cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Faulty ethernet port

RobDickson
Grafter
Posts: 653
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎06-08-2007

Faulty ethernet port

My ethernet port seems to be a bit temperamental, I think I might have damaged it when removing the cable a week or two ago, because I haven't made any software or hardware changes recently. I've bought a replacement PCI card, but the existing ethernet port is on the motherboard, so if I simply add the PCI card, I will end up with two ports, which I don't really want.

Should it be as easy as going into Network Connections, disabling the existing connection, turning off the PC, installing the PCI card, and booting up the PC again? I bet it's not!
If anybody has tried this before, I'd appreciate their thoughts. I've had a quick look on the 'net, but the only related pages I can find are about the problems having two working ethernet ports, with the PC acting as a bridge. This isn't really what I want.
I'm using WinXP-SP2.
Thanks in advance.
Rob
PS: I'm still got getting e-mail notifications of replies to my posts.
10 REPLIES 10
Peter_Vaughan
Grafter
Posts: 14,469
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

If you really don't want the on-board NIC to be seen, just disable it in the BIOS.
Installing the new PCI NIC should be a doddle. Either Windows will recognise it straight away or will ask for the driver disk that comes with it.
Windows has no problems with multiple NICs as it will just use the connection your network cable is plugged into. You can just disable the one you don't want as well.
RobDickson
Grafter
Posts: 653
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎06-08-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'm not sure when I'll have time to plug the new card in, but I'll give it a go.
Just in case anybody can think of an alternative solution, here's some more information:
Basically, when I plug the ethernet cable in, the PC connects to the router, and everything appears fine. It's just that every now and again, it will disconnect (giving a "Local Area Connection. A network cable is unplugged" error), and then reconnect straight away.
The router works fine with other equipment, and I have tried a new ethernet cable as well. I've also tried disabling NIS2007, but that didn't help.
ed
Grafter
Posts: 191
Registered: ‎15-08-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

It sounds like your onboard network card is about to die, they become erratic before they go all together.
The only option realy is a PCI plug in card. get a decent one like 3Com or Intel with some hardware in it Tongue
I just recently moved a computer and pulling out the cables seems to have blown out the power supply and network card. I've never seen anything like that before  Shocked
It had been running constanly for about a year so i guess some freaky amount of charge had built up in a capacitor and when the power cable was unpluged it decided to earth it's way down the network card.
Pull out the ethernet before the PSU cable  Undecided
RobDickson
Grafter
Posts: 653
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎06-08-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

Ouch!
Thanks for the advice.
Rob
7th_star
Grafter
Posts: 1,229
Registered: ‎12-04-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

I'd suspect the network cable to be faulty first!
Peter_Vaughan
Grafter
Posts: 14,469
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

He has already tried a new cable as detailed in his 2nd post.
7th_star
Grafter
Posts: 1,229
Registered: ‎12-04-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

Sorry guys, I must have skimmed over that.
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

I once had a similar issue to this which was very frustrating. I solved it and to this day am still using the same ethernet socket.
It turned out to be a metal stud for screwing the motherboard into the case. Basically the metal panel where the motherboard is attached, had one stud where the RAM pins were shorting each other. The ram was fine (and has been ever since) and once I unscrewed the stud, and put the motherboard back in, the ethernet socket was fine.
I don't know why it was intermittent because presumably the contacts were shorted all the time - not intermittently. Either way, it wiggling the ethernet cable around had no effect. Once I took the stud off the motherboard panel it was fine.
Might be worth you checking your system.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

I've used a USB to Ethernet adaptor before now on a laptop with dead ethernet socket and I always keep one in my toolbox.
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
RobDickson
Grafter
Posts: 653
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎06-08-2007

Re: Faulty ethernet port

Thanks again for your replies. I'm sorry for not posting back earlier, but I'm still not getting e-mails telling me when there have been new posts to threads that I'm subscribed to.
I'll have a quick look at how I put the PC together when I "built" it a few years ago, but the port's only recently been a problem.
I've always avoided USB-Ethernet cables, because of the extra processing power needed to use USB. OK, it might not be much, but it all adds up.
I'll probably end up installing the new PCI Ethernet card that I bought a few weeks ago. It seems like the easiest option.
Thanks again for your help.