Problem repairing internet connection

[Guest]

I have serious problems with my internet connection. Yesterday I noticed an
extreme slow response on my computer. Pinging the router (just a few meter
ethernet cable away), resulted in various lost packages. Restarting did not
help. The result was the message "no or limited acces". Repair did not help.
I plugged the cable into neighbouring computer and got immediately access on
full speed. So the router and cable are functioning properly.
Putting the cable back in did not help, it was not recognized ("cable
unplugged" remained). So I started suspecting the port. The port is
integrated on the mainboard. I disabled it and installed a seperate network
card. But it showed the same problem. Assuming a software problem (how likely
is it that two ports fail at the same time?) I decided to re-install XP. The
problem still exists. I reloaded the mainboard drivers and installed XP
again. Still the same.
Main symptoms:
- occasionally the connection is established in the address range 192.168.x.y.
- in that case I am loosing packages (about 1 in 3 ping requests reply)
- in other cases there is no connection: the connection shows an address in
the 169.254.y.z. range and an invalid gateway.
I am running out of clues. Has anybody a suggestion? Of should I conclude
that the mainboard is defect?

 

[Kerry Brown]

I have serious problems with my internet connection. Yesterday I noticed an
extreme slow response on my computer. Pinging the router (just a few meter
ethernet cable away), resulted in various lost packages. Restarting did
not
help. The result was the message "no or limited acces". Repair did not
help.
I plugged the cable into neighbouring computer and got immediately access
on
full speed. So the router and cable are functioning properly.
Putting the cable back in did not help, it was not recognized ("cable
unplugged" remained). So I started suspecting the port. The port is
integrated on the mainboard. I disabled it and installed a seperate
network
card. But it showed the same problem. Assuming a software problem (how
likely
is it that two ports fail at the same time?) I decided to re-install XP.
The
problem still exists. I reloaded the mainboard drivers and installed XP
again. Still the same.
Main symptoms:
- occasionally the connection is established in the address range
192.168.x.y.
- in that case I am loosing packages (about 1 in 3 ping requests reply)
- in other cases there is no connection: the connection shows an address
in
the 169.254.y.z. range and an invalid gateway.
I am running out of clues. Has anybody a suggestion? Of should I conclude
that the mainboard is defect?

Try a different cable. I know you tried that cable with a different computer
but it may still be the cable. If the cable is broken inside the orientation
of the cable (i.e. how it is bent) may cause it not to work. Eliminate the
hardware possibilities before troubleshooting software problems. The new
NIC was a good start. Try a different cable plugged into a different port on
the router. If the problem persists then it's time to start looking for
software problems. Do the lights on the NIC and the router light up?

Kerry