"Network cable not connected"..but it is!

[Ozpete]

I hope you can help me here! After a clean instal of XP, I located required drivers and all was well. After loading the LAN driver, I went straight on line with no worries. However this morning, I get the message "Network cable is not connected". It is connected! I checked all connections, then transferred the cable from this computer to another and it connected immediately. As it worked fine last night, is it more likely to be a matter of settings than a hardware problem? (On the weekend, I'll try popping in a PCI LAN card just in case the RJ45 socket is faulty, but it worked last night!) If you have any thoughts, I would appreciate hearing them. Many thanks.

[Raymond]

Go to device manager and see if the driver had any problems? Is there an exclamation mark on the network adapter?

If no, try using the same cable, but plug in to a different port on your router. Since you've tested the cable on other computer and it worked fine, so it shouldn't be the cable.

[Ozpete]

Thanks Raymond,

There are no yellow queries in Device Manager. All drivers are reported to be working properly. Unfortunately, at the moment, I have only a single port router, so cannot try your suggestion.

I have done another search for LAN drivers, at both Acer and Intel, and they keep coming up with the ones I have installed. I tried uninstalling, then reinstalling. Still no change. Even when working, there is no activity at the LAN port usually indicated by a flashing light. Disconnecting then reconnecting the LAN cable does not induce modem/router lights to flash. It is as though the onboard LAN has given up the ghost. But I cannot check on this as the system is convinced a network cable is not connected!

If you have further thoughts, I would welcome them. In the meantime, I'll borrow a multi-port router tomorrow from a friend, and also try a PCI Network card and see if it makes any difference. Thanks Raymond.

[gravitygun]

Hey Ozpete, try to disable and enable the LAN device in Network Connections, give few tries. It may workout, also try TCP/IP manual/automatic config.

[Raymond]

Also try playing around with the cable (unplug and plug)

[Ozpete]

Hi guys!!

Isn't computing great fun??!! I had to go out for a few hours earlier, and when I arrived home, I booted the "problem" computer, then connected the LAN cable to the computer, and it went on line straight away. I restarted three or four times, and it opened the connection each time. Now, I have transferred the cable to this computer...had a bit of work to finish. I am most interested to see what happens when I pop the lead back into the problem computer, and power it up in the morning. Thanks for your help...but I hate these "is it really fixed" situations??!!

[gravitygun]

Also ensure that the Ethernet device is enabled in BIOS, since its an onbord device

[Raymond]

There are times we can't explain how can this computer problem exist and how can it solved without doing anything...

[Ozpete]

This turned out to be one of those "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't" situations. Must be something in the on-board LAN adapter that's amiss. Decided to effect a USB connection, and all is well. Thanks for your comments.