PC hates a particular switch port

I have a home network with 4 PCs, mostly running XP Pro via a 100 Mps
Netgear ethernet switch. One of the machines, a Dell Optiplex with an
onboard 3Com NIC, has always had trouble connecting. I boot between XP,
Win 98 and Linux, and all of them frequently generate a "network cable
unplugged" error when booting, or just don't connect. I didn't seem to
be a cable problem as such, and the connection would often spring into
life when I activated the modem.

The problem seems to be that the machine just won't work properly when
connected to a specific port (#1) on the switch. Yet my laptop is
perfectly happy with it. I notice that the light on the port isn't on
when the connection problem occurs, but I'm not sure what this
indicates.

Can anyone tell me if it's likely that the switch is likely to be
faulty, or if there's any sort of hardware issue that might be causing
this?

--
Rohan Parkes
Melbourne
Australia

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> On Tue, 8 Jul 2003 10:34:10 +1000, Rohan Parkes <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> >
> >Can anyone tell me if it's likely that the switch is likely to be
> >faulty, or if there's any sort of hardware issue that might be causing
> >this?
>
> Who put together the network cables?
>
They're off-the-shelf. But it doesn't seem like it's the cables as such.
I thought it was at first. But I've tried several cables and I get the
same problem each time - it really does seem to be the port that's the
problem.

--
Rohan Parkes
Melbourne
Australia

"Rohan Parkes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) .au...
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
> (E-Mail Removed) says...
> > On Tue, 8 Jul 2003 10:34:10 +1000, Rohan Parkes <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >Can anyone tell me if it's likely that the switch is likely to be
> > >faulty, or if there's any sort of hardware issue that might be causing
> > >this?
> >
> > Who put together the network cables?
> >
> They're off-the-shelf. But it doesn't seem like it's the cables as such.
> I thought it was at first. But I've tried several cables and I get the
> same problem each time - it really does seem to be the port that's the
> problem.
>
> --
> Rohan Parkes
> Melbourne
> Australia

Don't forget you have two ports, one on the switch and one on the PC.

Maybe it's your card that's going.

I've had that happen before, and the switch's light went out and it simply
wouldn't connect again, but other devices could use the port.

Seems to me like you can work around the problem, if I'm wrong, because
everything is fine except that PC and that port don't work together, but
that PC and a different port are fine.

In article <Gh2Pa.21718$N7.2692@sccrnsc03>, (E-Mail Removed)se says...

>
> Don't forget you have two ports, one on the switch and one on the PC.
>
> Maybe it's your card that's going.
>

Could be, although the PC isn't very old. Unfortunately, as it's an
onboard card, I can't easily test it with a replacement, and I don't
want to have to add a new card.

> Seems to me like you can work around the problem, if I'm wrong, because
> everything is fine except that PC and that port don't work together, but
> that PC and a different port are fine.

That's basically what I'm doing, but if there's a hardware fault
somewhere, I'd really like to fix it.

--
Rohan Parkes
Melbourne
Australia

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 15:34:28 +1000, Rohan Parkes <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> onboard card, I can't easily test it with a replacement, and I don't
> want to have to add a new card.
>
>> Seems to me like you can work around the problem, if I'm wrong, because
>> everything is fine except that PC and that port don't work together, but
>> that PC and a different port are fine.
>
> That's basically what I'm doing, but if there's a hardware fault
> somewhere, I'd really like to fix it.

Unless it requires adding a new card or replacing the switch? There
are only three things involved: PC NIC, switch, and cable. Right?
Replace as needed to isolate. Then choose how you want to repair:
by network component replacement, or something harder.

sdb

--
| Sylvan Butler | Not speaking for Hewlett-Packard | sbutler-boi.hp.com |
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