Why is pktgen v1.3 causing an error message like this? (See message body)

Hello!
I need to do some performance testing on an Ethernet layout. To that
end I installed a 3COM 3C509 card in this machine, and configured it
accordingly.

However when I configured the pktgen module using the suggested bash
script, it caused an error to arrive in the system log:
"pklgen: Error: your machine does not have working cycle counter.".

Wasn't this particular problem supposed to have been fixed by the time
the 2.4 kernel reached the 2.4.33.3 release? And does anyone know where
I can find an updated solution to this problem. (Without upgrading to a
2.6 series kernel. It's not possible now.)
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Gregg gregg dot drwho8 atsign gmail dot com
"This signature plays poker with a straight face."

.