strange network connection problem

[tatum]

Hi all,

I have a user with a Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop. The other day he didnt realize the power wasnt plugged in and his battery died on him while he was in windows. Now his ethernet connection is very slow. He called Dell b/c he has 3 year hardware support but they told him it was a software issue. The NIC is a Broadcom 440x 10/100 integrated controller. It works on 10 mbs with half and full duplex but it is very slow when connecting to web sites. When I put it on 100 mbs or auto detect it connects for a few seconds then says cable disconnected and then it connects again. It just keeps cycling from connected to disconnected until you change the settings back or unplug the cable or disable the device. I tried removing the device and reinstalling it and tried reinstalling the driver but nothing works. anyone have any ideas?

 

[bcastner]

He is likely connected to a hub. Set the device to 10 Half-duplex.

His battery will autoshutdown the machine when it gets too low. This is unlikely to cause any software damage to his Internet Connection.

You might go into IE, Tools, and delete all the Temporary Internet Files and the History files.

 

[tatum]

I think he connected to a switch which is connected to a hub. it was connected at 10 mbs half duplex and running very slow. He didnt say if it autoshutdown or not. whatever happened, he started having this problem and another problem with bidirectional printer communication that is fixed now immediately after this the battery ran out.

 

[bcastner]

Again, 10-half is as fast as his connection can support due to the hub.

1. Clean his temporary files, particularly for IE. You can use the Disk Cleanup tool as well in Disk Management.

2. You might consider doing a refresh of IE. See this article for advice, but the right-click install on ie.inf is sufficient in this case: HOWTO Install or Repair Internet Explorer In XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;318378

 

[motoxxx1389]

Its more than likely the Nic card, replace it. dont listen to bcastner

 

[bcastner]

tatum,

I am interested if the problem was resolved, and if so how.

 

[bcastner]

motoxxx1389,

I am puzzled as to why my advice was in your opinion substandard.

He may well have a hardware issue. But it seems the least likely of all alternative sources for his problem.

Please advise further.

 

[tatum]

bcastner,

havent figured it out yet. tried the temp internet files and sfc /scannow but neither worked. I even tried a system restore to the day before the battery ran out. it still has issues. wouldn't it at least connect to the switch at 100? Or since it does connect at 10 shouldn't it auto detect the settings?

 

[dydavid]

tatum,

What happened?

Uploads 3x faster than downloads:
I have a similar problem with a Gateway PIII 700 MHz. Have swapped NIC's, swapped port connections, by-passed the in-house wiring CAT 5 - downloads are 1/3 normal speed including Internet files. I think I'll have Gateway do a service call.

Dave Y

 

[bcastner]

There may be other issues, but the consensus is that hoftix #811493 hit notebooks harder than desktop machines.

The battery in the thread so far proves to be a coincidental issue. It is possible there are some Group Policy settings that modify the registry in the presence of "slow" links, but I would start by:

Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs
Scroll down until you see the Microsoft Hotfixes. Remove the Hotfix #811493.

reboot.

Please test for a day or so and report back.

 

[tatum]

Sorry I didnt post what happened. Turns out we tried it another location in the office and it worked fine. Havent heard any complaints from him since. So I guess it is working. As for a fix, your guess is as good as mine.....

Sorry