|
|
|
|
| Welcome, Guest | Home | Search | Login | Register | |
| Author | Trying to get ethernet working on the LC III (Read 312 times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ShinobiKenobi
256 MB  Posts: 362 System 7 fan 
|
on: January 30, 2026, 16:37
When I got this LC III, it came with an ethernet card installed into the PDS. However, I've never been able to get ethernet to work on this. I don't know if it's a hardware problem, or a software problem. I have provided pictures of the card. They are 8 MP images, so they range from 2-3+ MB. If you want me to make smaller, compressed versions, let me know. I know that might be hard to open on low memory systems, but I wanted to provide maximum detail. Picture 1 Picture 2 System details: System 7.1 68K RAM: 36 MB I have OT 1.3 installed. This is my card here (modern browser needed). I have the following related extensions: Internet Config Extension 2.0.2 Network Extension (in info it says Network Extension Finder 7.1.3) Open Tpt ATalk 68K Library 1.3.1, info says Open Transport 1.3 Open Tpt Inet 68K Library version 1.3.1 (info says Open Transport 1.3) Open Transport 68K Library 1.3.1 (info says Open Transport 1.3) OpenTransportLib.68K version 1.3.1 (info says Open Transport 1.3) EtherTalk Phase 2 version 2.5.7 (info says System Software 7.6) And I probably don't need this one, since it doesn't have a built-in ethernet jack: Ethernet (Built-In) version 1.0.4 (info says System Software 7.6) Control panels: AppleTalk version 1.1 (info says Open Transport 1.3) TCP/IP version 1.3.1 (info says Open Transport 1.3) In the TCP/IP control panel, the only option for "Connect via:" is AppleTalk (MacIP). It doesn't show ethernet as an option. The yellow/green LED on the NIC is lit up when the computer is on and when the network cable is plugged into the RJ-45 jack. Is it possible to get this working? |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Edit: January 30, 2026, 17:12 by ShinobiKenobi
|
wove
|
1024 MB Posts: 1363
Reply #1 on: January 30, 2026, 17:26
|
I came across this doing a quick search. I might have a useful nugget.
|
ShinobiKenobi
|
256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #2 on: January 31, 2026, 02:01
|
From that page, I found out about network software installer. Thank you. I installed 1.5.1. Now the LC III has an ethernet option in TCP/IP and AppleTalk. However, I'm still not getting online with the ethernet. My router access control panel does not see the LC III. When I click on "Info" in the TCP/IP control panel, <not available> is what comes up for this Macintosh, hardware address, and router. Which is strange, because I manually specified the router's address. I tried it with 802.3 checked and unchecked, saving each time when I close the control panel. So I can't get the MAC address of the ethernet card. Maybe I need to ditch Open Transport and try MacTCP. Also, now it complains when I boot the computer up if AppleTalk isn't active. After I get some sleep, I'll try some more.
Last Edit: January 31, 2026, 02:05 by ShinobiKenobi
|
Bolkonskij
|
Administrator 1024 MB  Posts: 2023
Reply #3 on: January 31, 2026, 07:17
|
First, not that I expect this to be the game-changer, but if you haven't, try the Open Transport 1.3.1 update for 68k (from our updates page). The LCIII should be fine with Open Transport. Configuring MacTCP always felt like a pain. "OT" really is a helper on System 7! (took me a while to get MacTCP to work on System 6 on my IIci) Can you ping your home router? MacPing should work fine on the LCIII and System 7.1, here's the page + download on System 7 Today. An alternative would be WhatRoute, essentially Unix's traceroute command. But it requires System 7.5.3. (you'd have to use a boot disk!) Let us know what it spits out. P.S. The techinfodepot link you've supplied doesn't work for me. Classilla reports "Host not found". Is that a Classilla issue ?
Last Edit: January 31, 2026, 07:47 by Bolkonskij
|
eelco
|
32 MB Posts: 41 System 7 Newcomer!
Reply #4 on: January 31, 2026, 07:48
|
Is the ethernet card in the LCIII connected directly to a router? Or does it connect to a switch first? If the former is the case, then you are probably running into auto-sensing issues. When connecting a host (a computer) to another host (another computer, but routers also fall into this category) you should be using an ethernet crossover cable. More modern network cards (most 100 Mbit cards, any 1 Gbit cards) can auto-sense whether they are connected to a switch (straight-through) or a host (crossover). These older network cards do not. Since you can't tell whether a cable is a crossover or straight-through variety just by looking at it, you should connect your older network cards to a switch first and connect the switch to a router. Or, in my case, when connecting to one of those Ethernet-over-powerline adapters, I had to switch ends (stick the end that was in the old network card in the powerline adapter and vice versa).
|
ShinobiKenobi
|
256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #5 on: January 31, 2026, 13:19
|
That's crazy that the site went down the day of, or the day after I posted that link. Luckily, I still had the tab open in Firefox, so I saved the page and uploaded it to my macgarden site. Here is the URL: http://home.macintosh.garden/~s0s/LC-PDS-110-00014-100.html @Bolkonskij, several numbers in my first post match 1.3.1. Does that mean it's 1.3.1? Why would they show the extra .1 if it's only OT 1.3? @eelco, it's a straight cat5e cable, and it's plugged directly into a managed switch. @wove I didn't have enough brain power left to read much more of that link yesterday, so I'll try MacTCP Ping.
|
ShinobiKenobi
|
256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #6 on: January 31, 2026, 22:07
|
I downloaded it and installed the files, and compared their info windows and found that I already had 1.3.1. I also tried MacTCP Ping, but it instantly pops up with an error saying "Cannot Open Resolver", and it closes after I click OK. After researching it, I found that it's talking about domain name resolver. I researched that, found out it's MacTCP DNR, which is supposed to be in the System Folder. It's there. I tried a bunch of things, and now I don't remember what all I tried. I read here to delete MacTCP DNR, so I did, but on the next reboot, it was back. So then I tried taking the built-in ethernet extension out and back in, same for the nubus extension to see what was making MacTCP DNR come back. I left in the LC ethernet. I deleted the TCP/IP prefs, and don't remember what else. Unfortunately at some point, I did something wrong, and now when I try to open the TCP/IP control panel, it says that the control panel cannot be used because Open Transport is not loaded. But I checked the extensions folder, and the four files are there. I noticed that I have a control panel called network now, that I don't think I had before, which is version 3.0.2. Update: Now I'm getting a different error in MacTCP Ping: "Cannot open MacTC driver, check MacTCP installation". I read about Network Software Selector, so I was going to try that, but I cannot find it. I have installed Network Software installer, but I don't have network software selector. I read somewhere that it was found in the Apple Extras folder, but I don't have that, and I even tried looking on the Garden, and didn't find it.
Last Edit: January 31, 2026, 23:43 by ShinobiKenobi
|
ShinobiKenobi
|
256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #7 on: February 01, 2026, 01:38
|
I got tired of messing with this problem. I initialized it and will try 7.5.3.
|
ShinobiKenobi
|
256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #8 on: February 03, 2026, 21:44
|
Update ****** I decided to give 7.1.3 another try. The only networking cable that was connected was a straight cat5e cable connected to my gigabit managed switch. This was connected to the LC III PDS 10 Mbit ethernet card. Starting with a blank hard disk, I installed 7.1. On the installation menu of InstallMeFirst, it gives you a bunch of options to install, and model-specific stuff. I only installed File Sharing, EtherTalk, and the system software for the LC III. No printer drivers or anything like that. However, after putting the InstallMeFirst disk back in right after finishing with the Fonts disk, it says a disk error occurred and that my disk might be damaged. I then started back over by booting from Disk Tools, initialized, updated the driver, and tested it with Disk First Aid, which said it was OK. After reinstallation of 7.1, I get the same error. This time, I decided to see if the system will work, and it does boot up with no problems. I can see my 7200 using EtherTalk over the ethernet cord. So then I upgraded it to 7.1.3. So at least I've ruled out that the network card was bad, since I can share files easily back and forth between my LC III and my 7200 using EtherTalk over the cat5e ethernet cord.
|
wove
|
1024 MB Posts: 1363
Reply #9 on: February 04, 2026, 04:07
|
Good to hear you are having success at getting the ethernet up and working, well at least being able to rule out choke points. Networking always vexes me, and I am content to just consider it magic. I run through a thousand permutations and perhaps I get lucky it works and I make a note to just never change it. Animal sacrifice along with assorted incantations is helpful at times too. 
|
eelco
|
32 MB Posts: 41 System 7 Newcomer!
Reply #10 on: February 04, 2026, 17:33
|
Quote from: ShinobiKEnobi I also tried MacTCP Ping, but it instantly pops up with an error saying "Cannot Open Resolver", and it closes after I click OK. When using MacTCP Ping, was pinging an IP address succesful? Something like 8.8.8.8? If so, name resolution is indeed probably an issue. The thing about Ethertalk/Appletalk is that is does not need TCP/IP to communicatie. Since you can share files between the two machines, the network link is indeed fine. Since you are using MacTCP you're probably not using OpenTransport, am I right?
|
ShinobiKenobi
|
256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #11 on: February 05, 2026, 04:47
|
@eelco I wasn't using MacTCP; I was using Open Transport. Also, I couldn't try anything on MacTCP Ping because immediately when I run it, it pops up with that error message I mentioned, and when you click OK, it quits.
|
|
Pages: [1]
|
| ||||||||||||
|
© 2021 System7Today.com. |
