Networking Help with my XT

[MahavishnuChris]

Hi i'm trying to get my old PC-XT clone on my Windows TCP/IP home network to hopefully be able to share files and maybe use a text irc client, but i'm not having a great deal of luck in finding all the drivers/software I need.

So far i've installed a Intel EtherExpress 8/16 LAN adapter into one of its 8 bit ISA slots and successfully used the setup application i got off intels website to set up the card. (which has reported back when using its self test function as the card is functioning fine)
Now from what i've read I need to load a packet driver and network manager application of some sort. Unfortunately im not sure where to get the appropriate packet driver or how to install it yet (or which manager app to use), As everyone here seems to know their stuff hopefully someone might be able to point me in the right direction.
Thanks and regards Chris

BTW: Its running Dos 3.21, 640k ram, not sure of its processor speed but it wouldn't be a speed machine of its era.

[Bungo Pony]

Usually the packet driver will come from the same manufacturer of your ethernet card. I had this issue trying to set up another DOS machine to a network. Considering that you have an Ethernet card from the DOS era, there should be a packet driver out there for it.

You might also have some luck here (I didn't):
http://www.crynwr.com/

[mbbrutman]

These pages are more for educational purposes (and not your specific problem), but I think they will help you:

http://www.brutman.com/Dos_Networking/

The packet driver is the easy part - Intel provides it. If Intel doesn't provide it then Cyrnwr might. The harder part is going to be the application software. MS LANMAN probably won't work on an XT. You will need to use something like FTP.

Mike

[JohnElliott]

I haven't been able to get the MS LANMAN client working on an XT using TCP/IP. In theory it may work if you use NetBEUI instead.

What I use on my XTs when I network them is NCSA Telnet (ftp://ftp.uu.net/.vol/1/applic/NCSA_Telnet/PC/) running on top of a packet driver. As well as a Telnet client, it's also got an FTP client.

[DreadStorm]

I haven't been able to get the MS LANMAN client working on an XT using TCP/IP. In theory it may work if you use NetBEUI instead.

That's how I got my XT/186/286 machines to talk peacefully - I had to use a client/server setup, and equip the server with NetBEUI protocol. That's all I knew to do, and it seemed to work. Considering the XT machine is slower than the NIC's average rate, it hiccups now and then, but it does work.

[Mad-Mike]

For my setup, I use NetBEUI and IPX/SPX for protocols when doing standard PC to PC networking at home with my XT (and soon my Tandy 1000s hopefully), and a TCP/IP Packet driver loaded to memory address x60 for TCP/IP internet Connections.

Surprisingly I don't have a lot of issues with connecting to other computers, I've even had the GUI work and pick up my Windows 2000 machine when that was up (now I'm looking at the next challenge.....Windows XP Pro and FC8 with SeLinux).

[bendix]

For my setup, I use NetBEUI and IPX/SPX for protocols when doing standard PC to PC networking at home with my XT

Could you please post some more detailed information about that setup? Software (is it MS Lanmanager, which version?), order of driver calls in config.sys and autoexec.bat etc. I would very much like to try that too.