Bad LAN chip on TWO Intel boards?

[Hondaman]

Recently I bought a brand new Intel DP43BF "Classic" (full ATX, lots of PCI, serial header, etc). After I put Windows on it, I put the Intel driver CD in (chip driver, LAN chip). Both Windows 7 and XP (64-bit) can't see the LAN chip (Broadcom 57788). Three or four linux distros couldn't see it either, but Broadcom will sometimes give linux trouble (that's an understatement).

Control Panel --> Device Manager thinks the chip is working correctly. The Networking Troubleshooter (Win 7) believes maybe a cable is disconnected (or it can't find any problems).

I can't ping any site, it's just not working. I reset the ADSL modem and switched routers. Still not working. If I go to the router's web interface from another machine, I see the Intel box WAS given a dotted-quad (at least for the first board).

So I got an RMA and received a second identical model, also brand new. Same thing. Wired networking just isn't working out. Even in Bill G's operating system. I'm not even sure this one is getting a dotted-quad.

Should I see LEDs near the ethernet jack (in the ATX I/O area)? I ask because they were never on for either Intel board. I don't know very much about networking, and error messages are usually nonexistent.

(I'm not activating Seven until this is fixed. If I have to switch back to AMD, so be it.)

I'm going to lose money at this point, no matter what. But I may soon get a job transfer (hello, Louisville KY!) and I can't spend the time on it.

Any other advice, troubleshooting software I should try, etc. before I RMA the second one as well?

Thanks in advance!

[Hondaman]

Re: Bad LAN chip on TWO Intel boards?

Okay, I got it sorted out. My ISP gave me a gray cable with blue tape on the last 2-3 inches of each end. But it only had the 4 conductors in the center. Somebody on another board said that this is an old 10 base-T networking cable.

When I plugged in a proper 8-wire ethernet cable (regular OR crossover, I tried both) the LED on the RJ-45 port came on. The chip is fine, downloads/uploads are happening, etc. The chip was probably fine on the first board as well.

Thanks!