Disabling Link Beat on 3C5X9TP for use with AT&T Starlan Hubs

3Com EtherLink III (3C5X9TP) adapters conform to the IEEE 10Base-T specification which specifies that a link integrity check must be performed between two transceivers connected together.

The AT&T Starlan hubs conform to most of the 10Base-T spec, except for the link integrity check between the hub port and the end node. Link status can be disabled on the 3C5X9TP adapter to conform to the operation of the Starlan topology. To disable the link integrity check, follow these steps:

Note: Following this procedure results in a NON-supported configuration of the 3C5X9TP adapters, since 3Com supports only the 10Base-T specification with the EtherLink III adapter family.

1. Run the 3C509.EXE configuration and diagnostic program

2. Configure the board normally to use the onboard TP transceiver

3. Save the configuration to a file (such as 3C509.SET) using the FILE options

4. Exit the configuration and diagnostic program

5. Load the .SET file saved in step 3 above into any DOS text editor

6. Change the line:

@ Link beat: enabled

to

@ Link beat: disabled

7. Run the 3C509.EXE configuration and diagnostic program again

8. Load the saved .SET file and write it to the adapter using the FILE options

Another way to use 3C5X9TP adapters in this situation is to run an external transceiver through the AUI port.