Hello, I've recently ran into the same issue with this NIC. We were able to fix it today and ghost on every single client with this NIC installed!!
The problem: "Network adapter not found or not responding" Snipped from the MBA text file 3C990:
2) Errors when network adapter not found or not responding
When remotebooting under RPL, the 3C990-MBA performs a full reset to the
3C990 NIC before transferring control to DOS. In some situations, this
full reset may consume enough time to hide the 3C990 NIC from the PCI
BUS while loading the NDIS 2 driver. If this occurs, it will result in
the following error message:
"Network adapter not found or not responding"
To correct this, you will need to add the "LoadDelay=xxx" parameter
to your [EL99X...] driver section in PROTOCOL.INI. Example:
; Set delay time in ms, default value is 0
LoadDelay = 2000
Tests indicate that the minimum value needed when encountering this error
is 300 ms. Increasing this value will prolong the time before the driver loads and minimize this error.
The Fix: You need to add a LoadDelay to your protocol.ini file where the template you are trying to load is stored. Should be located at \Documents and Settings\All Users\Symantec\Ghost\Templates or a similar location (not at work now to get our exact path). A search can be done to locate it, but must have search hidden or 'show hidden files/folders' checked in search window to find it. I am not sure if you can just add the comment into the Network Adapter config/modify window.
This has allowed us to continue to use PC-DOS instead of creating/using boot cds/winpe!
Adding this simple comment into the protocol.ini file enabled us to ghost on our wonderful NICs!
LoadDelay=2000 worked for us first try!