 7.5.3 as an Easy Install and see if that helps.

Thanks

 

[equill]

Your description reads as if you have a MacCon3 NB or a MacCon-i NB-3 card, with Thin (BNC), Thick (AUI) and 10Base-T or UTP (RJ-45) ports. There should be two LEDs: one each for Link (green) and Activity (yellow). The -i variant in each family of cards (viz, NuBus; Centris/Quadra 610, 660AV; IIsi & SE/30; LC PDS; SE) requires both NuBus and LC PDS slots to be present in the Mac.

I deduce that Asanté, as does/did Apple, maintained two series of numbers, for part and inventory, most often with no correspondence between them, which system is undoubtedly more help to the company than to the user. Your card may bear the number 99-00301-02, or more probably 99-00196-01, somewhere, in addition to the 09- number. A MacCon-i NB-10T card should have only AUI amd RJ-45 ports. You need also a floppy disk with Asanté's EtherTalk Installer, which should be installed before Apple's OT 1.1.1 and OT 1.1.2 so that older versions of Apple's networking software from the floppy disk do not overwrite those installed with OT. For best results you do need Asanté's EtherTalk to mediate between the card and AppleTalk. This is in the downloadable v5.6.1 software bundle.

If you are sure of the card's physical installation, confirmed by the Link LED, but get no Activity LED when you attempt traffic between the IIci and another device, you need also to be sure that you have the necessary software, including Apple's extensions (especially Apple Ethernet NB), installed; that the cabling is in place at startup; that you use patch (straight-through) cabling to your 10Base-T hub, or a crossover cable if you are connected directly to another Mac; and that you use a 10Base-T hub between the IIci and a 100Base-T network. This last may not always be essential (different people report different results), but you can be sure that the older Asanté cards otherwise do not always autonegotiate well with every 100Base-T switch or card. I have three IIci Macs with AsantéFAST 10/100Base-T NuBus cards that have no problems in this regard.

de

 

[LimeiBook86]

My card says 09-00061. I tried reinstalling System 7.5.3. The Mac doesn't see the card installed and the Asante installer doesn't see the card either.

Could it be that my NuBus slots are bad? I can't seem to get the video card working, however it seems like it just defaults to the on-board video. Anyway to force it to use the video card at startup?

Thanks anyway

 

[equill]

The IIci is one of the 'soft-power-on' (what Apple calls Active Power-Control) Macs. Indeed, it was very early in the life what is now characteristic of Macs. This feature obliges that there be a trickle current (TRKL) always present, even when a Mac is shut down, waiting for the next startup.

If, when you were inning and outing NuBus cards from your IIci, you did not switch off the mains supply at the wall or power board, while leaving the cable connected so as to maintain a ground ('earth') connection for discharge of static electricity from your body, your NuBus slots/cards may have suffered. Apple always warns about this in its manuals. It is good practice for any Mac, and doubly so to remove all power, AC and DC, from NuBus Macs before installing or removing cards.

If this misfortune has struck you, and failure of two NuBus cards to work (in different slots?) is indicative if you are sure that the video card's drivers are present, you are faced with replacement of the MLB. Before you abandon hope, however, have you another, known-good NuBus card to try (with any necessary drivers already installed) in the Mac?

de

 

[Charlieman]

Not relevant at the moment, owing to the fact that the IIci can't see the ethernet card. When it does, you will probably need to locate a jumper on the ethernet board to specify the interface that you wish to use. Cards from that era are not usually interface selectable via software.

 

[trag]

Xilinx is the name of a maker of FPGA chips and as far as I know, never shipped any kind of application, such as a video card. So the video card was not made by Xilinx.

I know Lapis used Xilinx chips in their video cards. I am not aware of other video card makers who did.

But that's irrelevant until you try equill's last bit of advice. Do you have a NuBus card which you know works? If so, you should test the IIci's NuBus slots with it.