I've been trying to reconnect my old Gateway Dimension 500 desktop w/ Windows 98 SE to the Internet. The first card I tried failed due to an incompatibility with the PCI slot...something about 2.1 (the motherboard) versus 2.2 (the card)compliance. The card was a D-Link DWL-520 that I am in the process of returning.
The card fit into the slot fine, which was fairly easy to access. It powered up and everything, just did not connect due to the 2.1 instead of 2.2 issue.
I've been searching high and low since with little luck. I thought about trying to switch to USB, but the ports on the Gateway are 1.0. I'm not sure if the newer adapters with 1.1-2.0 will work. I'd still rather use a PCI card if I can find an
affordable one that will work. Most manufacturers don't provide enough information on their websites or down-loadable user guides or spec sheets to determine their compatibility with the older standards.

Any ideas out there?

Thanks,

James T.

You may be able to correct this issue with a Bios flash. Have you investigated this solution?

In response to a members question about the Bios and Flashing I will add to this thread.

Your Bios (Basic Input Output System) is EPROM (Electronically Programmable Read Only Memory) Firmware that contains an instruction set that tells your CPU, Ram, Motherboard, Hard Drive etc. how to interpret the various commands that pass amongst these devices. Flashing the Bios can add to or change these interpretations to fix issues of incompatibility due to a poor instruction set or outdated instructions.

In the situation described in this topic where our member has:



If the Bios only recognizes 2.1 compliance, it can't interpret the commands sent by a 2.2 card. Sometimes a Bios Flash (if the updated Bios update covers this issue) can update the Bios such that the instruction set can now correctly interpret these commands and allow a newer device to work in an older machine.

Most often a Bios Flash is designed to update a Motherboards ability to accept a newer CPU. This is because CPU makers and Motherboard makers are always trying to keep up with or outrace each other in terms of the latest technology. By the time a Motherboard is a few months old some geek is trying to stuff the leading edge CPU into it but the Bios makers (when the Motherboard was released for sale) did not have enough information from the CPU makers in order to write the Bios instruction set for the next generation CPU because these CPU's were still under going design and testing and even the CPU makers weren't sure what those instruction sets were going to be.

Before you flash a Bios you must determine whether that Flash will address whatever issue you are trying to correct or its not a worthwhile endeavour.

A Bios Flash is not something to do for the sake of doing it. If you Flash a Bios and for some reason that flash is interrupted (say by a power disruption or some other failure) the Motherboard will become useless.

jumpkutz if you can let me know the Model number of your Dell I'll take a look around and see what I can find out. Its a Dimension 500 Series but we need the Model number. Usually this can be found on the back of a Dell tower.

Actually, I misspoke. It's a Gateway Essential 500, purchased 12/18/1999.
It's got Windows 98SE, a Pentium III Processor, 64MB Memory Module and 10 GB
5400RPM Ultra ATA Hard Drive.

Thanks,
JUMPKUTZ

No, that was me. You've been calling it a Gateway since the first post. Wrapping my brain around that epistle about Bios Flashes caused a meltdown I think.

Check out this Gateway Support Document and you will see the information I need. Just the Series number isn't enough to find a Bios Flash, although it might do for a sound card driver or whatever. You need to be very careful to get the right .bin file. Look on the back of the tower for more info. What we need is the model number as opposed to the series number.