NIC Problem

M

MartynB

This machine is XP Pro SP2 fully updated.

The machine is on a local area network and is connected to a D-Link DI-624
router with a straight through RJ45 cable operating at 100Mbps Full Duplex.
The onboard NIC is a SiS 190 100/10 Ethernet Device which has been
uninstalled and reinstalled, and has had it driver updated to version
2.0.1029.1090 dated 15/10/2007 and signed by "Microsoft Windows Hardware
Compatibility Publisher". The LAN Connection TCP/IP settings are configured
for a fixed IP address.

After running a well known file sharing application for some time, all
network activity stops. I can still ping the machine's local address as well
as the localhost 127.0.0.1. The default gateway as well as any other address
on the network are unresponsive. If the network cable is unplugged, XP
reports "cable unplugged". Repair of the network connection results in an IP
address of 0.0.0.0., which is strange as DHCP is not enabled. When examining
Local Area Connection Properties, the window stops responding and Explorer
dies when Task Manager is used to end the unresponsive program. I suspect
that the relevant instance of svchost.exe had stopped, so no information of
the event was available in Event Viewer.

Up to now, the only fix for this problem is to reboot the machine, although
on shutdown, the system hangs indefinitely with "Closing Network
Connections" (probably due to svchost.exe being stopped), so a box reset is
necessary. I have swapped the DI-624 router for a Linksys WRV200 router but
the problem remains.

When not running the file sharing application, there is often (perhaps every
hour depending on network utilisation) a popup announcing that the Local
Area Connection is connected, which implies that the connection had failed
and had re-established. In this case the network remains healthy until the
next connection failure. I had originally suspected that the router had
re-booted but the router log did not confirm this. However, after these
events the XP Event Viewer (system) shows a information event 4201 from
source tcpip:-

"The system detected that network adapter SiS190 100/10 Ethernet Device was
connected to the network, and has initiated normal operation over the
network adapter."

On only one occasion have I seen Event 4202 preceding Event 4201:-

"The system detected that network adapter SiS190 100/10 Ethernet Device was
disconnected from the network, and the adapter's network configuration has
been released. If the network adapter was not disconnected, this may
indicate that it has malfunctioned. Please contact your vendor for updated
drivers."

I suspect that the cause of the problem may be the onboard SiS 190 100/10
Ethernet Device, for which I can find no documentation. In the advanced
properties tab are a number of settings which may require adjustment, but I
am reluctant to experiment.

Are there any further tests that could be done that would prove if this a XP
problem, or a NIC problem?
 
P

Paul

MartynB said:
This machine is XP Pro SP2 fully updated.

The machine is on a local area network and is connected to a D-Link DI-624
router with a straight through RJ45 cable operating at 100Mbps Full Duplex.
The onboard NIC is a SiS 190 100/10 Ethernet Device which has been
uninstalled and reinstalled, and has had it driver updated to version
2.0.1029.1090 dated 15/10/2007 and signed by "Microsoft Windows Hardware
Compatibility Publisher". The LAN Connection TCP/IP settings are configured
for a fixed IP address.

After running a well known file sharing application for some time, all
network activity stops. I can still ping the machine's local address as well
as the localhost 127.0.0.1. The default gateway as well as any other address
on the network are unresponsive. If the network cable is unplugged, XP
reports "cable unplugged". Repair of the network connection results in an IP
address of 0.0.0.0., which is strange as DHCP is not enabled. When examining
Local Area Connection Properties, the window stops responding and Explorer
dies when Task Manager is used to end the unresponsive program. I suspect
that the relevant instance of svchost.exe had stopped, so no information of
the event was available in Event Viewer.

Up to now, the only fix for this problem is to reboot the machine, although
on shutdown, the system hangs indefinitely with "Closing Network
Connections" (probably due to svchost.exe being stopped), so a box reset is
necessary. I have swapped the DI-624 router for a Linksys WRV200 router but
the problem remains.

When not running the file sharing application, there is often (perhaps every
hour depending on network utilisation) a popup announcing that the Local
Area Connection is connected, which implies that the connection had failed
and had re-established. In this case the network remains healthy until the
next connection failure. I had originally suspected that the router had
re-booted but the router log did not confirm this. However, after these
events the XP Event Viewer (system) shows a information event 4201 from
source tcpip:-

"The system detected that network adapter SiS190 100/10 Ethernet Device was
connected to the network, and has initiated normal operation over the
network adapter."

On only one occasion have I seen Event 4202 preceding Event 4201:-

"The system detected that network adapter SiS190 100/10 Ethernet Device was
disconnected from the network, and the adapter's network configuration has
been released. If the network adapter was not disconnected, this may
indicate that it has malfunctioned. Please contact your vendor for updated
drivers."

I suspect that the cause of the problem may be the onboard SiS 190 100/10
Ethernet Device, for which I can find no documentation. In the advanced
properties tab are a number of settings which may require adjustment, but I
am reluctant to experiment.

Are there any further tests that could be done that would prove if this a XP
problem, or a NIC problem?

I would plug in a PCI Ethernet card, and just sidestep the issue with the
SIS Ethernet entirely. An Intel card or a 3COM might be solid bets - check
the reviews for more info.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=pci lan&bop=And&Order=PRICE

With respect to your router, and the use of a well known file sharing application,
usually there are tuning rules or even suggestions for router products
that won't jam up with dead connections. Some of the issues are well known,
and have solutions.

Paul
 
S

smlunatick

This machine is XP Pro SP2 fully updated.

The machine is on a local area network and is connected to a D-Link DI-624
router with a straight through RJ45 cable operating at 100Mbps Full Duplex.
The onboard NIC is a SiS 190 100/10 Ethernet Device which has been
uninstalled and reinstalled, and has had it driver updated to version
2.0.1029.1090 dated 15/10/2007 and signed by "Microsoft Windows Hardware
Compatibility Publisher". The LAN Connection TCP/IP settings are configured
for a fixed IP address.

After running a well known file sharing application for some time, all
network activity stops. I can still ping the machine's local address as well
as the localhost 127.0.0.1. The default gateway as well as any other address
on the network are unresponsive. If the network cable is unplugged, XP
reports "cable unplugged". Repair of the network connection results in an IP
address of 0.0.0.0., which is strange as DHCP is not enabled. When examining
Local Area Connection Properties, the window stops responding and Explorer
dies when Task Manager is used to end the unresponsive program. I suspect
that the relevant instance of svchost.exe had stopped, so no information of
the event was available in Event Viewer.

Up to now, the only fix for this problem is to reboot the machine, although
on shutdown, the system hangs indefinitely with "Closing Network
Connections" (probably due to svchost.exe being stopped), so a box reset is
necessary. I have swapped the DI-624 router for a Linksys WRV200 router but
the problem remains.

When not running the file sharing application, there is often (perhaps every
hour depending on network utilisation) a popup announcing that the Local
Area Connection is connected, which implies that the connection had failed
and had re-established. In this case the network remains healthy until the
next connection failure. I had originally suspected that the router had
re-booted but the router log did not confirm this. However, after these
events the XP Event Viewer (system) shows a information event 4201 from
source tcpip:-

"The system detected that network adapter SiS190 100/10 Ethernet Device was
connected to the network, and has initiated normal operation over the
network adapter."

On only one occasion have I seen Event 4202 preceding Event 4201:-

"The system detected that network adapter SiS190 100/10 Ethernet Device was
disconnected from the network, and the adapter's network configuration has
been released. If the network adapter was not disconnected, this may
indicate that it has malfunctioned. Please contact your vendor for updated
drivers."

I suspect that the cause of the problem may be the onboard SiS 190 100/10
Ethernet Device, for which I can find no documentation. In the advanced
properties tab are a number of settings which may require adjustment, but I
am reluctant to experiment.

Are there any further tests that could be done that would prove if this a XP
problem, or a NIC problem?

Get a separate NIC (PCI or USB based) and disable the SiS NIC in the
BIOS. This will remove "doubt" that Windows XP in incorrectly
configured. Sometimes, the on-board NICs can have a hardware
"failure."

As for the 127.0.0.1 address, this will always work since this is
known as the "loopback" address (localhost.) This is "reserved" for
the TCP protocol to access the "current" system and the traffic is not
sent over the NIC.
 

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