LIMITED WARRANTY
Linksys guarantees that every HomeLink Phoneline Network Card
is free from physical defects in material and workmanship under
normal use for five (5) years from the date of purchase. If the
product proves defective during this warranty period, call Linksys
Customer Support in order to obtain a Return Authorization number. Warranty is for repair or replacement only. Linksys does not
issue any refunds. BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR PROOF OF PURCHASE AND BAR CODE ON HAND WHEN CALLING. RETURN
REQUESTS CANNOT BE PROCESSED WITHOUT PROOF OF
PURCHASE AND BAR CODE. When returning a product, mark
the Return Authorization number clearly on the outside of the
package and include your original proof of purchase and bar code.
IN NO EVENT SHALL LINKSYS’ LIABILITY EXCEED THE PRICE
PAID FOR THE PRODUCT FROM DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING
FROM THE USE OF THE PRODUCT, ITS ACCOMPANYING
SOFTWARE, OR ITS DOCUMENTATION. Linksys makes no warranty or representation, expressed, implied, or statutory, with
respect to its products or the contents or use of this documentation and all accompanying software, and specifically disclaims its
quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular
purpose. Linksys reserves the right to revise or update its products, software, or documentation without obligation to notify any
individual or entity. Please direct all inquiries to:
Linksys P.O. Box 18558, Irvine, CA 92623.
FCC STATEMENT
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC
Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used according to the instructions, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to
radio or television reception, which is found by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
• Increase the separation between the equipment or device
• Connect the equipment to an outlet other than the receiver’s
• Consult a dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for
assistance
903
Page 3
Page 4
Contents
Co n t e n t s
Introduction1
Hardware Setup9
Installing the Hardware10
Windows 98 Setup16
Windows 95 Setup25
Windows NT 4.034
Using WinGate Home41
Changing the Card’s Settings43
Appendix
Twisted-Pair Cabling47Important Modem Information48
Troubleshooting49
Removing the Installed
Components in Windows55
Specifications57
Customer Support58
Notes59
Page 5
Introduction
In t roduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the Linksys
HomeLink Phoneline Network Card. This exciting
new technology is being offered in compliance
with the standards of the Home Phoneline
Networking Alliance (HomePNA). The Linksys
HomeLink Phoneline Network Card now offers
instant connectivity to multiple PC's over a home's
existing telephone lines. You can network any
computer by connecting it to any phone line.
There's no need for a switch, a hub, or even any
additional cables - the network runs on standard
home-grade telephone wires just like the ones you
use everyday.
The Linksys HomeLink Phoneline Network Card
utilizes Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD®)
PCnet™-Home technology. This new technology
lets your phone line carry computer data as well
as regular telephone voice service. You can also
use feeds from broadband connections like cable
modems or Digital Subscriber Lines (xDSL). You
can talk on the telephone, download files from the
Internet, and share resources over a network all at
the same time. Every standard telephone jack in
the home is capable of hosting a PC - you can
connect up to 25 computers, thus transforming the
home's telephone wiring into an easily expandable
network. Want to add more PCs? Just put a
HomeLink card in the computer and plug it into
your phone jack. It’s that simple!
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Page 6
Introduction
How Does It Work?
The Linksys HomeLink Phoneline Network
Card utilizes a technology known as Frequency
Division Multiplexing (FDM) which essentially
divides the data travelling over the phone lines
into separate frequencies - one for voice, one for
high-bandwidth net access such as DSL, and
one for the network data. These frequencies can
coexist on the same telephone line without
impacting one another.
The 1 Megabit-per-second (one million bits-persecond) data rate is fast enough to run demanding home applications such as file and printer
sharing, games, and email. Want to surf the
web? No problem -- you can share one modem
or high-speed Internet connection over the
entire network using the WinGate software
package. The HomeLink Phoneline Network
Card’s data transfer rate is 18 times that of the
fastest analog modems available, which run at
56Kbps (fifty-six thousand bits-per-second).
Even high-speed modem, xDSL, and ISDN connections will perform at full speed on a home
network. The HomeLink Phoneline Network
Card is the perfect tool to introduce the benefits
of networking to your home or office.
2
Page 7
Features
Features
• Build A Network Using Your Existing Telephone
Line - No Additional Hubs or Cabling Needed
• 1Mbps Transfer Rate - Perfect for File and
Printer Sharing, Email, Web Surfing, Multi-User
Gaming, and More
• Includes a 10BaseT RJ-45 port -- Migrate to a
10Mbps Ethernet at Anytime
• Share Interent Access and ISP Connection Over
a Network With WinGate Home Interent Sharing
Software
• Each Card Comes with a Standard Telephone
Cable
• Connect Up To 25 PCs on One Network
• Data Transfer Rate is 18 Times Faster Than 56K
Modems For Scorching Downloads and File
Transfers
• Works With Windows 95, Windows 98,
Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 (in beta,
beta OSs are not supported by Linksys)
• Frequency Division Multiplexing for
Uninterrupted Simultaneous Voice Service,
High-Bandwidth xDSL Internet Access and
Network Data Transmissions
• HomePNA, UADSL, IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD,
and FCC Compliant
• Free Technical Support On the Phone and On the
Internet
• Free Software Upgrades
• Limited 5-Year Warranty
3
Page 8
About Sharing
Package Contents
• 1 HomeLink Phoneline Network Card
(Network in a Box includes 2 HomeLink Cards)
• 1 Standard Modular Telephone Cable
(Network in a Box includes 2 telephone cables)
• Installation CD-ROM with WinGate Home
Internet Sharing Software
• User Guide and Registration Card
If any of the above contents are missing, consult
your Linksys retailer.
Sharing Your Resources
The HomeLink Phoneline card brings the advantages of inexpensive networking to your home or
office. Any device on the network, including CDROM drives, hard drives, and printers, can be used
by any of the PCs that you hook up to the network. The installation CD-ROM that came with
your HomeLink Card will automatically set up
your networked PCs so that all of their available
resources can be shared. Of course, you have control over the sharing rights, so you will be able to
isolate devices or drives that you do not want to be
accessible from the rest of the network.
It is important to note that if you want to use a
networked device on a PC other than the one that
the device is attached to, you must configure the
PC to handle the device.
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Page 9
About Sharing
Sharing Your Internet Connection
The Linksys HomeLink Phoneline Network Card
comes with a proxy server software package
called WinGate Home. The WinGate Home software package allows you to share your Internet
connection by setting up a proxy server - a com-
puter that serves to hold the connection and route
Internet communications to the other PCs on the
network. One of the PCs on your network will be
the proxy server. You should pick the PC that has
the modem that you usually use to connect to the
Internet already installed.
Important: Keep in mind that your HomeLink
network will let you talk on the telephone and
access the Internet at the same time only if you
are using an xDSL connection. If you are using an
analog modem or other device that requires you to
dial out to your Internet Service Provider (ISP),
then, obviously, your telephone line is already in
use, and you can not talk on the phone. Your internal network data travels on a separate frequency,
so your network communications will not be interrupted no matter what type of Internet connection
you have or whether or not you are using the telephone.
America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy, and similar services are not ISPs since you have to go
through their specific service and software to
access the Internet.
See note on page 48 for important modem hints.
5
Page 10
About Plug-and-Play
About Plug-and-Play PCI Technology
The HomeLink Network Card is designed to run
in a 32-bit desktop computer equipped with PCI
expansion slots.
Short for Peripheral Components Interconnect,
PCI is a technology that allows special Plug-andPlay expansion cards to be automatically configured by a computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output
System) once they have been installed. Refer to
your computer's user guide for more information
about its BIOS.
When a PCI card is used in a computer that supports Plug-and-Play, the card is automatically configured each time the computer is booted. The
card's IRQ, I/O address, and other operating
parameters are automatically assigned.
There is no way to change a Plug-and-Play card's
IRQ and other settings outside of the BIOS
menu(s) that your computer provides. If the
resources that are assigned to your HomeLink
card seem to conflict with other devices in your
computer, you will need to use your system's
BIOS to resolve the conflicts.
If you have problems configuring your BIOS or
resolving IRQ or other hardware conflicts, consult
your computer manual or contact your PC's manufacturer for BIOS setup and configuration directions. For a list of Plug-and-Play compliant BIOS
systems, see page 8.
6
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About Plug-and-Play
Here are some general guidelines to follow when
installing a PCI card (like the HomeLink card)
into your computer. Under normal installation proceedures, you won’t need to worry about any of
these proccedures. However, you may find them
useful in troubleshooting situations.
1. The HomeLink card should be used in a 32-bit
PCI slot that supports PCI Bus Mastering. It cannot be plugged into a PCI Bus Slave slot. Consult
your computer or motherboard documentation for
more information on master and slave slots.
2. If loading the EMM386.EXE program in your
PC's CONFIG.SYS, you MUST use version MSDOS 6.22 or above. If you load an older
EMM386.EXE program (below DOS 6.22), your
PC will hang up while loading the network driver.
3. When using NT, set your BIOS PCI settings to
MANUAL. NT is not a Plug-and-Play OS, and
will not usually recognize LAN cards if they are
set to be automatically detected and configured. If
you need to configure your PC's BIOS in order to
resolve an IRQ or other conflict with the
HomeLink card, there are a few possibilities:
No Changes Allowed
Your PCI may not allow you to change the IRQ
value(s) of the PCI slot(s). In this case, you will
ONLY be able to use the IRQ and I/O values that
have been pre-assigned to each slot. The popular
BIOS from Phoenix, for example, does not allow
you to modify BIOS-assigned IRQ settings.
7
Page 12
About Plug-and-Play
Jumper Changes
You may be able to change the IRQ & I/O values
for a given PCI slot by setting jumpers on your PC
mother board. Please refer to your PC's motherboard user guide for specific instructions.
Menu Changes
Your PC may allow you to change the IRQ & I/O
values for a given PCI slot by accessing the PC's
BIOS setup menu. Please refer to your PC's user
guide for specific details. The BIOSs from companies like AMI and Award are fully customizable
from their BIOS menus, for example.
Note: Moving the HomeLink Network Card to a
different slot may change the settings for the card.
Plug-and-Play BIOS list
®
Generally, all computers with Pentium
or
Pentium II (or compatible, such as AMD®’s K6)
processors have a Plug-and-Play BIOS. Here’s a
list for you to double-check or if you’re unsure:
• Pheonix 4.04 or higher
• Award 4.50 PG or higher
• AMI dated after 9/94
A Pentium (or compatible) motherboard and a
Pentium 90 processor or faster is recommended. If
your BIOS is not on this list, it doesn’t automatically mean that your BIOS is not Plug-and-Play
compatible. Consult the documentation that came
with your PC or contact your PC’s manufactuer to
be sure.
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Page 13
Hardware Setup
Ha rd w a re S e t u p
Before You Begin
The HomeLink Phoneline Network Card is
equipped with two phone wire ports, also known
as RJ-11 ports, for use with a Phoneline network
that utilizes your existing telephone system. The
card also has an RJ-45 10BaseT Ethernet port for
use with 10Mbps Ethernet networks.
If You Want to Use Ethernet...
If you plan on connecting the HomeLink Card to a
10Mbps Ethernet network, only use RJ-45 twisted-pair cabling. 10BaseT cabling is available in a
number of different grades. For best results, we
recommend using 8-wire, category 5 unshielded
twisted-pair for an Ethernet network, although category 3 can be used successfully. Category 5 is
more reliable, and it is compatible with faster
100Mbps networks - a useful feature if you plan
on upgrading to Fast Ethernet in the future.
Keep in mind that the RJ-11 and RJ-45 capabilities cannot be used at the same time. If one is in
use, the other is automatically disabled.
Both Category 3 and Category 5 twisted-pair
cabling can be purchased from most computer
stores, or if you prefer, you can crimp your own
cables. See page 47 for a wiring information.
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Page 14
Hardware Setup
Whether you're building a 10Mbps or 10/100 network, twisted-pair cabling should always be used
with a hub, which is a box with a row of 10BaseT
or 10/100 ports. Each PC plugs into the box with
its own twisted pair cable. Because all of the PCs'
cables converge at the hub's central location, a
twisted-pair network is often referred to as a star
configuration.
Do not connect PCs together with twisted-pair
cabling without using a hub. Although your network may work, communication will be unstable.
The cable that runs from your computer's
HomeLink card to your hub should not exceed
100 meters (328 feet) in length.
Installing the HomeLink Card
1. Turn off your PC and any peripheral equipment
attached to it.
2. Remove your computer's outside cover.
3. Open up your computer and locate the PCI
expansion slot(s). Next, determine which of your
PC's PCI slots is the master slot (In newer PCs,
the PCI slots are usually all master slots. Older
PCs may have both master and slave slots. The
HomeLink card must be inserted into a master
slot). Your PC vendor can help you determine
which slots are designed
for 32-bit cards.
4. Carefully slide the
HomeLink card into your
PC's slot. Make sure that
all of its pins are touching
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Page 15
Installing the Cabling
the slot's contacts. After the card is firmly in
place, secure its fastening tab to your PC's chassis
with a mounting screw.
5. Replace your PC's cover, then turn on your
computer. If your computer has a plug-and-play
BIOS and a Plug-and-Play operating system like
Windows 98 or 95, it will automatically recognize
the card and assign a unique IRQ ("interrupt") and
I/O address to it. If your PC isn't plug-and-play
compatible, consult your PC's user guide to see
how you should go about assigning a unique IRQ
and I/O address to a new interface card.
Installing the RJ-11 (Telephone) Cabling
Attach one end of the telephone wire to the
HomeLink card's RJ-11 telephone port. There are
two RJ-11 ports and only one RJ-45 port - the RJ11 ports are the smaller ones. Connect the other
end of the cable into a telephone jack in your wall.
If you are using an analog telephone, you can
either connect the device to a second phone jack
(recommended), or you can connect your telephone directly to the second port on your
HomeLink card.
If you have only one phone jack in your room and
you want to use your modem or fax, it is recommended that you purchase a two-way adapter that
can turn your single phone jack into a double
phone jack. Plug your telephone or fax into one
phone jack, and your HomeLink Network Card
into the other.
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Page 16
Installing the Cabling
If you have two or three PCs in one room with
only one telephone jack, you can connect several
of the computers together using the Daisy Chain
method. See the diagram below.
Plug your first PC with a Phoneline card into the
phone jack in the wall, then use the other phone
cable port on the card to connect to your second
PC. Continue to connect up to twenty-five PCs on
one chain. If you want to use your telephone or
fax machine, add a two-way splitter on your wall’s
phone jack or connect the device to the open telephone port on the last card in your daisy chain. If
you are daisy chaining more than 2 PCs, you
should connect modem to a different wall phone
jack, or obtain a 2-way splitter, (see page 48).
12
Add more
PCs to the daisy
chain at any time.
Page 17
Installing the Cabling
Cabling Installation
Take a look at the diagram below for help with
connecting your PCs together to build a
HomeLink network.
2 PCs are connected through
your home’s telephone line.
PC 1 and
Printer
PC 2
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Page 18
Installing the Cabling
Installing the RJ-45 (Ethernet) Cabling
Remember that if you choose to use the RJ-45
port on your HomeLink card, the RJ-11 Phoneline
networking capabilities automatically become disabled. The two cannot operate at the same time.
Attach one end of an Ethernet cable into the
HomeLink card's RJ-45 port. Plug the other end of
the cable into a 10BaseT or 10/100 switching hub.
If you plan to use both 10BaseT and 100Mbps
network segments on the same network, you'll
need a dual-speed hub or switch that allows segments of different speeds to communicate. For
more information on 10/100 dual-speed hubs and
switches, visit the Linksys web site or call (949)
261-1288.
14
Use the RJ-45
ports to connect
the cards to a
10Mbps or
10/100 hub.
Page 19
Software
Preparing to Install the Software
Setting up the HomeLink card's software involves
installing a network driver onto your computer.
The driver will allow the card to communicate
with your Windows software package. Before
attempting to install a network driver for the
HomeLink card, Windows 95, 98 or NT should
already be installed on your computer. The
HomeLink Phoneline Network Card driver setup
program will not work properly under any other
operating systems.
You will need a CD-ROM drive on every PC onto
which you wish to install the network drivers.
Because there are several important questions
about your PC that you must answer during the
installation, we recommend that you read through
the installation instructions for your operating system before continuing with the installation.
• Windows 98 instructions are on page 16
• Windows 95 instructions are on page 25
• Windows NT 4.0 instructions are on page 34
If you are using Windows 2000, also known as
Windows NT 5.0, the drivers for your operating
system are included on the HomeLink CD-ROM.
If you received a CD-ROM without the Windows
2000 drivers, you can get them from the
Download Center on the Linksys website. Please
note that the drivers and the operating system are
still in development. When Microsoft officially
releases the Windows 2000 operating system,
Linksys will provide updated drivers.
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Windows 98
Windows 98S e tu p
After installing the HomeLink hardware in your
computer, follow these instructions for installing
the network driver in Windows 98. The installation
procedure for the network driver will vary slightly
depending on the version of Windows you are
using and your current system configuration.
In the type of network that we will be building,
there are two kinds of computers - clients and
servers. Servers are the "mother" computers while
the clients are the "children". Servers handle all of
the administrative duties on the network, while
clients route all of their communications through
the server. The server is usually the fastest and
most powerful PC on the network, but it doesn't
have to be. If you have a PC with an analog
modem, cable modem, or other communications
device, (see page 52 if you are not using an analog
modem), you should use this PC as your server.
When your client PCs want to log on to the
Internet, they will be routed through the server.
Decide now which computer will be your server
and which ones will be your clients. Make sure
that the Internet connection through the modem on
your server PC is configured and fully functional
before installing the HomeLink or WinGate Home
software.
See page 48 for important hints about connecting
your modem.
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Windows 98
To install the network driver:
1. Start up your computer and Windows 98.
2. Put the Installation CD-ROM into your CDROM drive
3. Windows will display a "New Hardware Found"
window. Click Next.
4. Windows will prepare to update its device driver
database. Windows will give you two choices.
Choose Search for the best driver for your device(Recommended), the first option.
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Windows 98
5. In most cases, Windows will find the files it
needs on the CD-ROM. However, if Windows fails
to locate the files, click on CD-ROM and then
click Next.
6. Windows will begin copying files onto your
computer. If at any point Windows asks you the
location of the files, direct Windows to your CDROM drive. Windows will continue copying files
onto your PC.
When Windows recognizes the Linksys HomeLink
Phoneline Network Card, click Next.
7. Next, a welcome screen will appear asking for
your computer's name. Give your computer any
name you'd like, (MikesComputer, Tardis, etc.).
Keep in mind that the name should be easy to
remember, and it should be something that is distinguishable from the other PCs on the network.
Click OK. Choose any name between 2 and 15
letters long, and remember that blank spaces are
not allowed.
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Windows 98
8. Windows will now copy the network files onto
your computer. This may take a few minutes.
When it's finished, click OK
9. Windows may ask you to supply your original
installation files. At this point, you may have to
insert your original Windows installation CD in
your CD-ROM. You may have to swap between
the HomeLink CD and the Windows CD several
times. In many cases, the Windows installation
files are stored on your hard drive in the
c:\windows\options\cabs.
If you receive any "Version Conflict" or similar
messages, and you are given a choice of over-writing any of your existing files, it is recommended
that you keep the existing files. You may receive
these messages many times, or you may not
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Windows 98
receive them at all depending on your system configuration and software.
10. Next, you will see a window informing you
that the card installation is complete. Click Finish.
When asked if you want to resart your computer,
make sure that the HomeLink CD is in your CDROM drive and click Ye s .
11. Once you are back at the Windows desktop,
the File and Printer Sharing window will appear
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Windows 98
12. Highlight any resources that you want to make
shareable. Click on the arrows [>>] to move the
resources into the box on the right side of the window. Click Next.
13. The Server-Client selection window will
appear. You must now choose to designate your
PC as the server or the client on your network. If
you will be sharing an Internet connection through
a modem, it is a good idea to designate the computer with the communications hardware installed
as the server. If you are using another PC's modem
over the network for Internet access or if you have
already installed a server elsewhere, pick client.
For more information about the client-server relationship, see page 16.
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Windows 98
It is best to install no more than ONE server on
your HomeLink network.
Click OK to continue.
14. Your computer may give you a message that it
is about to reboot. Let it do so. At this time, you
will move on to the installation of the WinGate
Home software.
During the WinGate Home installation, your PC
will reboot a few times. This is normal. Follow
all instructions on your screen, as the setup
process will vary from PC to PC depending
your computers’ configuration.
You may experience periods of inactivity during the installation when it appears as though
your PC isn’t doing anything. Do not reboot
your computer if this happens. Be patient and
follow the instructions on your screen. If you
encounter any DHCP error messages, ignore
them. Just click Yes to bypass the message
and continue with the installation
After each reboot, the computer may ask you to
log in. You may chose your username and password or you may click Cancel. You may continue
to do this until the installation is completed.
15. Next, you will see the WinGate Home
Network Setup Wizard software installation
screen. Read the information on the screen and
follow the instructions by clicking Next
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Windows 98
16. WinGate Home will provide you with an
explaination of the license agreement and the
changes it will make on your computer. To continue with the installation, answer Ye s to both. If you
click No, WinGate Home will not install on your
system.
17. You will be asked to select installation directory. The default directory is
c:\program files\wingate. We suggest that you
leave it there. If y
ou decide to put it somewhere
else on your hard disk, make a note of it. Click
Next.
18. At the next screen, click Next to continue. You
will see a screen prompting you to give the name
of your computer. Be sure that the name is the
same as the one you gave in step 7 and click Next.
19. WinGate Home will ask you if you are
installing your first computer on the network or if
you are adding a PC to an existing network. Select
the correct statement and click Next.
The Wizard will take a few seconds to check the
system, then it will reboot the computer.
20. After the reboot, the Wizard will go through
the network detection process for a few seconds.
21. WinGate Home will show you a diagram of
your network and it will run some performance
tests on your HomeLink card. Read the instructions on the screen and click Next.
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Windows 98
22. Next, you will be asked to select either the
Typical or Custom installation of the WinGate
Home software. It is recommended that you select
Typical. Click Next.
23. WinGate may warn you of an upcoming reboot
and reboot your system.
24. WinGate Home will copy the remaining files
onto your computer. When the installation is finished, click Finish.
Now, repeat the process on the other PCs. If you
have designated your first PC as a server, be sure
to install the other computers as clients. Be sure to
pay extra attention to the question that WinGate
Home asks you in step 19.
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Page 29
Windows 95
Windows 95S e tu p
After installing the HomeLink hardware in your
computer, follow these instructions for installing
the network driver in Windows 95. The installation procedure for the network driver will vary
slightly depending on the version of Windows 95
you are using and your current system configuration.
In the type of network that we will be building,
there are two kinds of computers - clients and
servers. Servers are the "mother" computers while
the clients are the "children". Servers handle all of
the administrative duties on the network, while
clients route all of their communications through
the server. The server is usually the fastest and
most powerful PC on the network, but it doesn't
have to be. If you have a PC with an analog
modem, cable modem, or other communications
device, (see page 52 if you are not using an analog
modem), you should use this PC as your server.
When your client PCs want to log on to the
Internet, they will be routed through the server.
Also, it's always a good idea to attach any networked printers to the server.
Decide now which computer will be your server
and which ones will be your clients. Make sure
that the Internet connection through a modem on
your server PC is configured and fully functional
before installing the HomeLink or WinGate Home
software. See page 48 for important hints about
connecting your modem.
25
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Windows 95
To install the network driver:
1. Turn off your computer and install the
HomeLink Card in your computer’s PCI slot.
2. Start up your computer and Windows 95.
Windows will display an "Update Device Driver"
window. Click Next.
3. Windows will try to find the sofware driver for
your HomeLink card. If Windows locates the driver, click Finish.
If it fails to find the driver, insert your CD-ROM
and click Other Locations. Direct the setup to
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Windows 95
your CD-ROM drive. When back at the Update
Device Driver Wizard Window, click Finish
4. Windows may prompt you to insert your
HomeLink CD-ROM now. Make sure the CD is in
the drive if you haven’t inserted it already. Click
OK. Windows will begin copying files onto your
PC.
5. In the Copying Files window, enter the letter
that designates your CD-ROM drive. In most
cases, the CD-ROM drive is either D:\ or E:\.
Enter your appropriate drive letter and click OK.
6. Next, a welcome screen will appear asking for
your computer's name. Give your computer any
name you'd like, (MikesComputer, Tardis, etc.).
Keep in mind that the name should be easy to
remember, and it should be something that is distinguishable from the other PCs on the network.
Click OK. Choose any name between 2 and 15
letters long, and remember that blank spaces are
not allowed.
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Windows 95
7. Windows will now copy the network files onto
your computer. This may take a few minutes.
When it's finished, click OK
8. Windows may ask you to supply your original
installation files. At this point, you may have to
insert your original Windows 95 installation CD in
your CD-ROM drive. You may have to swap
between the HomeLink CD and the Windows CD
several times. In many cases, the Windows installation files are stored on your hard drive in the
c:\windows\options\cabs.
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Windows 95
If you receive any "Version Conflict" or similar
messages, and you are given a choice of over-writing any of your existing files, it is recommended
that you keep the existing files. You may receive
these messages many times, or you may not
receive them at all depending on your system configuration and software.
9. Next, you will be asked to restart your computer. Click on Ye s . If you do not restart your PC, the
installation will be incomplete.
10. Once you are back at the Windows desktop,
the File and Printer Sharing window will appear
11. Highlight any resources that you want to make
shareable. Click on the arrows [>>] to move the
resources into the box on the right side of the window. Click Next.
12. The Client-Server selection window will
appear. You must now choose to designate your
PC as the server or the client on your network. If
you will be sharing an Internet connection through
a modem, it is a good idea to designate the computer with the communications hardware installed
as the server. If you are using another PC's modem
over the network for Internet access or if you have
already installed a server elsewhere, pick client.
For more information about the client-server relationship, see page 25.
See a picture of the screen on the next page.
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Windows 95
It is best to install no more than ONE server on
your HomeLink network.
Click OK to continue. The HomeLink Installer
wil copy some files onto your PC.
13. Your computer may give you a message that it
is about to reboot. This depends on your system
configuration. If Windows 95 wants to restart your
PC, let it do so. At this time, you will move on to
the installation of the WinGate Home software.
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Windows 95
During the WinGate Home installation, your PC
will reboot a few times. This is normal. Follow
all instructions on your screen, as the setup
process will vary from PC to PC depending
your computers’ configuration.
You may experience periods of inactivity during the installation when it appears as though
your PC isn’t doing anything. Do not reboot
your computer if this happens. Be patient and
follow the instructions on your screen. If you
encounter any DHCP error messages, ignore
them. Just click Yes to bypass the message
and continue with the installation
After each reboot, the computer may ask you to
log in. You may chose your username and password or you may click Cancel. You may continue
to do this until the installation is completed. Some
Windows 95 users will require Winsock2 to be
installed on their computers. The WinGate Home
Wizard will automatically install this software if
your system requires it.
15. Next, you will see the WinGate Home
Network Setup Wizard software installation
screen. Read the information on the screen and
follow the instructions by clicking Next
16. WinGate Home will provide you with an
explaination of the license agreement and the
changes it will make on your computer. To continue with the installation, answer Ye s to both. If you
click No, WinGate Home will not install on your
system.
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Windows 95
17. You will be asked to select installation directory. The default directory is
c:\program files\wingate. We suggest that you
leave it there. If y
ou decide to put it somewhere
else on your hard disk, make a note of it. Click
Next.
18. At the next screen, click Next to continue.
You will see a screen prompting you to give the
name of your computer. Be sure that the name is
the same as the one you gave in step 7 and click
Next.
19. WinGate Home will ask you if you are
installing your first computer on the network or
if you are adding a PC to an existing network.
Select the correct statement and click Next.
The Wizard will take a few seconds to check the
system, then it will reboot the computer.
20. After the reboot, the Wizard will go through
the network detection process for a few seconds.
21. WinGate Home will show you a diagram of
your network and it will run some performance
tests on your HomeLink card. Read the instructions on the screen and click Next.
22. Next, you will be asked to select either the
Typical or Custom installation of the WinGate
Home software. It is recommended that you
select Typical. Click Next.
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Windows 95
23. WinGate may warn you of an upcoming reboot
and then reboot your system.
24. WinGate Home will copy the remaining files
onto your computer. When the installation is finished, click Finish.
Now, repeat the process on the other PCs. If you
have designated your first PC as a server, be sure
to install the other computers as clients. Be sure to
pay extra attention to the question that WinGate
Home asks you in step 19.
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Windows NT
Windows NT 4 . 0 S e t u p
After installing the HomeLink hardware in your
computer, follow these instructions for installing
the network driver in Windows NT 4.0. The installation procedure for the network driver will vary
slightly depending on the version of Windows NT
you are using, the service packs you have
installed, and your current system configuration.
In the type of network that we will be building,
there are two kinds of computers - clients and
servers. Servers are the "mother" computers while
the clients are the "children". Servers handle all of
the administrative duties on the network, while
clients route all of their communications through
the server. The server is usually the fastest and
most powerful PC on the network, but it doesn't
have to be.
Please note that the NT installation does not automatically install the WinGate Home software onto
your computer. When you are finished with the
NT installation, reboot your PC and run the
WinGate installation program on the CD-ROM at
the path D:\wingate\wingate.exe.
Throughout the NT installation, it is assumed that
the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive is D. If
your CD-ROM drive is designated as any other
letter, use the correct letter instead of D.
If, at any time during the installation, you are
unsure about how to answer a specific question,
consult your system administrator or NT 4.0 documentation before you continue.
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Windows NT
To install the network driver:
1. From the Windows NT desktop, click on Start,
Settings, Control Panel. Double-click on the
Network icon. If you already have NT
Networking installed, click on Adapter, then click
on Add and skip to step 3. Otherwise, a message
will appear that says, “Windows NT networking is
not installed. Install now?” Click Ye s .
2. The Network Setup Wizard will appear. In the
choices box, check Wired to the Network and click
on Next.
3. Windows NT will now ask you to pick a network adapter. Click Select From List.
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Windows NT
4. A new window will appear that shows a long
list of adapters from different manufacturers.
Since the HomeLink card is a new product, it is
not listed here. Click on Have Disk.
5. A message that says “Insert Disk” will appear.
Put the HomeLink CD-ROM in the CD-ROM
drive and type D:\winnt40. Click OK.
6. A window will appear verifying that the
Linksys HomeLink Phoneline Network Adapter
has been detected. Click OK.
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Windows NT
7. Now you will be back at the setup wizard. You
will see the HomeLink card listed in the Network
Adapters window. Click Next.
8. Select your protocols for the card. If you are
unsure as to how your protocols should be set up,
consult your network administrator or your NT
documentation. Click Next.
9. Verify that your network services are correct. If
you are unsure as to how your services should be
set up, consult your network administrator or your
NT documentation. Click Next.
10. The setup wizard will tell you that it’s ready to
install your networking components. Click Next.
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Windows NT
11. Windows NT may tell you that it needs to
copy some NT system files onto your hard drive.
If this is the case, remove the Linksys HomeLink
CD from your CD-ROM drive and insert your NT
CD-ROM. Type D:\i386 and click Continue.
12. If you use TCP/IP, a window will ask you if
you would like to use DHCP. If you are unsure as
to whether or not DHCP should be set up, consult
your network administrator or your NT documentation. Click Ye s or No and continue.
13. NT will copy files onto your computer. This
may take a minute. If you receive an error that
says, “Unable to open the file
D:\winnt40\pcntn4hl.SYS” put the Linksys
HomeLink CD back in the CD-ROM drive.
Wait a few seconds and click Retry.
See a picture of the screen on the next page.
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Windows NT
14. The Bindings window will appear. If you are
unsure as to how your bindings should be setup,
consult your network administrator or your NT
documentation. If your bindings look correct,
click Next, then Next again.
15. NT will ask you to enter a Workgroup orDomain name. If you are unsure as to what your
Workgroup or Domain name should be, consult
your network administrator or your NT documentation. Enter the correct information and click
Next.
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Windows NT
16. Click Finish. You will be asked to retart your
computer. Click Ye s .
17. Your PC will reboot. Login to NT when the
login window appears. The installation is complete.
Make sure your network is functioning
Once you have installed your server and at least
one client, go to any computer on the network and
click on the Network Neighborhood icon on the
Windows desktop. You should see the names of all
of the PCs on the network. If one name or all of
the names are missing, refer to the troubleshooting
section in the back of this guide.
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WinGate
Us in g Win Gate Ho m e
WinGate Home has been automatically configured
to work with any Internet connection hardware.
(cable modems, ADSL, ISDN, etc.)
In a WinGate Home session, the server connects
to Internet as normal. Once connection is established, any other networked clients can automatically access the Internet by launching their web
browsers or mail programs.
The WinGate Home proxy server computer must
be fully booted before any other networked PCs
can get on to the network. We recommend that
you leave the server PC powered on all the time
while you are using your network. Turn it off only
when you are ending your networking session or
when you leave the house or go to bed.
When you log on to the Internet over the telephone line network, it may take a couple of minutes before your clients' Internet stream is clean
and running smoothly.
If you would like to have multiple email accounts
for different people on your network, first you
must find out if your Internet Service Provider
will allow you to have multiple mail addresses on
one dial-up account. You can either call them, send
an email from an existing account, or visit the
ISP's website for more information.
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WinGate
After you have established multiple email addresses, you can then configure your clients' email programs to go to a specific email box when checking for messages on the Internet.
The copy of WinGate Home included on the CDROM includes a limited user license. If you would
like to purchase more user licenses, you can do so
at WinGate Home's web site,
http://www.wingate.com. It is a good idea to
check back at the WinGate Home site every now
and then to learn about updates and new features
for the software.
WinGate Home's client support for Windows NT
somewhat limited. Check the web site often for
updated information.
For any technical support concerns, point your
browser to http://www.wingate.com/helpdesk.
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Card Settings
Ch a ng in g the Ca rd S e tt ings
For most users, the HomeLink default settings will
be perfect for both Phoneline and Ethernet networking. However, you can make any necessary
changes to your system's network settings by
clicking on your taskbar's Start button, then
Settings, then Control Panel, and then the
Network icon.
Note: Onl
what you are doing.
1. To access your HomeLink driver, click on the
Configuration tab, highlight Linksys HomeLink
Phoneline Network Card and click on Properties.
2. The Linksys HomeLink Properties window will
open. Click on Advanced.
y change these settings if you know
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Card Settings
Ethernet Configuration
This option allows you to choose the duplex and
speed performance of the HomeLink Card’s RJ-45
Ethernet port. In order to change the port settings,
the Mode Selection option must be set at 10BaseTOnly, or 10/100BaseTX Only, or the mode must
be set at Auto Detect with a valid link on the
10BaseT Port.
• 10Mbps Half Duplex sets the 10BaseT port to
half duplex mode. This is the default setting.
• 10Mbps Full Duplex sets the 10BaseT port to
full duplex mode.
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Card Settings
Mode Selection
You can set the HomeLink Phoneline Network
Card to default to either a 10BaseT connection or
Phoneline connection. Since there are three ports,
the card is set to Auto Detect an active connec-
tion. Auto Detect will look first for a connection
on the 10BaseT port, and if one is not found, the
card will default to the Phoneline connection.
You can configure the card to use only one connection type.
• 10/100 Ethernet (External) mode will force the
card to use a 10/100 connection if one is present.
• 10BaseT Ethernet (Internal) mode will force
the card to use a 10Mbps connection if one is
present.
• Phoneline mode will force the card to use only
the 1Mbps Phoneline connection.
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Appendix
Phoneline Configuration
You can set the Phoneline port to operate in several different modes. The phoneline port will default
to Auto Config mode. This mode automatically
sets the port to High Power/High Speed mode.
These port settings will only take effect if and
when the Phoneline port is selected as the default
port or if the card is in Auto Detect mode and the
Phoneline link is active.
• Setting the card in Low Power/High Speed
mode will still allow full speed on the Phoneline
port, but the card will operate at a lower power
consumption rate.
• High Power/Low Speed mode will give you a
700Kbps transfer rate over the Phoneline connection, while still allowing the card to operate
at full power.
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Appendix
Twis te d -P a ir Cabling
There are different grades, or categories, of twisted-pair cabling. Category 5 is the most reliable
and widely compatible, and is highly recommended. Category 3 is a good second choice. Straightthrough cables are used for connecting computers
to a hub. Crossed cables are used for connecting a
hub to another hub (there is an exception: some
hubs have a built-in uplink port that is crossed
internally, which allows you to uplink hubs together with a straight cable instead).
You can buy Category 5 cabling that is pre-made,
or cut and crimp your own. Category 5 cables can
be purchased or crimped as either straight-through
or crossed. A Category 5 cable has 8 thin, colorcoded wires inside that run from one end of the
cable to the other. All 8 wires are used. In a
straight-through cable, wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 at one
end of the cable are also wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 at the
other end. In a crossed cable, the order of the
wires change from one
end to the other: wire 1
becomes 3, and 2
becomes 6.
The color code for the 4 wires should be as follows: Wire 1, white with an orange stripe; Wire 2,
orange; Wire 3, white with a green stripe; Wire 6,
green. The other four wires have to be connected
as follows: Wire 4, blue; Wire 5, white with a blue
stripe; Wire7, white with a brown stripe, Wire 8,
brown.
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Appendix
To figure out which wire is wire number 1, hold
the cable so that the end of the plastic RJ-45 tip
(the part that goes into a wall jack first) is facing
away from you. Flip the
clip so that the copper side
faces up (the springy clip
will now be parallel to the
floor).When looking down
on the coppers, wire 1 will
be on the far left.
Telephone Cable
The telephone cables you use can be either
crossed over or straight-through. Standard telephone cables like the ones you use everyday in
your home should do the job.
Note: If you are only sharing Internet access
between 2 PCs, you can connect your modem
directly to your HomeLink Card using a standard
telephone cable. However, if you are sharing
Internet access among more than two computers,
it is strongly recommended that you obtain a twoway splitter for your phone jack, or that you find
another wall phone jack for your modem connection.
Forcing the HomeLink Network Card to supply
high-speed data from the Internet to multiple computers may result in an unstable or failed network
connection.
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Appendix
Trouble s h o o t in g
Troubleshooting Hints for Windows
Problem 1: Windows doesn't detect new hardware
with the HomeLink Card hardware installed, or it
continues to detect the card each time I restart the
PC.
Solutions
You might not have inserted the PCI card correctly
or securely into the appropriate slot of your computer. Check that the card is securely inserted into
the appropriate slot.
The motherboard in your system might not be
Plug-and-Play compatible, your PC's Plug-andPlay settings may not be enabled, or the motherboard may have Plug-and-Play options not supported by Windows. If you are not sure, contact
your PC's manufacturer.
Problem 2: Windows can't locate the driver for
the HomeLink Card device.
Solutions
You may have inserted the wrong CD-ROM into
your PC's drive.
The CD-ROM may be defective or files may be
missing, or you may be pointing Windows to the
wrong directory or drive.
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Appendix
Problem 3: The Windows Logon screen doesn't
appear after I restart my computer.
Solutions
Click on Start, Shut Down, then Close All
Programs and Logon as a Different User. If this
doesn't solve the problem, your PC's manufacturer
may have disabled Windows' networking. Contact
your computer's manufacturer for help.
Problem 4: In Network Neighborhood I can only
see myself and no other computers on the network.
Solutions
Make sure that the cables are connected correctly.
Make sure you are getting Link or Activity lights
on both the HomeLink Card and your hub if you
are using one. Try changing to a new cable that
you know is working.
Verify that the HomeLink Card’s Phoneline configuration is set to Auto Configuration. See the
chapter entitled Changing the Card Settings for
instructions on how to do this.
Try connecting your PCs using only the phone
wire provided with the HomeLink card.
Disconnect your PCs from any phone jacks and
remove any telephone, modem, or other device
that you have conencted to the HomeLink cards.
If the PCs are far away form each other, bring
them close to each other and try connecting them
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Appendix
directly together. This test will determine whether
your phone line or your HomeLink hardware is
causing your network to malfunction.
Problem 5: I installed the WinGate Home client
software on all of my PCs, but I can’t gain access
to the Internet
Solution
You must install the server component of the
WinGate Home software program first. After you
have installed the server component on one of
your PCs, install the client software on the
remainder of your networked computers.
Your server must be fully booted and conencted to
the Internet before you can attempt to gain access
through a client PC. You may have to reboot your
clients to gain access to the Interent through the
server.
Problem 6: I’ve decided that I don’t want to share
a drive or printer anymore, or I have decided to
physically remove a drive or printer from my network.
Solutions
You’re going to have to reconfigure your File and
Printer Sharing settings manually. To do so, double-click on your My Computer icon. Click on
the Printers folder. A window of available printers
will appear. Using your right mouse button, click
once on the printer that you want to disable on the
network. Click on Sharing, followed by the
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Appendix
Sharing tab. Click on Not Shared. When you're
done, click on the Apply button, followed by OK.
You can disable drives in the same way. In
Windows Explorer, right-click on the drive you
want to stop sharing. Click on Sharing, followed
by the Sharing tab. Click on Not Shared. When
you're done, click on the Apply button, followed
by OK.
General Troubleshooting Tips
1. If you do not want to install the WinGate Home
Proxy Server software package, simply click I Do
Not Agree when the licensing agreement appears
on the screen during the software installation.
2. Only use the telephone wires included in the
package.
3. If you are conencted to the Internet through an
ISDN router or cable modem and you already
have a network card installed in your PC, you
must use WinGate Home to share the connection
on your HomeLink network. In some cases, you
must manually configure your routing tables if
you want to use the HomeLink card to share the
conenction. Linksys will not provide support or
any information on configuring routing tables.
Contact your telephone or cable provider for assistance on this matter (if any is provided). It is simpler to purchase a hub and RJ-45 cabling and use
the hub to share the Internet connection. Somecable modems can not be shared.
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Appendix
Multiple Network Cards
The following information is supplied to you for
reference only.
Linksys does not provide technical support on the
setup or troubleshooing of multiple network cards
or enabling or setup of routing in an operating
system. Please refer to the documentation of your
operating system in order to find out more on how
to setup two network cards in a PC to communicate with each other. The phoneline card can use
either its RJ-45 ethernet connection or RJ-11
phone wire connection at any given time. Both
connections can not be used at the same time.
Connecting to an Existing Network
If you already have an Ethernet network and
would like to add the Phoneline card to this network, you need to use the card’s RJ-45 connector
and connect the card to the existing ethernet network. It is not possible to connect the card via RJ11 directly to an existing Ethernet network. This
can be done, but it requires the operating system
to be able to route the packets from an Ethernet
card to the HomeLink card. Two cards have to
coexist in a PC (one Ethernet card and one
HomeLink card). The operating system has to be
able to route packets between network cards, otherwise the two different segments will not communicate with each other. Cable modems are
often an exception. See the next page for details
about cable modem sharing.
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Appendix
Using a Cable Modem and the HomeLink
Card
If you are currently using a network card with a
cable modem, it is recommended that you connect
your cable modem to a hub for faster access
speeds. Keep in mind that some cable modems
may not be connected to a hub and require a direct
connection to a network card. Check with your
provider if you have any questions regarding this
matter.
You can also add the HomeLink card to a PC with
an existing network card. The WinGate Home
software that came with your HomeLink card is
capable of sharing the Internet connection on the
second card. For setup of two network cards in
your PC, see the documentation with your operating system. Linksys does not provide any technical support in setting up multiple network cards in
a PC. Linksys will support the installation of multiple cards, but is not responsible for setting up
and configuring routing or filtering tables.
Some cable modem providers may prevent the use
of proxy software to share the Internet. The best
course of action would be to discuss the matter
with your cable service provider, then consult your
PC’s documentation to find out what is required to
install multiple network cards.
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Appendix
Re m oving the In s talle d
Co m p o n e nts in Windows
9 5 a n d 9 8
There may be cases when you need to remove the
network card from the computer and make a fresh
start. In order to do this, follow these instructions
carefully.
1. Close any programs that you are running in
Windows. Click on Start, Settings, and ControlPanel. Double-click on Add/Remove Programs.
Close the Control Panel.
2. Highlight “Home Network Setup Wizard” and
click Remove. Click OK.
During the removal, you will be asked to remove a
series of shared files. If you aren’t sure if you
should remove the files or not, keep them by
clicking No.
3. Click on Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
Double-click on the Network icon.
4. Highlight the Linksys driver, and choose to
Remove it. If asked to reboot your computer, click
No.
5. Open My Computer, double-click on the
Windows folder, then double-click on the Inf
folder. In the list of files, delete NETAMDHL.INF.
Now Shutdown and Restart your computer.
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Appendix
6. If you are using Windows 98, you are ready to
start over and try re-installing the card. If you are
using Windows 95, continue on with the next step.
If You are Using Windows 95 Only
7. When your PC reboots, you will see a window
asking you if you want to install your HomeLink
Card. Press Cancel. Next, double-click on MyComputer and double-click on your C drive.
8. Double-click on Windows, then on the
ws2bakup sub-directory. Double-click on the file
ws2bakup.bat and let it run. When it is finished,
restart your PC. Now go to the Windows 95 or 98
installation instructions and re-install the card.
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Specifications
S pe cific a t io n s
ModelHPN100, HPN100SK
StandardsHomePNA, IEEE 802.3,
PC98, PC99, and NetPC
TopologyStar or Daisy Chain
ProtocolCSMA/CD
Speed1Mbps (Phoneline)
or 10Mbps (Ethernet)
Ports2 RJ-11, 1 10BaseT RJ-45
(Mutually Exclusive)
LEDsLink and Activity
Bus Type32-Bit PCI
CertificationFCC, CE
CablingStandard Copper RJ-11 and
Category 5 UTP or STP
Power5W maximum
Dimensions5.2" x 4.75" x .75"
Weight3 oz.
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Support
Cu s t o m e r S u p p o r t
For help with the installation or operation of your
HomeLink Phoneline Network Card, contact
Linksys Customer Support at one of the phone
numbers or Internet addresses below.