Intermittent message-Cable is unplugged

[Meyer]

The network is:
Roadrunner with supply your own connection AOL 9.
Internet access through a cable modem into PC 1 via 100 mps Ethernet and
ICS.
LAN through hpna (telephone line) 2.0 (10mps).

The PC's:
PC1
2.5 GB celeron
256 MB RAM
Win xp home
10/100 mps Ethernet onboard nic
10 mps netgear hpna 2.0 PCI nic

PC2
2.4 GB celeron
128 MB RAM
Win 2k Pro
10 mps netgear hpna 2.0 PCI nic

PC3
233 PII
32 MB RAM
Win98se
10 mps D-Link hpna 2.0 PCI nic

All PC's have excess available space on their HDDs.

The problem:
This network was setup and running with all PCs able to see and access each
other, including printers and internet and AOL at a very acceptable speed,
as fast as if the file was on the PC not the LAN. It ran this way for over 1
month.

Without warning I found I could only access the LAN from PC1 intermittently,
and of course I could not access the Internet or PC1 from PC2 or 3. Internet
access from PC1 worked fine. When I checked the network connections I
noticed that the hpna nic was constantly showing first that it was connected
and then that it was unplugged. While the time spent in either state was
variable it switched back and forth anywhere from once a minute to 7-8
cycles or more per minute. Running ping would give all combinations of 4
returns to 4 timeouts. PC2 and PC3 are running fine in the LAN. One thing I
have noticed is that when the connection stays up long enough to get into
the LAN the connection speed is unacceptably slow. Timed in minutes rather
than seconds.

My first thought was bad hardware so I have changed the phone wire and the
actual jack (I ran a known good cable to the next room). No improvement.
Next, I changed the PCI slot and reloaded the drivers (XP claims to have a
better driver, which was the original driver I used in the setup, so I
reloaded that and when it didn't work loaded the netgear driver). No
improvement. I then replaced the nic with a D-link hpna 2.0 nic from another
working LAN and loaded both sets of drivers (one at a time). No improvement.
I have setup the connection with both static and dynamic IPs. No
improvement. I have made no changes to PC1, it just started to work this
way.
I'm out of ideas.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks.
Meyer

 

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

Without warning I found I could only access the LAN from PC1 intermittently,
and of course I could not access the Internet or PC1 from PC2 or 3. Internet
access from PC1 worked fine. When I checked the network connections I
noticed that the hpna nic was constantly showing first that it was connected
and then that it was unplugged. While the time spent in either state was
variable it switched back and forth anywhere from once a minute to 7-8
cycles or more per minute. Running ping would give all combinations of 4
returns to 4 timeouts. PC2 and PC3 are running fine in the LAN. One thing I
have noticed is that when the connection stays up long enough to get into
the LAN the connection speed is unacceptably slow. Timed in minutes rather
than seconds.

My first thought was bad hardware so I have changed the phone wire and the
actual jack (I ran a known good cable to the next room). No improvement.
Next, I changed the PCI slot and reloaded the drivers (XP claims to have a
better driver, which was the original driver I used in the setup, so I
reloaded that and when it didn't work loaded the netgear driver). No
improvement. I then replaced the nic with a D-link hpna 2.0 nic from another
working LAN and loaded both sets of drivers (one at a time). No improvement.
I have setup the connection with both static and dynamic IPs. No
improvement. I have made no changes to PC1, it just started to work this
way.

I think it is hardware. I suggest you bring all three PCs together in
one room with a couple of short patch cables and see if you can find
which adapter is bad. If all adapters work well together on patch cords,
you can start focusing on which phone wiring segment is bad. Check all
the jacks for bad wiring connections, esp. shorts from one terminal to
another.

 

[meyer]

I think it is hardware. I suggest you bring all three PCs together in
one room with a couple of short patch cables and see if you can find
which adapter is bad. If all adapters work well together on patch cords,
you can start focusing on which phone wiring segment is bad. Check all
the jacks for bad wiring connections, esp. shorts from one terminal to
another.

I think I found the problem. The person I'm helping has 8 telephones and a fax machine on
the one line. When I unplugged one of the telephones (the one he added just before the
trouble started) everything started to work correctly.
Thanks for the help.
Meyer