problem with nic card installation

[darkhorse]

i have:

epox 8kha+ motherboard
amd 1700+ cpu
256k pc2100
ATI 7500 video card
aureal mx300 sound card
56k modem
3com 905b nic card

ok here is the problem. everything works fine until i install the NIC. the computer boots very slowly after. boot time before NIC was 36 seconds to windows login. after was 2 min. 25 sec. i tried 2 different NIC cards, being careful to clear the tcp/ip stack and remove the old NIC before each install and i removed all my other cards and moved the NIC around to different PCI slots. Device manager shows no conflicts. i flashed my bios with latest rev. and got updated drivers for NIC. i turned off any unused serial ports and the onboard sound from bios. tried both pnp os set to yes and no. any ideas, cause i am about to have a coronary! Thanks.

[flounder43]

When I install a NIC card, it is not uncommon for the boot to go VERY slow. I think it is because Windows is looking for a net connection.

Usually, it speeds up if the network is actually set up and plugged in.

[Wa11y]

Try it in another PCI slot?

[darkhorse]

oh yeah, i have tried every possible combination of cards, all cards in, all out but nic, moved them all around, and like i said, i was careful to remove them properly in between switching them.

[Shadow ÒÓ]

helps if you can assign an IP addy to that nic so windows doesn't have to search for a DHCP server. It's typical to slow down a system, but that's a little extreme.

[WyrmMaster]

Originally posted by Shadow ÒÓ
helps if you can assign an IP addy to that nic so windows doesn't have to search for a DHCP server. It's typical to slow down a system, but that's a little extreme.

Dang shadow, you beat me to it. Iv had this problem before. Just assign an IP and ilt be back to normal. And thats about how much mine slowed down, if not more, i think mine may have been up to 5 minutes.

[rogerdugans]

I had to go to someones house a few months ago- same exact thing. He'd been complaining about it for a year, I told him what it was, and how to fix it but.......5 minutes after I got there boot time went from about 4 1/2 minutes to 40 seconds.

DHCP is ok........IF there is a DHCP server available!