Ethernet suddenly stopped working..

[Schweppes]

Hi I just recently built a computer and the ethernet worked fine for about a week until yesterday.. I'm on the same computer right now except I'm using the USB plug for the modem.

Well anyways I was behind a linksys router and was playing homeworld2 online when the connection just dropped. I tried everything from system restore to reinstalling windows to updating drivers. I also tried going into the control panel and repairing the local area network connection but nothing.

Edit: The Local Area Connection says its connected at 100 Mbps but when i look at "status" under activity there is "0" for both bytes sent and recieved. I tried doing this with my dsl modems setup program when its checking the conenction and trying to activate the account, but since there is no activity its just stuck on "checking the internet connection"

Before this my computer could'nt connect to the router or modem so i had to configure the router using my sisters computer. All I had to do to connect to either the router or modem was plug it in, I didn't have to use the dsl setup software like i have to do with my sisters computer.

Any suggestions?

I also have another question, my dad wants to get rid of all the wires so we're going to buy a wireless card to put into my computer. Would this let me just forget about the ethernet port, and maybe in the near future if I ever need it again I'll just install another ethernet port into one of the pci slots?

I'm starting to think that my motherboard is damaged. It hasn't been 30 days yet but I don't want to do all the work all over again..
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I have windows XP home
Asus A8n-sli
amd athlon 64 3000+

Thanks all in advance!

[peekaboo]

i hope the etherbunny didn't get away (who has that in their sig?)

did you call your isp?
did you accidentally reset your router?
is the mtu setting correct?

[Schweppes]

No i didn't reset the router, but i did reset and configure it and the modem several times after the connection dropped.

I guess I will trying calling verizon this afternoon

Is there a way to know if my ethernet is damaged?
My 2 other computers can connect to the router but his one cant

[dOBsON]

If you have the router connected to your pc via usb....it should prompt for the installation drivers -just pop in the cd and the necessary drivers will be copied and installed and presto....that should be it...if the other pc's are still online i would say that the software needs to be installed for the router on the problem pc

[cmillar6]

it is quite possible your onboard ethernet has failed. I had the same thing happen to me. Try putting in a PCI ethernet card in and see if that solves your problem.

[Schweppes]

no i have this computer connected to the modem (supports both usb and ethernet)

Problem is I can't connect the problem pc to either the modem or router with the ethernet cable. And the router only supports ethernet, so i was thinking getting a 10 dollar usb - ethernet adapter for a 5 min fix instead of the 6+ hours i wasted already

I'm going down to best buy to get 2 wireless pci cards anyways, hopefully it will work? Does the ethernet have anything to do with the pci slot unless its that mtu thing? (But i'm already online and its working fine....)

Networking is such a drag it seems the router goes down every 2 weeks...

And on the subject of routers, the first router we had a Linksys Befw11s4 wireless router broke down 1 years ago becuase i tried to flash firmware without directly connecting it, (We only had 1 computer then and it only had usb + wireless card.). I can fix this by reflashing directly right?

[Schweppes]

Should I return the motherboard for a replacement? If the ethernet failed then who knows what else will go down

[cmillar6]

the wireless PCI cards are your ethernet cards, install a PCI ethernet card and see if that solves your problem. If it does, you should return the mobo. Onboard LAN should not fail when the board is <30 days old.

I just saw the last part of your post, NEVER update the firmware on a router via a wireless connection, always hardwire it.

[Schweppes]

mmmm OK,

I just tried to repair the lan connection and it says it "could not renew your IP Address"

I looked it up online and tried to do it manually... but after typing ipconfig/release and pressing enter nothing happens I can't type anything and the blinking cursor remains there. What does this mean?

[Gizmo]

Try typing "ipconfig /renew" without the quotes.

[Schweppes]

ok i tried it again and heres what i got

ipconfig /release

IP Addresss for adapter Local Area Connection has already been released.



ipconfig /renew

An error occured while renewing interface Local Area Connection : unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out.

[Gizmo]

Did you try updating the router's firmware? Do you have another ethernet cable that you can use? That will rule out if the current one you're using is faulty. You could also assign yourself a static address if DHCP is not responding to anything.

[Schweppes]

HI gizmo

I was trying to connect to my modem and not the router but I tried configuring the IP address manually when i noticed that the ethernet port light started blinking! It had a little activity and sent out packets but barely received any... so i switched back to obtain IP address automatically and it worked!!

Computers are soo wierd sometimes.. THANKS ALL YOU GUYS ARE MY HEREOS!

[Gizmo]

That's USB for you. Just had to let the modem sit for a while.