3Com MBA READ.ME Information This READ.ME file contains last minute information that was not included in the 3Com Managed PC Agent (MBA) User Guide. If any information in this file conflicts with information in the User Guide, the information in the User Guide should be disregarded. To obtain the latest information on MBA, including techniques for booting Windows 95, visit our web site at www.3Com.com. If you have any questions, please contact 3Com Technical Support as described in the manual. CONTENTS: ========= 1) Diskette file listings / descriptions 2) Documentation on hardware and software compatibility issues -------------------------------------------------------------- 1) This diskette contains the following files: ============================================== * READ.ME This file. BWVIEW.EXE MBA file viewer (Note: run BWVIEW with the /MONO parameter for Monochrome users). BWVIEW.DAT Data file used by BWVIEW.EXE. REGISTER.EXE Fills in a MBA registration form which may then be printed and faxed or saved to a file and emailed. FAQ.TXT Text file showing answers to frequently asked Technical Support questions regarding MBA. 3C90XFAQ.TXT Text file showing answers to frequently asked Technical Support questions regarding MBA for 3C90Xx adapters (e.g. 3C905, 3C905B, etc.) LICENSE.TXT Text file of the License Agreement for the MBA product. \NETWARE =========== Files specific to NetWare environments ====== AUTOID.BAT Sample .BAT file illustrating use of CHKID. BOOTCONF.SYS sample BOOTCONF.SYS file illustrating syntax. BOOTEDIT.EXE A BOOTCONF.SYS editor; required for MSD users. See BOOTEDIT.TXT for more information. BWIRQ2.COM allow use of IRQ2 with applications or drivers which rely on DOS to enable the interrupt. See BWIRQ2.TXT for more information. BWLOADHI.COM Copies image file into RAM disk while booting. See BWLOADHI.TXT for more information. CHKID.EXE Sets DOS ERRORLEVEL in .BAT file and allows selective execution of CONFIG.SYS file based on node address. See CHKID.TXT for more information. FAQ_NW.TXT Text file showing answers to frequently asked Technical Support questions for NetWare and General topics. IMGGEN.EXE Generate a boot image from floppy (similar to Novell's DOSGEN). MAPGEN.COM Image disk emulator; allows viewing/editing of boot image files. MKDRIVEA.COM Will allow MAPGEN to run on diskless workstations See MKDRIVEA.TXT for more information. MSD.NLM Multi Server Director (MSD) allows administrator to specify which file server and image file that is to be used when booting. MULTI_ED.EXE Adds multi-boot file support allowing users to select from several image files when booting. See MULTI_ED.TXT for more information. SAMPLE.CFG Sample CONFIG.SYS and batch files for NetWare UNRPLFIX.EXE Undo what RPLFIX does to an image file. \RPL ============ Files specific to the RPL boot protocol ============= Use BWVIEW to view various setup files for Windows NT. \TCPIP =========== Files specific to Ethernet TCP/IP booting ========== BPPATCH.EXE BOOTPTAB replaceable parameter facility. BPTEST.TXT Test file for BPPATCH. FREEMEM.COM Releases memory used by boot image. IMAGEGEN.EXE Creates boot image file from boot disk. MAPGEN.COM IMAGEGEN image disk emulator; allows viewing/editing of boot image files. \UTILS =============== Generic MBA Utilities ===================== PBOOT.EXE Terminates pre-OS image and directly boots other OS from hard drive. ROM.BAT Sample .BAT file illustrating ROMTYPE usage. ROMSCAN.COM ROM Diagnostic Utility. ROMTYPE.EXE Sets DOS ERRORLEVEL in .BAT file based on ROM Type code. See ROMTYPE.TXT for more information. \UPDATE ======= ROM configuration and Flash ROM update =========== MBAFLASH.EXE Update utility to program the correct MBA software for your specific 3C90Xx NIC into the ROM. MBACFG.EXE Configuration/Update Program for MBA v3.00 and higher. *.OVL Overlay file(s) for MBACFG \IMGEDIT ======== Boot Image Editor ================= Program files and Online Help files for the Windows-based Boot Image Editor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2) Documentation on hardware and software compatibility issues ============================================================== AT&T Globalyst 550 PC with IBM Surepath BIOS: ============================================= Problem Description: Inserting a NIC with an MBA ROM into this PC will result in an error message that reads: "PCI mapping ROM base address failed..." Problem Resolution: The BIOS (1994) does not allow remapping of resources used by the adapter. There is no known resolution. MBA on 3C905 cannot be flashed with DVD decoders using Impact chipset ===================================================================== Problem Description: Flashing an MBA ROM with the MBAFLASH utility could result in the screen blanking or filling with vertical lines. This occurs on PCs with the following combination of peripherals installed: - a DVD decoder using a Impact-based chipset - an AGP graphics adapter - a 3C905-TX or 3C905-TPO Problem Resolution: 3Com is investigating the issue and will post a patch once resolved. Substituting any one of the following items will eliminate the problem: - an Impact-based chipset DVD decoder with another brand (Creative Labs and Real Magic were sucessfully tested) - an AGP graphics adapter with a PCI graphics adapter - a 3C905 with a 3C905B NIC