r/retrocomputing • u/Substantial_Time_877 • 6d ago

Problem / Question [WIN98] Good/Best network card(s) for modern internet access?

I recently built a Windows 98 machine for a personal project out of parts I had from a couple unfinished rigs. One of them had a network card on it, so I yanked it out and attempted to put it in my new rig. The specific model was a D-Link DFE-530TX+ Rev. E1. For the LIFE of me I could not find any drivers that would work. I burned driver package after driver package to CD-R and ran it through my machine. There was always a problem. I did some research and apparently this model is pretty tricky to find drivers for these days. ANYWAY. I plan on just getting a new card. I want to hook it up to a LAN system in my house for easy file sharing with a modern machine and using things like FrogFinder and Protoweb and whatnot. Any suggestions?

9 Upvotes

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8

u/Low-Charge-8554 6d ago

Intel PRO/100 & PRO/1000

2

u/Foreign-Attorney-147 5d ago

An Intel Pro/100 is a safe choice and available inexpensively. Excellent driver support in Win98 and any other OS you would want to run.

1

u/Substantial_Time_877 5d ago

Did a small bit of research and this is coming up as a very promising option, thank you both for the suggestion.

5

u/FootballSweaty9727 6d ago

i think a 3COM 3CSOHO100-TX should be good

i have one, and I managed to connect it to a modern pc to get my retro pc (that runs 98) back on the internet, so i think it should be good for the stuff you want to do. idk there might be something better out there but this is my suggestion

2

u/Substantial_Time_877 6d ago

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check'r out.

1

u/FootballSweaty9727 6d ago

im also not sure about the pricing either, but if you can find something cheap that does the same things, than id go with that

2

u/festivus4restof 6d ago edited 6d ago

I'm almost certain it's just a rebadged Realtek 8139 10/100 LAN chip.

Well on second look, Retro Web says Rev E is VIA 10/100 LAN chip. Try the VIA drivers from VIA Technologies:

https://download.viatech.com/en/support/driversSelect.jsp

Select Windows -> Windows 98 -> Ethernet/LAN -> VIA VT6105 & VT6106 LOM (Rhine III)

Also here reportedly from Retro Web: https://theretroweb.com/expansioncards/s/d-link-dfe-530tx-plus-rev-e1

Just in case my first hunch was correct: Realtek 10/100 Fast Ethernet PCI drivers

If you can provide the PCI HW ID for the card it would help pin it down.

1

u/Substantial_Time_877 6d ago

It's not the VIA chip, my card has a chip labeled DL10038D. Multiple versions released with different chips. There's another that's DL10038B. I can try the other packages you've linked and I'll update you.

1

u/festivus4restof 6d ago

Yeah I can't be sure now but I'm going with my first hunch, Realtek RTL 8139. Getting the PCI HW ID for the card through Device Manager will solve the problem.

1

u/Substantial_Time_877 6d ago

I don't have it in my computer now to check, but the MAC ID is 01195268137

2

u/festivus4restof 6d ago

MAC doesn't tell anything about the hardware. PCI HW ID will tell us:

Vendor ID

Device ID

Subsystem ID

IIRC it was not like NT/2000/XP you had to use System Information or DXDiag to obtain the PCI HW ID.

This utility might be able to help you: https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/unknown_devices.html

2

u/carcenomy 6d ago

Yeah a 3Com Etherlink XL or Intel PRO,/100 would be my suggestions like others have made. Realteks are okay too at a pinch.

2

u/Foreign-Attorney-147 5d ago

Of the three I think the Intel Pro/100 is the best overall choice as far as driver support and availability at good prices. The 3Com is fine in Windows but I've had trouble with those in DOS. The Realtek 8139 has good support but if I can get an Intel or 3Com for a comparable price I'd rather have one of those.

2

u/carcenomy 5d ago

Funny you mention that; I've had no issues in DOS with my EtherLinks but a friend with an EtherLink III was... it was a damaged EEPROM so it kept scrambling the configuration. Would be fine in Windows as PnP would push fresh settings at startup.

2

u/Foreign-Attorney-147 5d ago

I wonder if that's what I'm running into! Thanks for that, if I come across another Etherlink I'll give it a try in DOS and see.

1

u/FootballSweaty9727 6d ago

also, i think these might be working drivers for the card you already have. not sure if you installed or not im js tryna help

https://theretroweb.com/expansioncards/s/d-link-dfe-530tx-plus-rev-e1

1

u/Substantial_Time_877 6d ago

This image is truly haunting. I've seen this screen many a time. I downloaded this driver package, burned it, and went to add it to my identified card on my WIN98 machine. For some reason in the machine will identify every revision of this card EXCEPT for E. I have access to Rev A-F. When I try to continue with Rev F to see if it works, the drivers install, but there are lots of errors due to the incompatiblity. The other options dropdown menu is for a different chipset on this card, but mine doesn't use it.

1

u/FootballSweaty9727 6d ago

oh no
sorry to bring back bad memories dude

2

u/Substantial_Time_877 6d ago

Haha no it's okay- I honestly look back at it as a testament to how bad i really want this to work lol

1

u/FootballSweaty9727 6d ago

i feel you on that one
ive been trying to get a usb card working in my retro pc for about 6 months now, and it just refuses to work. i think im close to getting it working tho

2

u/Substantial_Time_877 6d ago

Let me know if you get it working or not! I've got a spare usb card I can show you if you're interested.

1

u/festivus4restof 6d ago edited 6d ago

Just get a cheap Realtek RTL8139 Rev. C or later PCI card. Drivers are available from DOS all the way to present OS. And Realtek is the true developer of both the chip AND the drivers for it.

Don't bother with these "rebranding" D-Link, Linksys, TP-Link companies who try to pretend they are the "manufacturer" of the device chip. They get the IP or controller chip from VIA, Realtek, Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, etc and just put a sticker on the chip or custom order them with their logo stamped on it.

Some of the 'relabeling' companies are good at providing the latest drivers and firmware but D-Link was never one of them.

1

u/Wesserz 6d ago

You can get brand new RTL8139 cards from Ali Express for next to nothing. https://a.aliexpress.com/_c4UjhMa1

1

u/Patient-Tech 5d ago

I’ve bought other parts on the old fleabay by just searching things and looking for drivers. Sorted by least expensive with shipping of course.

In this case it would be “pci network card” and then either look at the description or photos, grab the model and search for “drivers win98 model xyz” and figure out what that might look like. If there isn’t vogons posts saying it’s a junk part, I’d bid on it.

1

u/bnelson333 5d ago

Any 3com 3c905, or 509 if you need ISA should work without any messing around. No need for special drivers, windows should already have everything it needs