Last Updated on 23 May 2026 by Suffocation
16-bit Novell network card with a decent length ;) . With some luck, the card could be NE2000 compatible. Both have a socket for a 27C64 EPROM. An AUI port makes them RJ45 compatible. Very nice card and even RJ45 capable with an adapter.
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Facts
| Manufacturer | Novell | Novell |
|---|---|---|
| Designation | 738-149-001 Rev F | 738-149-002 Rev C |
| Chip | DP8390DN | DP83901AV |
| Year of manufacture (integrated circuit card) | 1988 (1992) | 1990 (1992) |
| 10Base2 (BNC) | X | X |
| 10 Base-T (RJ45)/AUI | X | X |
| 10 Base-T (RJ45) | ||
| 100 Base X (RJ45) | ||
| 1000 Base X (RJ45) | ||
| Other connections | ||
| Configuration | Jumper | Jumper |
| ROM Support | X | X |
| ROM Type | 27C64 | 27C64 |
| ISA 8-bit | ||
| ISA 16-bit | X | X |
| VLB | ||
| PCI | ||
| PCI-E | ||
| Compatible with | NE2000 | NE2000 |
| Compatible designation | NE2000 | NE2000 |
User manual
Source: https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/n/E-H/40307.htm
Driver
Disk Operating System
REM Autoexec.bat
c:\driver\network\ne2000\ne2000.com 0x60 3 0x320
REM Config.sys - nothing neededThere must be a real MAC address visible, so nothing like 00:00:00:00:00 or F9:F9:F9:F9:F9.
Windows 3.x
Contain?
Windows 9.x, XP, 2000
Include!
Windows NT 3.5, 4.0
contain
OS2
–
Novell
Your entire driver package.
The whole driver package
Troubleshooting
Chips properly inserted
The computer didn't start with the second board. I initially suspected a short circuit but found nothing. After I got the first board working, I thought to myself, "I'll take out the network IC and give it a bit of contact spray." When reinserting it, I noticed I no longer knew its orientation. However, there's a dot on the IC and an arrow in the socket. My pictures, though, showed the IC inserted in a different direction. I compared it with pictures from the internet, rotated the IC, and off it went...
Obtain datasheets, block diagrams and schematics
Miscellaneous
Network types
https://www.fambach.net/?p=12059
Conclusion
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does the card work | Yes |
| How much did it cost? | The two items cost me €20 including postage. |
| Was the price okay? | Yes, with luck at a good price. |
| Is it worth it? | For me, yes, if someone only has RJ45 wiring, then rather not, the adapter costs another €10-40 and unnecessarily sticks out the back of the computer for a long time. |
| Overall conclusion | Positive – Looking forward to having two NE2000-compatible cards that fit perfectly into old PCs. |
Problems
No instructions and memory address unknown
If a driver is known, simply specify all addresses from 0x160-0x360 when loading. If the MAC address is not displayed as FF...FF, then the correct memory address should have been found.
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Sources
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/NE2000
https://hackaday.com/2021/04/24/was-novells-ne2000-really-that-bad
https://www.os2museum.com/wp/was-the-ne2000-really-that-bad
Good places to get network cards
DLINK DLink FTP
DOS Packet Driver http://www.georgpotthast.de/sioux/packet.htm
DOS Packet Driver https://packetdriversdos.net
Wrapper PD ODI/NDIS https://www.shikadi.net/network/
Computer-Retro – https://computer-retro.de/
General point of contact for hardware
Vogons https://vogonsdrivers.com
The Retro Web – https://theretroweb.com
Phil's Computer Lab https://www.philscomputerlab.com
Total Hardware – https://th99.dosreloaded.de/
Log
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08.04.2025 | Post created, images added, a bit of research done. |
| 23.05.2026 | A few errors in the text corrected and the phrasing improved 😉 |