Can a computer support 3 PCI Ethernet cards
 

all at the same time or will there be problems?

I've got two in my PC, and didn't have any problems at all.
So three should also be alright IMHO.

Depends on the Cards and the OS, but you'll probably be fine

Make sure there all the same model..

because i am getting problems. I have to basically disable one of them so the other two can work. Only two at a time can work? Maybe it some comflics or something?

Probably a conflict. I know I have had at least 4 working in the same box at once but don't ask how we got it set up because that was like 5 years or so ago.

it can support all three. having all 3 the same brand may make things a little confusing one cause you won't know which is which. my server (mini shuttle box) has the option for two lan port but i only needed one. right now i'm running with the LAN and Wifi active no problem.

i have a three network card - wireless, DVB and local ethernet - no problem :)
but i think you'll have some problems with 3 ethernet cards

I've done a W2K Server box with 4, all of them the same brand of 3Com. Had to do this registry hack for load balancing across all of the cards.

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kba...ptercards.html

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters
Name: RandomAdapter
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1 enable

:thumbsup

Nice find!

yep I've had two also, i

giving this thread a bump

i dotn think that works for winxp, since I dont have the RandomAdapter regedit

Yes you can, you will likely get an IRQ conflict but thats easily fixed. Since you would be capable of tansfering SOOO much you might not have enough processing power to send and full speed with all, then you might need some balancing tweak/hack.

ahh nevermind i found this thread http://www.winnetmag.com/Article/Art...258/23258.html and it says to add that RandomAdapter

actually no. I would only use probably 2 at a time at "max capacity" the reason why I want all 3 to work is because I don't want to switch around between them. Where can I get these IRQ conflicts fixed? Device Properties?

There's a bunch of TCP/IP registry parameters that are not set by default. This knowledge base article (WinXP) lists them all.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;314053

:glugglug

For winXP you can click through the adapters manually in start/administrative tools/Computer Management /Device Manager. While your there have a look at the event viewer for funky errors from your network stuff.

Some older motherboards (BX chipset comes to mind) have a PCI slot that isn't very co-operative. It's one of the middle slot and should be documented as a 'non busmastering' slot. That problem has caused me huge headaches in the past installing multiple video capture cards.

is there anyway to check if I have a BX chipset?

Look up your motherboard documentation and they may have documented it. The manufacturer, model #, and revision # should be on the board.

It might be a different problem but that's what I would look at next. Try searching GFY for 'Agent White'. He seems to know his networking ;)