Severe connection problem
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That's an unusual problem. Right off the bat I'm wondering what you would see if you looked in the system event logs and the application event logs. If you see anything let me know. Then I'd replace the cable being used. If replacing the cable didn't work I'd use a different port on the switch. I'm also suspect of duplicate IP's on the network but you should see a notice of that... Try the event logs, swapping cables and switch ports then let me know how it goes. Also look at the status of the adapter in the "Device Manager" right now and then after you get that message. See if there is an IRQ conflict there. It might be just assigning a new IRQ is all you need to do.
The event logs are useless; they are FULL of messages from Tcpip service to the tune of "connected to network and initiated normal operation". Bizarre. The cable/port issue seems unlikely as nothing changed physically during the reinstall, and just before that, under NT4 Server, network was completely operational. This makes me suspect Win2k. I also thought of the conflicting IP issue but I've made sure that's not the case. DHCP/static setting both have the same problem. I've tried swapping cables to no avail.
Paul
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I've seen this plenty of times and field service often told me this was happening. This issue is not a software problem, it is a hardware problem. The trouble is that the wires are not maintaining a connection to your card. How to diagnose is to grab the cable physically and wiggle it into a position where it remains connected. The solutions are to get a cable that fits properly and stays connected, or to replace the network cable or network card. Phil
Sounds plausible, except before the format today the same server worked perfectly (this morning still) with the same network cable etc. The server also hasn't moved since the format. The only change is the OS. Have in the mean time tried a different (known working) cable with no effect unfortunately.
Paul
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Sounds plausible, except before the format today the same server worked perfectly (this morning still) with the same network cable etc. The server also hasn't moved since the format. The only change is the OS. Have in the mean time tried a different (known working) cable with no effect unfortunately.
Paul
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Was the driver reverted to a previous version that had problems? Is there an update for the driver that you should install? Phil
Both the standard Windows 2000 driver and the updated drivers off the Compaq SmartStart disc have the same problem. As a side note, I've reformatted the computer a second time and installed Win2k again in case that would help a phantom error, but this also hasn't helped... Thanks anyway for the suggestions so far. Is there anything you can think of that I may have missed?
Paul
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Both the standard Windows 2000 driver and the updated drivers off the Compaq SmartStart disc have the same problem. As a side note, I've reformatted the computer a second time and installed Win2k again in case that would help a phantom error, but this also hasn't helped... Thanks anyway for the suggestions so far. Is there anything you can think of that I may have missed?
Paul
The latest Service Pack for Windows 2000...?
Dave Kreskowiak Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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Both the standard Windows 2000 driver and the updated drivers off the Compaq SmartStart disc have the same problem. As a side note, I've reformatted the computer a second time and installed Win2k again in case that would help a phantom error, but this also hasn't helped... Thanks anyway for the suggestions so far. Is there anything you can think of that I may have missed?
Paul
Network cards have been known to go bad on occasion. It doesn't matter if they were previously running well. Would it be possible to replace the card with an identical one? Have you tried using a different port on the switch or router? Isolating the problem is always the hardest part of trouble shooting. Phil
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Hi all, I have just encountered a very severe and surprisingly obscure problem. The network connection (single NIC computer) keeps giving the message "Network cable unplugged" then immediately "Enabled" etc etc. I.e. a stable connection is unattainable. While it's enabled however it does correctly get an IP from DHCP and can (momentarily) browse the WWW etc. Details: Clean (30 minutes old) Win2k Professional installation on a Proliant 1200 server, Netelligent 10/100TX NIC onboard. Using NIC driver supplied with Win2k, according to websites this is the newest available (hp.com down for me so I can't verify). I've tried searching the web to no avail; I can find no one else with this same problem. Rather severe and desperate ;P - what could I possibly try? If any more information is needed please post and I'll try my best to provide it. TIA very much :)
Paul
Most likely autosensing of connection speed and duplexing has stopped working. I find that this feature flat out does not work properly, regularly going into autosense when not necessary, and quite frequently never actually completing the autodetect process. Go into the device's settings in Device Manager and, on the Advanced tab, force the speed to 100Mbps and Full duplexing. Do this for all devices on your network that will allow this.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
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Network cards have been known to go bad on occasion. It doesn't matter if they were previously running well. Would it be possible to replace the card with an identical one? Have you tried using a different port on the switch or router? Isolating the problem is always the hardest part of trouble shooting. Phil
Unfortunately the card is on-board, and I don't have a spare PCI card lying around. If not solved soon I might indeed look into just swapping the card. The router seems to be in perfect order as my other PC can talk to it on that port/cable.
Paul
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The event logs are useless; they are FULL of messages from Tcpip service to the tune of "connected to network and initiated normal operation". Bizarre. The cable/port issue seems unlikely as nothing changed physically during the reinstall, and just before that, under NT4 Server, network was completely operational. This makes me suspect Win2k. I also thought of the conflicting IP issue but I've made sure that's not the case. DHCP/static setting both have the same problem. I've tried swapping cables to no avail.
Paul
Make sure IPv6 didn't get installed somehow... Aside from that power down the box and reseat the card perhaps even try a different slot for it. I've seen similar problems that had no plausible explanation and moving stuff around fixed things up. You could start doing things like "ping -t www.google.com" and record how often the connection is dropping. If it's on 20 seconds and every 20 seconds then you have some clues. If it's very random with no visible pattern then no joy there. One thing you might attempt is getting a small portable router and just plug it into the router and see if it will hold a connection. If that works you know it isn't on the server. Somehow you need to isolate the problem to one of the 3 main areas (Switch, Cables, Server). If you can remove two of the variables then boring into the one remaining becomes easier. I can definitely agree with pbraun that when you see that notice it often does mean a poor or faulty connection somewhere. How to determine where/if is a PITA but... Without more information I'm not sure what else to tell you. You could get a KNOPPIX bootable CD/DVD and boot into it and see if KNOPPIX or a similar product (BartPE) can get and hold a network connection. This would tell you if it's software or hardware and booting KNOPPIX/BartPE is much easier than reloading the OS. - Rex
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Most likely autosensing of connection speed and duplexing has stopped working. I find that this feature flat out does not work properly, regularly going into autosense when not necessary, and quite frequently never actually completing the autodetect process. Go into the device's settings in Device Manager and, on the Advanced tab, force the speed to 100Mbps and Full duplexing. Do this for all devices on your network that will allow this.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
I also thought of that indeed, unfortunately it didn't help. Now I'm battling another connection problem on a different computer... Looking similar... I wonder if the switch isn't somehow involved :( Thing is though, if I connect the two unfriendly pc's with a cross-over cable the problems persist over reboots...
Paul
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I also thought of that indeed, unfortunately it didn't help. Now I'm battling another connection problem on a different computer... Looking similar... I wonder if the switch isn't somehow involved :( Thing is though, if I connect the two unfriendly pc's with a cross-over cable the problems persist over reboots...
Paul
Remove the one computer (not the server, the other one) from the network entirely. Reboot the router/switch and server then see how things go. You have to break this into the affected area and you do that by isolating away hardware. Get your variables down as small as you can, get that other machine off the network post-haste and then see how you are doing.
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Make sure IPv6 didn't get installed somehow... Aside from that power down the box and reseat the card perhaps even try a different slot for it. I've seen similar problems that had no plausible explanation and moving stuff around fixed things up. You could start doing things like "ping -t www.google.com" and record how often the connection is dropping. If it's on 20 seconds and every 20 seconds then you have some clues. If it's very random with no visible pattern then no joy there. One thing you might attempt is getting a small portable router and just plug it into the router and see if it will hold a connection. If that works you know it isn't on the server. Somehow you need to isolate the problem to one of the 3 main areas (Switch, Cables, Server). If you can remove two of the variables then boring into the one remaining becomes easier. I can definitely agree with pbraun that when you see that notice it often does mean a poor or faulty connection somewhere. How to determine where/if is a PITA but... Without more information I'm not sure what else to tell you. You could get a KNOPPIX bootable CD/DVD and boot into it and see if KNOPPIX or a similar product (BartPE) can get and hold a network connection. This would tell you if it's software or hardware and booting KNOPPIX/BartPE is much easier than reloading the OS. - Rex
Smart idea, silly I hadn't thought of that; I found an old Knoppix cd lying around and (as I expected) it brings up and holds a fine connection (this is on the original problem box - the Proliant I'd put Win2k on). This backs up my theory that it's Win2k/drivers that are the problem as before the format with precisely the same physical setup the networking on the server was fine. I've tried newest drivers from HP to no avail, I need to install SP though. This will be interesting without networking and a CD-rom drive which cannot read cd-rw's ;P I guess I'll have to waste a cd-r ;P the only thing is that it's kind of a last resort as I cannot see how that will help. I will report back if I solve the hassle, if not, keep the smart ideas flowing! :) Also, thanks very much for all the input so far! (the rest of you also)
Paul
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Network cards have been known to go bad on occasion. It doesn't matter if they were previously running well. Would it be possible to replace the card with an identical one? Have you tried using a different port on the switch or router? Isolating the problem is always the hardest part of trouble shooting. Phil
Not the network card. Works perfectly like it used to under Knoppix, with the same cables/port/physical config. Argh. Back to the drawing board :(
Paul
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Smart idea, silly I hadn't thought of that; I found an old Knoppix cd lying around and (as I expected) it brings up and holds a fine connection (this is on the original problem box - the Proliant I'd put Win2k on). This backs up my theory that it's Win2k/drivers that are the problem as before the format with precisely the same physical setup the networking on the server was fine. I've tried newest drivers from HP to no avail, I need to install SP though. This will be interesting without networking and a CD-rom drive which cannot read cd-rw's ;P I guess I'll have to waste a cd-r ;P the only thing is that it's kind of a last resort as I cannot see how that will help. I will report back if I solve the hassle, if not, keep the smart ideas flowing! :) Also, thanks very much for all the input so far! (the rest of you also)
Paul
Yeah, going off what you are saying I bet SP4 fixes the problem. I'd be very surprised if it didn't.
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Yeah, going off what you are saying I bet SP4 fixes the problem. I'd be very surprised if it didn't.
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Yeah, going off what you are saying I bet SP4 fixes the problem. I'd be very surprised if it didn't.
Argh. Just installed SP4 - you guessed it, no change.... :( This really sucks. I don't think there's a newer driver to be found as the hardware is really old. NT4 worked - maybe I'll have to go back to using that, but unfortunately that's quite a bit less usable in this situation...
Paul
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Argh. Just installed SP4 - you guessed it, no change.... :( This really sucks. I don't think there's a newer driver to be found as the hardware is really old. NT4 worked - maybe I'll have to go back to using that, but unfortunately that's quite a bit less usable in this situation...
Paul
Who's the card manufacturer? I'm not buying that you cannot run Windows 2000 on it. It's the release right after NT 4.0 so it works somehow. Try deleting the card from the device manager (uninstall it) reboot and let Windows auto-detect a new updated driver for it.
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Who's the card manufacturer? I'm not buying that you cannot run Windows 2000 on it. It's the release right after NT 4.0 so it works somehow. Try deleting the card from the device manager (uninstall it) reboot and let Windows auto-detect a new updated driver for it.
code-frog wrote:
Try deleting the card from the device manager (uninstall it) reboot and let Windows auto-detect a new updated driver for it.
Had already tried that, for the formality I tried again; no go :(( I am considering trying XP for interest sake, though probably the supplied driver is the same... Don't really know what else to do as NT4 isn't really an option (possibly at a push) but as you say, I agree, I also refuse to believe it won't work. It's a Compaq Netelligent 10/100TX PCI Embedded UTP controller (one of those with AUI port).
Paul
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code-frog wrote:
Try deleting the card from the device manager (uninstall it) reboot and let Windows auto-detect a new updated driver for it.
Had already tried that, for the formality I tried again; no go :(( I am considering trying XP for interest sake, though probably the supplied driver is the same... Don't really know what else to do as NT4 isn't really an option (possibly at a push) but as you say, I agree, I also refuse to believe it won't work. It's a Compaq Netelligent 10/100TX PCI Embedded UTP controller (one of those with AUI port).
Paul
If that's a bundled server that came from Compaq then if you went to the Compaq site (now hp.com) you would find the right drivers just by typing in the name of the server in the Software Download section. If you can't then I'm betting if you Google "Compaq Netelligent 10/100 PCI UTP Windows 2000" you'd get good hits.
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code-frog wrote:
Try deleting the card from the device manager (uninstall it) reboot and let Windows auto-detect a new updated driver for it.
Had already tried that, for the formality I tried again; no go :(( I am considering trying XP for interest sake, though probably the supplied driver is the same... Don't really know what else to do as NT4 isn't really an option (possibly at a push) but as you say, I agree, I also refuse to believe it won't work. It's a Compaq Netelligent 10/100TX PCI Embedded UTP controller (one of those with AUI port).
Paul