constant "cable unplugged" "acquiring address" every second

the cable length should be fine.

you didn't mention if i'ts xp or vista. (that old im guessing xp)

go to the control panel, then networking.
right click the network card, then properties
click on configure (network card)
under the advanced tab change the speed and duplex to 100/half or 10/half and see if it connects.

another option that can interfere is under the network card/properties remove TCPIP IP6 and leave tcpip 4
the tcpip6 seems to be a bit flakey for some dhcp servers/routers.

Compfixer101... as much as I do not want to spend 4 hours crawling under a house, dowsing a pipe... I may have to do it, as to wireless.... it is not an option at this point... but as in all points... sometimes they look better as the hat fits

Dauman... yep.. XP, will be at the client in the AM.. will give your ideas a try

thanks guys (er... or gals), will keep you updated

bill

Your NIC might have power save on - if so and you are using battery only it might be disabling it.  

Change the speed or duplex.
Disable power management.
Try a different ethernet cable
Try a different NIC. (yes laptop nics go bad too)

make sure you don't have more than one firewall running, they attack eachother.
try disabling "offload" settings on the nic
try disabling "qos" settign son the nic.

Hi
Ok here some ideas as it definitely doesn't sound like the laptop has an issue...

Have you checked out the wall points (assuming he has some RJ45 outlets and does not directl t connect to router). If he has it is worth opening up and see if there is a wiring issue.

Does this happen on all router ports, try switching it.

If you take laptop and cable to another place can you replicate the issue?

hth
capt.

Cold war backup plan ...

setup remote access to ALL client PCs, such that you can initiate "fdisk & format" at the touch of -any- button, then suggest forthcoming retribution to client in the event of canine related injuries ...

Oh, don't forget to tell him "this" laptop is completely f*ck*d and needs to be replaced entirely at -his- cost ...

Have you checked out your LAC properties, TCP/IP properties?
Clash of duplicate address?

oops, apologies all round. I thought I was posting this elsewhere. Perhaps an admin might like to delete my prior comment, in case it causes offence.

could the DHCP server be giving you mixed signals?

try reserving an IP address for your Laptop in DHCP using the MAC Address.

I'm sure you know how to do this, but if you don't, come find me where the lizards lie.

<<Your NIC might have power save on - if so and you are using battery only it might be disabling it.
Shekkie probably has this one nailed on the head.
I had to change this exact setting for my 1 laptop user last week
(device management, NIC)  

wtg shekkie!

If it were a NIC power issue, wouldn't that come into play with every other cable attached to the port?

Sounds like a badger has chewed the cable, to me.

Cable testers don't (generally) put the same load on a line that real data does. The precision with which those eight wires are stuffed into a blue sleeve for Cat-5e is rather astounding, when you think about it, and it wouldn't take a lot to make it electrically sound, but not fit for high-speed data transmission.

Sounds to me like it's time to pull new wire. At least you can use the old one to pull the new one (or, more intelligently, use the old one to pull the line that you'll use to pull the new one).

Good luck, ogg.

>>If it were a NIC power issue, wouldn't that come into play with every other cable attached to the port?
No.  The power settings are for the laptop.  Since laptops are mobile and don't require a constant power source (yay batteries), they have default power settings that like to badger the plans of a lizard.

"The cable is CAT5, approximately 150 feet long, tests out ok with cable tester"

Cat5 not Cat5e?  Did you use a signal analyzer or just a continuity tester?  Cable length is indeed important, especially with UTP that most people use, also location and run.


"Suddenly... " and "crawling under a house, dowsing a pipe"

Something happened, indeed it might be a badger (or more likely a mouse) if it is running in a house.  Maybe they just install some new flourescent lights or replaced their bulids with CF bulbs which emit a lot of RF interference if they are close to the wire.  Bring along a fresh cable and just string it down the hall, through the windows, etc. and see if it works reliably.

Why isn't wireless an option?  It'll cost them less to have you install a wireless router and NIC than it will for you to spend hours on rerunning the cable.  Besides, it's a laptop, with the wireless they can move around sit in bed, sit outside etc.

"replaced their bulids?"

I need either a new keyboard or a new typist.

// have reset power perameters in BIOS and system til blue in face... no joy
// have installed new router... no joy
// connected the laptop directly to modem... no joy
// tried with DHCP, static IP's... no joy
// no IP clashes

"Cable testers don't (generally) put the same load on a line that real data does"... having a Walmart special (well not quite that cheesy) tester, I wondered if it may have something to do with the load.. but why would two other laptops (Intel NIC on one, Broadcom on other), and a desktop... all work as advertised.

//Pulling another cable.....aaaargh, about 150 feet, 7 right angles thru 3/4" PVC pipe... that really is all I have left to do.... hmmm, maybe after the damn dog gets thru chewing on me.. I can blame him.

updates to follow, and thanks for the fish

OGG aka:FongFan

>> //Pulling another cable.....aaaargh, about 150 feet, 7 right angles thru 3/4" PVC pipe

Beyond your connectivity issue, you are looking at installation problems:

1. Right angles are not allowed.  The minimum bend radius for solid wire is usually 4-6"  Even stranded wire can't be shoved through a right angle.  Turns should be accomplished with sweeps.

2. You can't have that many right angles in conduit without a pull box.  Not only is it a code violation, but you will be surpassing the 10-15 pound pull strength limit on the cable...even if you lube it up.

// no florescent s... all under the house... then down the hill to an out building (underground 3/4" in pipe

aleghart...  when this was originally trenched and laid out, it was all glued up.... with what you are saying, I need to redo the whole mess... I can do the turns with 45 degree angles.........aaaaaaaaaargh

\\ client was adamant about no wireless... something about martians listening in....  I think I shall bring a bottle of Jack with me... the client is an old China Marine... maybe a wee bit will cause him not go care about the martians... hmmm, maybe he will even kennel the dog

onward thru the fog

" martians listening in"  Ha!!!  My sister is an auditor for the IRS, Gov't policy forbids her using her laptop on any wireless network.  She has to pull the antenas off her cable modem to use it at home.

Here is what to do.  Get some 50lb fishing line, tell him that it is the latest high security optic fiber.  Pull it through the pipe.  Set up a wireless router, hide it in a closet.

JohnPrice                                       I am sitting here LMAO             thanks for bring a bit of much needed humor into my otherwise horrid day

I will have to get some 50lb test mono

thanks, bill

Actually, if you know someone with a network signal analyzer, they can tell you what the problem is and where it is in the wire.

JohnBPrice > ...if you know someone with a network signal analyzer, they can tell you what the problem is and where it is in the wire.

This is the easiest first step.  Well, mechanically, anyway.  If you don't have one, you'll have to beg, borrow, or bribe a friend.

You can rent Fluke equipment, but it's not cheap.

Just curious...why are there 7 right angles in this conduit?  All buried, or just some?

If you need to re-run, use the existing as a pull-string.  Get one or two bottles of lube and pull string.  Use the Cat5 to pull a pull a Cat5e or Cat6 line and a spare pull string through.

Attach the pull string to the old cable, tape it up with the tightest and smallest torpedo you can fashion.  Give it a foot or so, then tie on the new cable the same way.  The pull string should take up some of the strain.

If necessary, cut the conduit a couple of feet past where it exits the ground.  Install a pull box there and save yourself some grief.

Next time....1-1/2" is not much more expensive, and can be curved with heat.  They make special blankets, or you can do it with a low torch setting.  Bends easily, then hardens back up again.  For 90-degree turns, you can make your own sweeps or buy them pre-fab.

If possible use a short 5 foot cable and bring the laptop to the router to test it, just to make sure it is the cable,
also, is that pipe sealed? so no water can get in it?

Just a thought. Try resetting (re-installing) your TCP/IP protocol as follows:

Go to the command prompt and type/paste the following command

netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt

Have a look through the resetlog.txt file in your root afterwards to see what problems it found.

The wire is probably good.

Check the connectors. Check the pairing. Does this cable just have crimped on ends? Or does it have a jack at each end with patch cables?

Because other computers work. I would look very closely at the NIC in that laptop or the connectors on the cable. Does the laptop work when plugged in with a short patch cable to the switch at the customer's site? Is there another laptop with the same MAC address? Or is the router programmed with a cloned MAC matching that laptop? I've had situations where I've had bad cat5e plugs or jacks. The copper blade was too wide in the jack to slip between the plastic dividers on the plug correctly. This could be the case on the Dell, so also check the LAN connector on the Dell.  

If the laptop works with it plugged straight into the switch with a short patch cord at the clients office, then snip the ends off that long cable and replace them. Replace any patch cords as well. $1.95 wally-world cable tester is useless except for telling you if you are connected from one end to the other. Not the pairing or anything else. Unfortunately if the color code pairing is wrong in the connections e.g. split pairs, (or if its the wrong kind of wire) it can do all kinds of strange things.  

dh

Does the laptop work when plugged in with a short patch cable to the switch at the customer's site?<< I already suggested this twice

 Is there another laptop with the same MAC address?<< IMPOSSIBLE no two MAC addresses are the same, unless one is cloned

 Or is the router programmed with a cloned MAC matching that laptop?<< it's been working for over a year..  I don't think this would be an issue

anyway, welcome to Experts-Exchange dannlh, Please be sure to read previous suggestions first.

Oldgreyguy,

Tell us more about the cable and the switch it is plugging into.

What kind of cable? (Exactly what is stampped on the side of it?)
How is it terminated? Jacks? Plugs?
Inside/Outside trench?
Lightning arrestors at the end (if it runs outside?)
Patch cables at both ends?
Stranded/Solid?

What brand/model of switch?

Thanks!

dh

sounds like the problem is on the client end

IPconfig /flushDNS
It's looking for a DNS server that doesn't exist on that home based network.

Hey Gang, sorry to have not responded... work, work, work.

reading thru all the posts, short of pulling a new cable, I have been thru all of the suggestions, most thru my own troubleshooting.

Cable: CAT5 Solid Core, single run, remeasured at 210 feet, ends redone... again, no patch cord, connedted to router, to computer
Tester does test pairs... checks ok
cable reterminated
replaced router, there are only two clients on LAN, all testing done with just the one at issue attached
replaced router (router is Linksys... default settings), tried Netgear... same
hooked machine in question direct to router ... works fine
hooked machine in question direct to modem ... works fine
hooked three seperate machines to cable in question, all worked fine, no packet loss after surfing for 5 minutes.
IPCONFIG... every which way, flush, renew done... machine rebuilt from ground up

Simple (sure.. right) Home Office network, two nodes, one Cable Modem, one Router,

I will attack it again Saturday, thanks

>>hooked three seperate machines to cable in question, all worked fine, no packet loss after surfing for 5 minutes.

That doesn't bode well, it indicates the problem may not be in the wire.

I like dannlh's suggesstion of "Also, due to a bad NIC, the insert voltages may be too low from the laptop to go 150' reliably", that might explain why one machine works and another doesn't due to differences in the NIC that don't show up unless the run is 210'.

OK:

I reread the question and all comments. I have seen something like this three times before. Neither are easy to troubleshoot or see.

1) Conflicting NIC driver>>>>>
Right click My Computer and go to Properties>>slect the hardware tab>>Select Device manager>>Select the View drop down menu>>select show hiddent devices.
Here is a post to assist.
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Networking/Q_21917760.html

What happens in this scenario is you have two device drivers for a NIC. One is bad and will be seen by an exclaimation point. The other is good. Since they will conflict, it knocks down network conectivity. If you have Windows updates, and it updates your drivers, I can see one moment you have a good driver and the next Windows installs an updated driver that is no good for your machine.

In this case, may I suggest going to the manufacturer's site and downloading the correct NIC and Chipset drivers for the laptop?

2) Conflicting IP>>>>>
Sometimes a DHCP server can provide an IP that is the same as another node. In this case, the IP will conflict with another computer. I don't know who is providing DHCP. But a conflicting IP address can shut down network connectivity. Your router is probably supplying you a DHCP lease. So, check your router and see what nodes are getting what IPs. Also, IPconfig /all is really helpful in this situation.

3) Mode of operation>>>>
Sometimes you can put a Gigabit router on a node that has a 10/100 card on it and they don't communicate. Check and see if this might be your problem. I don't know why they don't negotiate the "Mode of Operation". But, make sure your computer is set for 100mb full duplex. Then, your router should negotiate the handshake between them. In our case, we had to replace the router with a $50 dollar linksys. But, you had two laptops that worked. So, this is unlikely your problem. A good test is to go into the computer's web browser and put in the router's IP address.

4) IPversion 6  on a IPversion 4 router:
A router is responsible for relaying packets. IPversion 6 came out a while back. But, you need an IP version 6 router to be able to work with IP version 6. This is really easy to figure out. If you go to the command prompt and type IPconfig /all, you will see an alpha numeric IP address and a line within the IPconfiguration that says something like Toredo tunnel.

This is really easy to fix as well. Go into the NICs configuraiton and disable IPversion 6 on the wired LAN NIC settings. Since wireless seems fine, I think this may be your problem on the LAN network settings.  

~for further troubleshooting.
Further troubleshooting will require more informaiton. I recommend you supply us with an IPconfig /all, and also tell us if you are able to ping your router by IP address and where you are getting your IP address from.

OMG: What am I thinking??!!

I went into this long Shpeel and neglected the obvious. This is a laptop with probably a mother board integrated NIC. You have the NIC driver straight. But, you also need the CHIPSET DRIVER straight.

Download the chipset driver for your OS and motherboard from the manufacturer. It's obvious that the generic Microsoft drivers are not working for you.