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    "A Network Cable is Unplugged"


    THIS is wildly pissing me the hell off now.

    What happens is that on a random (but still happening multiple times a day) occasion that little balloon will pop up on the taskbar.
    Half the time nothing will happen and active connections don't skip a beat. The other half of the time everything dies and disconnects and it takes a few seconds for the network interface to go back to being connected and for everything to sign back in. If however you're doing something like file transfer or a remote session that all dies and you have to start over again. If you're in a game you have to reconnect and you can forget about hosting anything....
    I've replaced EVERYTHING hardware related. I've used three different network cables (two custom made and one pre-fabricated), I've changed ports on the switch and even bypassed the switch and gone directly to the router. I've even replaced my motherboard (my last 865PE bit the dust so I bought another) as to make sure it's not a glitchy NIC. Yet after all that it persists. It worked flawlessly when I was living in Vancouver. After I was setup here with my parents again I did a fresh install of XP. THAT is when the problems started to happen. Yes I have uninstalled and reinstalled the network driver. What the hell gives??
    Find Nedry!


    Check the Vending machines!!

    <----Computer says I need more beer.

    #2
    Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

    Check the network cable (sometimes the jacks get loose).

    Check the actual network jack on the motherboard, just in case there's some pins that no longer flex properly or maybe they're oxidized.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

      It isn't that problem this time around. I've completely eliminated that possibility with multiple cables and cards.
      I can right now wiggle the cable ends to my hearts content while doing something like speedtest or a file transfer and the connection doesn't flinch.
      Last edited by pentium; 11-15-2013, 02:55 PM.
      Find Nedry!


      Check the Vending machines!!

      <----Computer says I need more beer.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

        It may be a old bug in XP, especially pre-SP2!

        If you changed ethernet hardware, I would get XP X32 with SP3 integrated, if using XP X32.
        Last edited by RJARRRPCGP; 11-15-2013, 03:06 PM.
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        Comment


          #5
          Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

          Technically I never changed ethernet hardware. There might be a different revision on the new board but I've otherwise never touched it.
          I'm currently up to date on my SP3 updates though.
          You do however remind me that this time around instead of installing from a shady burned pro CD I used an authentic Pro SP2 CD so I didn't have to fight the filesystem bug (XP partitons and formats up to 120gigs and after the install you need to use Partition Magic to expand the partition to cover the full terabyte of space).
          Find Nedry!


          Check the Vending machines!!

          <----Computer says I need more beer.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

            sounds like electrical or emi interference from something, try getting a shielded cable and see if that works.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

              sound like Xp is craping out.
              Things I've fixed: anything from semis to crappy Chinese $2 radios, and now an IoT Dildo....

              "Dude, this is Wyoming, i hopped on and sent 'er. No fucking around." -- Me

              Excuse me while i do something dangerous


              You must have a sad, sad boring life if you hate on people harmlessly enjoying life with an animal costume.

              Sometimes you need to break shit to fix it.... Thats why my lawnmower doesn't have a deadman switch or engine brake anymore

              Follow the white rabbit.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                sounds like electrical or emi interference from something, try getting a shielded cable and see if that works.
                We just went over that when I mentioned I tried multiple cables. The stuff I built and crimped myself came from the same spool I used when I wired my apartment in Vancouver which had three times the run length (about 80') and it never had a problem.

                sound like Xp is craping out.
                Not trying to be rude but is it possible to narrow id down to a specific section of the OS? I can reinstall but I really would not be looking forward to it and if it's from the same install CD again, what if it happens again?
                Find Nedry!


                Check the Vending machines!!

                <----Computer says I need more beer.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                  Originally posted by pentium View Post
                  We just went over that when I mentioned I tried multiple cables. The stuff I built and crimped myself came from the same spool I used when I wired my apartment in Vancouver which had three times the run length (about 80') and it never had a problem.


                  Not trying to be rude but is it possible to narrow id down to a specific section of the OS? I can reinstall but I really would not be looking forward to it and if it's from the same install CD again, what if it happens again?
                  yes, but is it shielded? Just because it worked in Vancouver doesn't mean it's going to have the same result everywhere. Different environments have different variables. A shielded (cat-5e or 6 STP, not UTP) cable directly to the router and machine will eliminate that interference, giving you a clean environment to work this problem out.

                  Since you're so convince that the problem is other then common sense;
                  Have you tried connecting to the modem directly?
                  Have you remove the modem leaving only router and machine connected?
                  Have you tried connecting another computer (one completely different) to eliminate faulty hardware?
                  Have you tried using a crossover cable?
                  Have you verified that you are not getting dirty power, causing switches, routers, modems to momentarily drop due to bad poco supply or a failing UPSes, those little bricks and wall warts can't handle a brownouts or surges as well as a atx power supply.
                  Last edited by Mad_Professor; 11-15-2013, 09:33 PM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                    I've been living with this for seven months. I've tried a lot of that.

                    -My modem is built into the router so a connection to the router is the simplest way to connect.
                    -See above
                    -Yes. I have attached my Toughbook and Thinkpad to the same lines and left my IRC client connected overnight. When I get up in the morning they are still connected. Try that with the PC and it will usually drop the connection sometime during the night.
                    -I don't see what a crossover cable will do
                    -This is the ONLY machine in the house that has this problem. No other system attached to the network suffers from this problem, including a machine at the other end of the house which mainly streams videos.

                    The cable I ran from the switch to my PC is from the same spool I used to network the rest of the house and supply my old roommates with an internet connection. If this was a shielding problem I would be seeing problems all over the house and my roommates would of been breathing down my back for almost two years but I'm not seeing them. No matter what external factor I consider and change the problem remains specific to this system and this OS installation.
                    Find Nedry!


                    Check the Vending machines!!

                    <----Computer says I need more beer.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                      Move on from that outdated OS. Windows 7 (or 8) Problem Solved!!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                        Find Nedry!


                        Check the Vending machines!!

                        <----Computer says I need more beer.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                          That message will only appear if the cable itself has become dislodged, is faulty/broken or if the router has crashed or reset, or has a power issue. If the net actually does go down, Windows won't even say there's an error (as you are still connected to the router).

                          I haven't had cable internet since around 1998, so I can't remember how cable modems work in this situation, whether they disconnect entirely when there's not net access or just sit there waiting for a connection to the outside world.

                          On a side note, hopefully you don't have bad caps like my old D-Link ADSL1 router did.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                            Try the simple thing of downloading a live Linux install and let it run overnight and see if the link dies during this time while doing something that draws a lot of data ( torrent client of the distro hosting the download will do as a safe legit load).

                            If not then you will probably be best off to reinstall XP, otherwise delete the drivers for the card and reinstall them again using the latest versions from the card manufacturers site. This will ensure you have no old software that can cause problems.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                              Originally posted by SeanB View Post
                              Try the simple thing of downloading a live Linux install and let it run overnight and see if the link dies during this time while doing something that draws a lot of data ( torrent client of the distro hosting the download will do as a safe legit load).

                              If not then you will probably be best off to reinstall XP, otherwise delete the drivers for the card and reinstall them again using the latest versions from the card manufacturers site. This will ensure you have no old software that can cause problems.
                              Great advice. By following this you will tell if it is a software issue or a hardware issue.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                                this is almost certainly hardware!
                                btw when the derecho came through here last year and took out the power i ran on backup till time warners pole mount ups gave out.was about 9 hours.no disconnected cable notice when it went.modem lights went to acquiring downstream and stuck there.any request from the pc timed out.
                                the live linux test is the first thing i would have done if i were the o.p.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                                  this is almost certainly hardware!
                                  Then where the hell is the break?? I have performed every possible troubleshooting step possible. I've ruled out EVERYTHING. I even went out of my way to REPLACE hardware to the point I'm literally running a completely different system and a brand new run of network cable. I've reduced the number of physical network connections between the modem to the minimal possible configuration. This problem is exclusive to THIS windows install on THIS computer.

                                  You know what? Fine. I'll risk running out of valid uses of my Windows key and reinstall again and spend my weekend reinstalling and reconfiguring everything. Are you happy?
                                  Find Nedry!


                                  Check the Vending machines!!

                                  <----Computer says I need more beer.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                                    Try by-passing the switch completely. Connect the pc in question to the first network port only then reset the router and reconfigure it for that pc as master. Be sure to to set the router for port forwarding. A switch should not be used between a pc and router. switches by themselves can not handle internet traffic properly.
                                    Last edited by Sparkey55; 11-16-2013, 07:32 PM.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                                      Originally posted by pentium View Post
                                      Then where the hell is the break?? I have performed every possible troubleshooting step possible. I've ruled out EVERYTHING. I even went out of my way to REPLACE hardware to the point I'm literally running a completely different system and a brand new run of network cable. I've reduced the number of physical network connections between the modem to the minimal possible configuration. This problem is exclusive to THIS windows install on THIS computer.

                                      You know what? Fine. I'll risk running out of valid uses of my Windows key and reinstall again and spend my weekend reinstalling and reconfiguring everything. Are you happy?
                                      Just run a live cd of linux, like ubuntu or fedora. Also if your XP key runs out of onlines uses, just phone activate, it's not that hard. I do it all the time, takes like 10 minutes.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        Re: "A Network Cable is Unplugged"

                                        Originally posted by Sparkey55 View Post
                                        Try by-passing the switch completely. Connect the pc in question to the first network port only then reset the router and reconfigure it for that pc as master. Be sure to to set the router for port forwarding. A switch should not be used between a pc and router. switches by themselves can not handle internet traffic properly.
                                        That shows how much you know about networking 101. Switches are used all over the world. Layer 2 switches are the standard and practically used in corporate, industry, residential; and managed switches can do dhcp and more, assuming you have a gateway upstream. Layer 3 are practically routers with out wan interface then you have routers.

                                        The ones that can't handle internet traffic, more like has trouble handling packets and are only used for packet capturing are layer 1 switches, known as hubs or dumb switches. These create too much congestion and should be used only for very small network deployments, or final mile setups in a big network like at a work station of 2-4 computers coming from a port on the wall going back to the layer 2 or 3 switches. Layer 1 switches, can't do anything, They are just dumb, all they do is a take a packet from any port it received on and forwards it to all remaining ports. Unlike layer 2 which receives the packet, reads the header, determines where the MAC is on the network, sends it on to correct port to the next device or computer downstream.

                                        Layer 3 are usually used to connect multiple layer 2 switches together and hook them up to a respective gateway or intranet servers.

                                        Having too many computers on a subnet causes problems for switches. You have to break up the subnet into 16-30 different parts so that congestion doesn't cause a problem. This is done by subnet masking. This is similar to cities and postal code, when a package is sorted we know exactly what belt it's sorted to based on the city in this case the subnet ip of 192.168.0.0

                                        When it gets to city then we have to break it down into postal codes which is where the subnet mask comes in like 255.255.255.0 and the house number and street, MAC:23:C5:14:08:52:8F using 192.168.0.50.

                                        To get an idea of subnet masking, here is a cheat sheet.
                                        http://www.aelius.com/njh/subnet_sheet.html
                                        Also this one is good since it shows what type of network class, like class C, B, A then just below what ip ranges can be used for subnet mask
                                        http://www.oav.net/mirrors/cidr.html

                                        But of course this is used for IPv4, it's much different on IPv6 which uses unique addresses, that integrates subnet mask into it's address.
                                        Last edited by Mad_Professor; 11-16-2013, 11:13 PM.

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