LAN connection keeps dropping at the office.

[xrMike]

I have an HP laptop, getting old now (7 years), been banging on it 40+ hours a week all that time. Surprised the drive hasn't crapped out already.

I normally connect to the LAN at work by cable (wireless is available, like for when you have meetings in a conference room, etc), but the cable is always faster of course...

Well lately I will connect in the morning and within a half hour (sometimes less), I get dropped from the LAN and see a "LAN cable unplugged" messsage on-screen. At first I would reboot, and get my connection back, but then it would fail again, usually within 5 minutes.

I did some troubleshooting. Tried a different cable. Tried connecting to a different jack in the same cubicle. Tried connecting in a different cubicle altogether. None of these things worked. So I'm pretty sure the problem is with my laptop.

So for now I am connecting via wireless whenever I'm at the office. It's working for me, but the company discourages this for bandwidth reasons (when a wired connection is available). And wireless is obviously slower, making me less productive...

Is is possible for just the LAN part of your mother board (a single chip?) to go bad? What else could it be?

I notice the fan hardly ever cuts on anymore either, so is it possible the problem occurs as the board heats up? Can you put a new fan into a laptop and test that hypothesis? Or is is more complicated that that?

I know this machine is old and should be replaced, but I have a lot of time -- many many hours -- invested in configuring this machine to work perfectly with the numerous tools and s/w I use. I am NOT looking forward to doing it all over again.

Appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[bigmike82]

"Is is possible for just the LAN part of your mother board (a single chip?) to go bad? What else could it be?"
Yep, absolutely. I've got a dead LAN port on a 4 year old sony laptop right now. There's a bunch of things that can cause a lan port to be intermittently problematic.

"I know this machine is old and should be replaced, but I have a lot of time -- many many hours -- invested in configuring this machine to work perfectly with the numerous tools and s/w I use."
Please tell me you back your stuff up on a regular basis.

[Ricky-Ray]

Have you tried reinstalling the drivers for the NIC Card?

[xrMike]

"Is is possible for just the LAN part of your mother board (a single chip?) to go bad? What else could it be?"
Yep, absolutely. I've got a dead LAN port on a 4 year old sony laptop right now. There's a bunch of things that can cause a lan port to be intermittently problematic.

"I know this machine is old and should be replaced, but I have a lot of time -- many many hours -- invested in configuring this machine to work perfectly with the numerous tools and s/w I use."
Please tell me you back your stuff up on a regular basis.

Thanks and yes, I do back up regularly. Actually, the company forces me to do it with some kind of backup s/w they put on my machine that does an automatic incremental every week.

So if it's on the board then it's not something you can fix I guess... I better start hitting up my boss for a new system!

[pbsmind]

It could be a heat issue. There's laptop cooling bases that have fans, you can use one of those and see if it makes a difference.

[Deadbolt]

Thanks and yes, I do back up regularly. Actually, the company forces me to do it with some kind of backup s/w they put on my machine that does an automatic incremental every week.

So if it's on the board then it's not something you can fix I guess... I better start hitting up my boss for a new system!

you could look into using one of your expansion ports (removeable battery / cd / etc.. ) for a network card. They make them and would let you eek out some more time with the ole girl

[Ricky-Ray]

It might be cheaper, easier and quicker to get a USB Ethernet adapter and call it a day if it works.

http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/adapters/linksys-USB300M_stcVVproductId65364379VVviewprod.htm

[stix213]

Get a PCMCIA nic card, or a USB nic. Problem solved.

[high_revs]

It might be cheaper, easier and quicker to get a USB Ethernet adapter and call it a day if it works.

http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/ada...VVviewprod.htm

that's what I am thinking too.
xrmike if you can swing a new machine great. Be prepared for productivity loss even if you backup your stuff. Restoring files is just 1 piece. Installing the image,apps, configuring stuff takes time. I restore my own machine and even Down to a science, takes time. And these days, it probably self Serve also. No It guy/gal to do it for ya :employees:

7 yrs is quite a bit of time. Talk about getting your money out of it.

try to open the keyboard from 3 or 4 screws below and blow the dust out. That's usually a you heating problem where it shuts down. Haven't had a inc card die out on me.

[ibanezfoo]

make sure you don't have any boogers or blanket fuzz or corrosion in the connection jack.

[iamgbot]

Start up in safemode with networking, test the internet integrity like that. If it works longer like that, you may have a software issue. If problem persist, try to blow out you vents with a can of air. Try again. If not ask your IT guy to help release the IP on the system and flush your DNS. You can google this stuff also. If it still continues, uninstall the drivers for your NIC and let windows reinstall it.
If all else fails, buy a USB network adapter. Probably about $15. If you have the same issue return it. You may need to reinstall your OS.

Good luck!

[hcbr]

Yeah if i were you, i'd just go for an external ethernet device, so like a usb ethernet or pcmcia ethernet, that's a nice workaround. Other than that, it's time to upgrade.

[xrMike]

Have you tried reinstalling the drivers for the NIC Card?

Not reinstalling them, but I did use the OS functionality (Windows Update?) to check and see if a newer LAN driver was available, and it did a search and came back with: "You already have the most current driver." I also tried uninstalling the LAN adapter, rebooting, and letting the OS recognize and re-install it. That had no effect.

you could look into using one of your expansion ports (removeable battery / cd / etc.. ) for a network card. They make them and would let you eek out some more time with the ole girl

I do have an unused expansion port, however...

It might be cheaper, easier and quicker to get a USB Ethernet adapter and call it a day if it works.

http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/ada...VVviewprod.htm

Get a ... USB nic. Problem solved.

Yeah if i were you, i'd just go for an external ethernet device, so like a usb ethernet.

OMG, that is the perfect solution, thank you, thank you! I never knew these things existed. I have 3 USB ports and only use 2 of them (wireless mouse + ActiveKey/authentication stick), so I've got 1 free. I think I'm gonna go with this solution... Couple of questions though... If I had to pick from these 2 options:

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-USB300M-Cisco-Linksys-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/tech-data/B001NLV4TQ/ref=de_a_smtd

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Gigabit-Ethernet-Network-Adapter/dp/B003VSTDFG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1324062293&sr=8-3

The 1st one is 10/100 Mbps I think. The 2nd one is 10/100/1000 Mbps for sure. So the 2nd one is faster, correct? My reading indicates that even with the 2nd one, the most you will get is 480Mbs due to the limitations of USB 2.0. But that is still much faster than the 100 Mbps max speed of that 1st adapter. So for these reasons, should I buy the 2nd one? (the difference in price is negligable to me)

Be prepared for productivity loss even if you backup your stuff. Restoring files is just 1 piece. Installing the image,apps, configuring stuff takes time. I restore my own machine and even Down to a science, takes time. And these days, it probably self Serve also. No It guy/gal to do it for ya :employees:

7 yrs is quite a bit of time. Talk about getting your money out of it.

Re: productivity loss: I know! With a new system there's a lot more than just re-imaging and restoring backed up files... Gotta reinstall/reconfigure all my tools and custom stuff I use. Plus my cheap-*** employer will not buy me a laptop that is actually supported by ** IT (you know what ** means I think ), because they cost too much. They'll give me a Toshiba, or a Dell, or some similar crap... So if I run into ANY problems, ** IT won't help me, since it's NOT a supported system. Plus I'm using XP now and I know it inside-out. With a new system I'd have to learn Vista, or Win7 -- more time wasted.

Re: 7 years: I can't believe I've been here that long. I don't know any other contractor who's been here longer than me. I try hard to keep my masters happy; must be doing something right.

make sure you don't have any boogers or blanket fuzz or corrosion in the connection jack.

Checked!

If problem persist, try to blow out you vents with a can of air. Try again. If not ask your IT guy to help release the IP on the system and flush your DNS.

Might try the blow-thing. Releasing the IP is just a matter of this:

ip config /release
ip config /renew

at a DOS prompt, right?

[Ricky-Ray]

Is your network on gigabit? If not then it doesn't matter whether you have a gigabit adapter or not, it will automatically default to the max speed your network is. Personally I've never used or heard of Plugable Technologies so I'm not too sure how their equipment is. Cisco is part of Linksys and I've used both Cisco and Linksys network gear and would have no problems buying from either Cisco or Linksys.

[xrMike]

Is your network on gigabit? If not then it doesn't matter whether you have a gigabit adapter or not, it will automatically default to the max speed your network is. Personally I've never used or heard of Plugable Technologies so I'm not too sure how their equipment is. Cisco is part of Linksys and I've used both Cisco and Linksys network gear and would have no problems buying from either Cisco or Linksys.

I just checked, and most people (like me) only get 100Mbps connections. The egghead developer guys who run tests and kernel debugging all day on machines in the datacenter get upgraded connections (direct to backbone) so they are the only ones getting 1000Mbps.

So Cisco adapter it is! Gonna order it right now. Thanks again for your help everybody.