NIC Issue?

[Chr1sUK]

In the last month, we have had two computers go down with what seems to be exactly the same problem.

In the first case, replacing the NIC solved the problem, no action has been taken yet in the second case.

What happens:

User logs on to the PC (domain), but cannot access any network services (drives, printers, internet etc.).

I have tried the usual connectivity tests, ping etc, and all failed. I pinged neighbouring hosts, the gateway and the server, and had no reply from either.

This suggests to me that the NIC has gone.....but, what is puzzling me is that the activity LED's on the NIC still flash. I always thought that if the NIC was broken that this would not happen?

Also - If I remove the network calble from the NIC and then try to log into the domain, I cannot get in.....so this does seem a bit unusual.

Now this happened last time, and as I say, as soon as the motherboard was replaced (due to intergrated NIC), the problem was solved.

It is not in my will to do anything about it, as the suppliers of the IT systems have been contacted, (I am just here temporarily and I don't do mcuh work involving the network) but since I am a CCNA student, for my own personal benefit I would like to know other peoples thoughts on this matter, and if the tests that I have done so far are sensible.

TIA.

 

[bierhunter]

I've run into that myself. You can still get what appears to be a good link light and not be able to do anything. Sometimes the pins on the nic get bent or dirty. You can get a link, but have so much packet loss that you can't really talk to anything. Also, with full-duplex, you can sometimes get a link on one end and not on the other depending upon the equipment you have. Have you tried it with another cable?

Also, the first thing I'd check is to see if the computer is getting an IP address.

The first thing I always suspect in a case like this is a faulty physical connection.

BierHunter
CNE, MCSE, CCNP