Windows NT Incorrectly Detects Intel 82558 and 82559 Based NICs Including Those Integrated on Motherboards

Affected Products: ALR Servers, Servers, Desktops, Destination® PCs
Affected Operating Systems: Windows NT® 3.51, Windows NT® 4.0 Server

ISSUE: During the installation of Windows NT®, the network interface card (NIC) is detected as an Intel 82557 based 10/100 Ethernet PCI adapter. When restarting the computer, the most likely problem to occur is a blue screen with an error message or Windows STOP error indicating E100B.SYS as the offending file. However, in rare cases, the computer starts to the user interface and networking performance is seriously degraded or does not function at all.

Note: This error may also be evident after the installation of a Windows NT Service Pack update. Many of the service packs attempt to overwrite the E100B.SYS file. Many users assume this is the correct action to take and allow the update program to proceed in doing so.

Additional information can also be found in Technet article Q230013.

RESOLUTION: Use the Intel drivers for the specific motherboard or NIC adapter located on various Server Companion CDs, driver disks, or from the driver download utility on the Gateway website.