This erroneous error message (which obviously doesn't mean what it says) can
be easily cured by booting off an install disc to the Restore Console and
running bootcfg /rebuild and following the instructions (followed if
necessary by chkdsk /r and possibly /p)

Don't know why the 3Com driver would do this or why the company wont respond
or assist when their driver both wont work AND causes this catastrophic
damage to a whole OS!

"news.rcn.com" <news.rnc.com> wrote in message
news:9-OdnS05Qd2kTvPeRVn-qQ@rcn.net...
> UPDATE:
> If you unplug the NIC and plug in a Buffalo (as an example) card, even
> with the 3Com utility running, you can connect to the Internet immediately
> and without problems using the Windows XP internet connection utility.
>
> If you then put the 3Com card back in, you can't connect at all: Either
> directly or by rebooting and letting the card and utility set themselves
> up. You get "DHCP SERVER ISN'T REACHABLE" followed by a BSOD
>
> You then re-boot and find that this 3Com driver has somehow corrupted
> NTOSKRNL and the whole computer won't start in any way or at all, either
> in safe mode or normally: It get about three seconds past the 'choose OS
> screen': Then stops.
>
> I suppose I should report this to Driverguide.com and then report back if
> 3Com will cooperate in repairing the damage their driver and utility seems
> to have done
>
> "news.rcn.com" <news.rnc.com> wrote in message
> news:MO6dnYGa5LqdmPTeRVn-jA@rcn.net...
>>I have about ten or twelve computers with a mixture of mostly PCs but a
>>few
>> Macs, all supposedly connected on the network. Some of them even network
>> together! I Have a mixture of mainly notebooks but a few desktops (with
>> internal NICs or USB devices). Netgear, Buffalo, Linksys, D-Link, etc
>> NICs.
>> All seem reasonably easily configurable or if not, the Technical Support
>> departments know their hardware's quirks and can tell you what is wrong.
>> (except possibly Netgear whose MA401 is very quirky and while it does
>> work
>> with 98 or XP, it is only really happy with Linux: But their MA301 and
>> MA111 work fine)
>>
>> But I am having a problem with a 3com PC card, a 3crwe62092A with a
>> curious
>> flat spring-out aerial. It has a gigantic 32 megabyte install exe file
>> which
>> doesn't seem to comprise a configurable scanner. But the card installs,
>> and
>> shows up in device manager without any exclamation marks. The card is
>> always properly recognised on boot and flashes pleasingly to show it is
>> working. It's extraordinarily limited utility usually even shows the
>> strength of the link and link quality. And you can even switch between
>> networks. But it is the only card I have never managed to get to
>> connect
>> to the Internet. And it has an internal diagnostic utility which doesn't
>> allow you to do much but which has never shown it working, even when it
>> is
>> showing a good link quality and signal strength!
>>
>> On any computer I have ever installed it on. (I need hardly add that
>> whenever I have had this problem, I have always connected some
>> alternative
>> NIC and they have inevitably worked immediately and without either
>> problems
>> or configuration issues)
>>
>> There is also a 500 kb update to the file which device manager seems to
>> think it doesn't need. Obviously when I can't get the card to work, I
>> update
>> the driver. On no computer has that ever made the slightest difference.
>> There is also a firmware update which does nothing.
>>
>> 3Com seems to be the only NIC company which couldn't care less about
>> supporting its products and has actively refused to assist. Has anyone
>> else
>> had these problems with either this company or this card OR found that
>> uninstalling the whole shooting match and installing some generic scanner
>> does the job if you can get the 3com card drivers themselves installed?
>>
>>
>
>