Local Area Connection showing not connected

[Taras_96]

Hi everyone,

I'm running Windows XP service pack w on a NEC laptop. The Local Area
Connection icon in the system tray is showing that the cable is
unplugged. I am using the exact same cable on Laptop B which has no
problems. I have tried using a different cable on the laptop, but
again it shows that the cable is disconnected on the NEC laptop but
laptop B has no problems.

The NEC laptop has no problems using other connections. The ethernet
adapter in question is a VIA VT6105 Rhine III Fast Ethernet Adapter.

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be going wrong as I am
stumped

Taras

 

[Danny Kile]

Hi everyone,

I'm running Windows XP service pack w on a NEC laptop. The Local Area
Connection icon in the system tray is showing that the cable is
unplugged. I am using the exact same cable on Laptop B which has no
problems. I have tried using a different cable on the laptop, but
again it shows that the cable is disconnected on the NEC laptop but
laptop B has no problems.

The NEC laptop has no problems using other connections. The ethernet
adapter in question is a VIA VT6105 Rhine III Fast Ethernet Adapter.

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be going wrong as I am
stumped

Taras

Sound like your Ethernet Adapter has gone bad. You could try going into
Device Manager and right clicking on VIA VT6105 Rhine III Fast Ethernet
Adapter and then left clicking on uninstall. The reboot and see if it
added back when it finds it. Then see what that does for you. Other
option is to get a new Ethernet Adapter either a PCMCIA type or an USB type.


Danny,

 

[layoutdesign]

Hi everyone,

I'm running Windows XP service pack w on a NEC laptop. The Local Area
Connection icon in the system tray is showing that the cable is
unplugged. I am using the exact same cable on Laptop B which has no
problems. I have tried using a different cable on the laptop, but
again it shows that the cable is disconnected on the NEC laptop but
laptop B has no problems.

The NEC laptop has no problems using other connections. The ethernet
adapter in question is a VIA VT6105 Rhine III Fast Ethernet Adapter.

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be going wrong as I am
stumped

Taras

You may want to check to make sure the device itself or it's drivers
are okay (as Danny noted).
Go to ControlPanel -- System -- Device Manager
Go to your ethernet adaptor and make sure it doesn't have a yellow ?
question
If it has a question then your hardware and device driver are having
trouble.

I've had an old laptop where I had to plug the cable in the laptop
then slightly wiggle it to get it to work.

 

[Taras_96]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your replies.

I didn't think it was a driver issue because the NEC laptop can
connect to the internet using other connections (eg: at hotels). The
fact that laptop B can connect to the network at home, while the NEC
laptop can't, lead me to formulate the idea that the problem might be
due to the quality of the network i'm trying to connect to.

The internet comes in on an ethernet cable. I kind of made up the
theory that the signal might be very weak on the ethernet cable, and
(I warn you I'm making this up) that the NEC's ethernet card is
detecting the signal as noise because it's threshold voltage is set
higher. I figured that if this was, by some fluke, true, that routing
the signal through a switch I have should fix the problem, as the
switch should boost the signal level.

Sure enough, when I tried this, the NEC laptop connected to the
network. Does my theory hold any credence?

Taras

 

[John Wunderlich]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your replies.

I didn't think it was a driver issue because the NEC laptop can
connect to the internet using other connections (eg: at hotels). The
fact that laptop B can connect to the network at home, while the NEC
laptop can't, lead me to formulate the idea that the problem might be
due to the quality of the network i'm trying to connect to.

The internet comes in on an ethernet cable. I kind of made up the
theory that the signal might be very weak on the ethernet cable, and
(I warn you I'm making this up) that the NEC's ethernet card is
detecting the signal as noise because it's threshold voltage is set
higher. I figured that if this was, by some fluke, true, that routing
the signal through a switch I have should fix the problem, as the
switch should boost the signal level.

Sure enough, when I tried this, the NEC laptop connected to the
network. Does my theory hold any credence?

Taras

Not likely.

What is more likely is that the Ethernet card usually does an automatic
Speed/Duplex sensing when connected to a network. Sometimes this
"automatic" sensing comes up with the wrong answer for whatever reason
(particularly when older devices are involved). If you start up the
Device manager, double-click on your network device, then click on the
"Advanced" tab, you will [usually] see a "Speed/Duplex" option that is
usually set to "Auto" but you may find that you need to set it manually
to work on some network connections.

In your case, connecting a switch causes it to negotiate the speed with
the switch instead of [presumably] your modem. It may work better with
the switch.

HTH,
John

 

[sanbalhara]

have u insttalled the driver of both lan card driver then use cross
cable or switch if u think yopur cable is ok then make a share folder
in both the computer then use the ping command

 

[Taras_96]

Not likely.

It was worth a shot

What is more likely is that the Ethernet card usually does an automatic
Speed/Duplex sensing when connected to a network. Sometimes this
"automatic" sensing comes up with the wrong answer for whatever reason
(particularly when older devices are involved). If you start up the
Device manager, double-click on your network device, then click on the
"Advanced" tab, you will [usually] see a "Speed/Duplex" option that is
usually set to "Auto" but you may find that you need to set it manually
to work on some network connections.

In your case, connecting a switch causes it to negotiate the speed with
the switch instead of [presumably] your modem. It may work better with
the switch.

HTH,
John

Yes it does help and is an interesting read- thanks John!