Ethernet - quick question

[Guest]

I have Dell Dimension 4550, LAN (Comcast),. On the back
of the computer, where the ethernet cable plugs into the
receptacle that resembles a phone jack, there are two
miniscule rectangles (size of an ant sans legs) that
display colored light. The top rectangle is green, the
bottom rectangle is yellow (when ethernet is plugged into
it), and when the ethernet cable is removed the yellow
light goes off, and the green light stays lit. I've had
multiple problems this past month, have reinstalled raw XP
twice, troubleshot till out of ammo, and then I notice the
lights. One problem is that I can't get a good connection
and can't renew my IP address - could this be part of the
problem? If so, will you tell a dummy what to buy? Thank
you very much.

 

[Guest]

Green light is the link light - it should only be on when
a cable is plugged in - if it's on all the time then the
network card is probably faulty.

The other light is the activity light, this flashes when
data is sent or received. This probably shouldn't be on
all the time unless your PC / network is *exceptionally*
busy !

Sounds like a defective netwrok card - is it onboard or a
seperate card?

 

[Guest]

I got the computer from Dell, ready to go, so I don't know
if the card is removable or not. I'll have to find out.
Also, for many months, in SetUp (F2) Boot Sequence shows
that NIC is disabled, and I believe this relates to the
ethernet connection? Also, I posted here a while ago
about the boot message each time "primary hard disc drive
0 not found" which requires hitting F1 to get beyond that
step. I've reinstalled raw XP twice, followed the steps
to reinstall drivers etc., and have never been able to
install the ethernet, so rather than continuing to beat a
dead horse, I bet it's a simple hardware malfunction, and
nothing any more complicated than that, ya know?

 

[RonK]

You will have to enable the ethernet in bios if it is disabled. Your hard
drive not being found could be a lose connection.