NIC card headaches..Why? 2

[Leon399]

I knew when I bought Win 2000 Pro that it was possible I would run into some problems and incidents that I didn’t have in WinME. I specifically waited until I bought a new PC to even truly think about buying Win2000. To further insure (or so I thought) that I would have minimal problems, I made sure that all the hardware in this Gateway Essential 933 was on the HCL and that it would work with the proper installation of needed drivers.

For the most part I’ve done okay. The problems I have encountered have been the normal learning curve type of things. The configurations of both hardware and software all look normal and properly set. All is not fine however, somewhere in my NIC card. I’ve encountered a big problem with the card that may actually force me to revert back to ME. Seeing what was spent on 2K this really wouldn’t be what I want to do. Maybe someone can help save me from that drastic and gut wrenching ( J ) move.

The card is a Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter(LNE100TX v4) and on the surface all seems fine. The card registers as active and as working properly with no conflicts. The driver for the card (Downloaded right from Linksys) is the apparent latest one available. The card actually works fine for periods of time. Then, out of nowhere it seems that the card dies out on me with an error as follows: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. The error reports as happening in the file NDIS.SYS. The error also reports that the machine is BEGINNING DUMP OF PHYSICAL MEMORY.

Another problem with the card I have found came when I tried to play Video poker through the Pogo games on NBCI.com. I go through all the steps and it loads the game fine until the very last moment. I see the game screen start to appear and the ** POOF ** gone. The computer goes into full system reboot. I tried the games using a regular dial up connection with the internal 56k modem and the game loaded fine and played fine so I know the problem lies somewhere in this NIC card.

Not sure where I can look to solve this. I’ve looked at a few of the knowledge bases on Microsoft and other places and find that though this error seems ‘popular’ there is no one definitive fix. All I can hope for now is for some kind soul to see this post on one of the forums I will post it to and maybe point me in the right direction. Or maybe it will end up ME here I come again! J TIA.

 

[bcastner]

sheki,

USB in my experience is not a great solution for internet access.

Try to get it to work with just ethernet connections. It can.

You might try testing when you get the new modem with this site, both the Tools testing portion and the freeware utility DRTCP should set you up correctly: http:\\

http://www.broadbandreports.com

You also should test the NIC and check the settings with the NIC chipset diagnostic tool. I have seen many REALTek devices where there was essentially a power management sleep mode that was not available to be changed under its properties in XP. The two most common chipset sites with software for diagnostics (note: download both driver and diagnostic software, the latter is usually not in the Windows driver section on the site):

For REALTek:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloads1-3.aspx?series=16&Software=True

For ADM-based:

http://www.admtek.com.tw/index/index/download.htm

Best wishes.

 

[sheki]

I agree the usb solution isn't a wanted one,but as a temp fix it makes me happy
Do you suppose it could be a bad ethernet port on the back of the modem? A lot of evidence would support this.

 

[sheki]

I should have also mentioned that the modem was losing synch under the ethernet,before and after the new install and through 2 different nics with different drivers and different slots.Loop back tests were fine.I also tried different cables.Signal levels are fine and so are tracerts and speeds.

 

[bcastner]

My guess is not a bad ethernet port on the modem, but a low-level voltage issue. These are tricky, but fairly common.

Put a hub or switch between the modem and your computer. You may find the problem disappears.

You would not have this problem with the new modem and USB; but it is a common problem with rj-45 ethernet. Try it before your new modem arrives. I know it sounds like it should not make a difference, and there is scant reason on a technical basis for it to make a difference, but it often does. An inexpensive switch takes the voltage difference, retimes the packets, and forwards them. And suddenly the problem you described goes away.

Best.

 

[Tigerishere]

Hi
I am getting this now as well
3 times today since noon

I have a ASUS A7N8X, new system but for 3 months, no problems
Using the 3COM NIC but also tried the nforce one, it creamed me also today

I was streaming video to my Laptop via a anypoint wireless
Same hardware I have had for 2 years on 2 PCs

So, now all of a sudden this is just killing me way too often
I never turn off the PC and have a starband sat modem
It seems to be working fine though

Power Supply is like 420 watts and all is brand new

Old PC had a cheap NIC card in it and it never did this but this one didn't either until like the last week.

So, what could eb causing this ?
I checked all of the drivers as far as I can tell :/

I have a second partition of XP that I used for a month that I might boot back into and see if it does not crash
This is a pretty new format as I wanted to start clean.

THis really SUCKS when it happens
It might be a fluke but Iwas streaming 220k when it happened but I have done that for 2 weeks and not a burp.

Thanks for any tips!

Tiger

 

[edfair]

Probably would be better if you started a new thread. People see the 80 plus replies and ignore the post.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[ranma101]

I used to have Win2k OS and im using Netgear FA311 NIC and Netgear RP64 Router. Like most of u have already mentioned... i too had the same problem & same message error "DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" and the sudden reboot...exactly the same problem...but i actually found a way to fix this. WinXP Pro Service Pack 1 fixed this error on my other comp so i upgraded my other one using Win2k to XP Pro and that didn't happen to me anymore.

But unfortunately, another problem arised. I visited so many threads & forums and found ppl havin these same problems-the comp freezes for a little while when downloading using Bittorrent when the download exceeds 80+ kb/sec. I also have tried using different Bittorrent progs...even the java ones...still the same...its freezes. But so far mIRC is good even if i exceed that limit.. i haven't tested it fully in mIRC. But i got that fixed too by upgrading to the latest NIC driver for my Netgear NIC card.

Now...the thing is...i got the BSOD & sudden reboot fixed, the freezing fixed...but after a little while of downloading again in Bittorrent exceeding 80+ kb/sec...my connection to the Internet completely shutdown and disconnect. I can't even access my LAN. No freezing occurs....this can be quickly fixed by just enabling then disabling the network connection... but of course... this is only a temporary fix... as soon as i start downloading at fast speed again... this happens.

I've tried so many drivers... even those not for Netgear ones for the heck of it... still no go. Netgear site is no help at all. When i was in Win2k i get BSOD... in XP this....geez... someone help? -_________-

 

[Tigerishere]

Hi
My fix was putting the USB wireless on the MB USB plug and now the 4 way PCI USB card
It has not done the BSOD since I did that so I feel pretty good about the fix
I have done the same steps that4 used to hose me and it was always when streaming video from realplayer to the laptop via the wireless.

So, some IRQ didn't like that it seems.
What, no idea but it seems it can't be related to what you're having as it seems software related, not hardware

but, you might want to move some devices to other slots of USB ports
Yell if it works
T

 

[ronbop]

resolved this problem by downloading updated chipset drivers from intel. They have a utility for identifying your chipset and then for updating the driver. Go to the downloads section.

 

[PixyMisa]

During the past month I had this NDIS BSoD problem using a LinkSys LNE100TX version 5.1 and Netgear FA-311. I tried a D-Link DFE-530TX+ which worked fine for a little while, but then I lost access to the network. Network activity was slow to none. After trying everything I could think off, I placed my original failed 3Com card back in, disabled "Local Area Connection", swapped the failed 3Com with a Netgear FA-311, and defined "Local Area Connection 2". This seemed to have cleared up the immediate problem (for now).