X20 Network Card not working. - Trouble with drivers.

[Ted J]

I have an IBM X20 that crashed. The motherboard went bad. So I got another whole laptop. My old one was a type 2662 – 38U the new one is a type 2662 – 37U The difference being, so I’ve been told, is the amount of memory. 384 for the old one, and 192 for the new one.

The new one came with Windows 2000 that I hate, I also have some legacy programs that won’t work under Win 2000. So I bought another hard drive to install Windows 98. (When the system crashed, it took the hard drive with it, but I did have my data on backup.)

With the Win 2000 drive installed, all the hardware works, but when I did a system restore from the IBM discs that came with the original, everything works but the internal network card. I even tried an install from a Full Version of Win 98 CD. I know I could just get a card to jam in the side, but what’s the point when there’s a working network card in the machine.

I’ve tried about 30 different drivers from the hardware list, but have gotten nowhere. Does anybody have any idea where to go from here? The Win 2000 drive listed the network card “Common Name” and I tried that one, but it didn’t work.

I still have the full backup of the old laptop drive, so I could get information from that drive, if it would help, but I don’t know what to look for, if that’s even possible.

Thanks, Ted

[aceo07]

According to tawbook.pdf, the network card for your X20 is a 3Com ethernet card. Maybe you can go to the 3com website and find it there.

[brainpicker]

Hi Ted. Welcome to the forum!

Have you looked over at IBM instead of just in the folders on the CD's? Check out the list here and see if you can find drivers that work: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4LXTHS

If the network card came installed in the machine it should be there.

Good Luck,
-Yak

[Ted J]

Thanks for the Welcome. I tried the drivers, but they either locked up, or I recived a message that "Windows encountered an error while trying to install the driver for this device" with an error code of 1F6 *humrph*

[Ted J]

Well I finely got the right 3Com drivers. That wasn't easy, only took about 37,000 web sites to find it. Now the card shows up in the System Properties, but when Windows boots, it still tries to install drivers for a "PCI communcation device" If I let it go, it gives up, and lists it as an unknown device. Along with that, I can't get the laptop on the network. It took the Workgroup name and so on, but says the network isn't avalable.