D630 Laptop Ethernet

Hi,

Here are few steps that you can try: 

• Please check if you are able to use wired connection with any other computer. 
• You can also reseat the Ethernet cable and check for the link lights on the Ethernet port.
• Please let me know your Internet service provider as well. 

You can also power cycle the router following the steps below:

• Shut down the computer.
• Switch off the modem followed by the router and also unplug their power cables.
• Wait for 30 seconds.
• Plug the power cords back into the modem and the router but don’t switch them on yet.
• First turn on your modem and wait for it to initialize (let the lights become stable).
• Then switch on the router and let the blinking lights stabilize.
• Now turn on your computer connected to the network and see if it works.  

Another step that you can try is to check in 'Device Manager' of your computer if there is any yellow exclamation or red cross under 'Network adaptors'

Uninstall and re install the Network drivers: 

• Click on “Start” and right click on “Computer”.
• Click on “Manage”.
• Click on “Device Manager”.
• Under “Network adapters”, you will find the Ethernet/wireless driver listed.
• Right click on it and click on “uninstall”. (Check and make a note of the driver installed on your system and re-install the Ethernet/wireless driver from the below steps accordingly).
• Check the box to delete the software.
• Restart your system and click on the below link: http://dell.to/WNoE89
• Enter the Service Tag of your system and select the operating system.
• You will find the video driver under “Video”.
• Click on the Ethernet/wireless driver depending on the Ethernet card your system has. (Install the same driver which you uninstalled from “Device Manager”.
• Click on “Download File”.
• Select “For Single File Download via Browser”.
• Click on “Download Now”.
• Save the driver on your desktop.
• Once the driver is saved on desktop, right click on it and select “Run as administrator”.
• Install the driver by following the on screen instructions.
   

Thank you for your response. I've tried  a number of different things ( un-installing drivers , and reinstalling new drivers off of Dell's web site, after the driver is re-installed the OS recognizes the new hardware and then gives the message that a network cable is unplugged . I've checked the modem and connections with my desktop computer ,  and I've restarted my modem many times. I've tried the laptop with a Fendora Linux live install CD and Linux also reports that a network cable is unplugged as well. The lights on the back of the RJ-45 port do not flash when a known good DSL modem connection is made to the laptop ( Im starting to think the Ethernet card is bad ). In the Network Connections Window my computer shows a 1394 Net Adapter , Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit controller and an Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 ABG network connection as the equipped network hardware ( is it possible something is missing from the PC ) ? Thanks for any advice.

dLTPN,

Do you know if they recently installed/reinstalled the opertaing system?

Did they send you the operating system disks?

Did they do a Dell - Ownership Transfers?

Can you run an ipconfig /all log and post it back here?

Rick

PCI devices like the NIC do not properly enumerate without the CHIPSET Drivers which should be installed FIRST.

Also the onboard NIC can be disabled in CMOS BIOS Setting.

The wireless can be turned off via SWITCH on the side.

I'm not sure if the operating system has been re-installed ( it is very clean and seems like they might have re-installed it ). The computer did come with the operating system disk ( a cd-rom entitled "Operating System" , part number R272R ) and I haven't done a Dell ownership transfer ( I will contact them about this ). ipconfig lists this information:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Valued Customer>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

       Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : COUCH

       Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :

       Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

       IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

       WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 13:

       Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller

       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-24-E8-EC-46-34

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

       Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1C-BF-52-1D-F4

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

       Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

       Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface

       Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF

       Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No

       IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : fe80::ffff:ffff:fffd%6

       Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

       NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Documents and Settings\Valued Customer>

"I get a message saying that network cables are disconnected "

- Did anyone else see this?  From your responses, it seems like no one did.

Networking Problems are some of the hardest to diagnose and KNOWN GOOD TROUBLESHOOTING TRUMPS EVERYTHING ELSE.  

* Can a known good computer connect on this network?

- if no, most likely a network problem (

- if yes, most likely a computer problem (could be hardware or software)

Can this computer connect on a known good network?

- if yes, the hardware is good

- if no, the problem is more likely the computer

If the problem is the computer troubleshoot the following.

* With all NETWORKING PROBLEMS, try booting into SAFE MODE WITH NETWORKING FIRST, if that works you will have to troubleshoot non-windows drivers, start up programs and services.  Many malware are here

* Make sure NIC is enabled in BIOS (it mostly likely is, but check) and also enable PxE boot for troubleshooting.

- check for light on startup, see if there are lights for building

- in windows, try ping 127.0.0.1 (loopback address)

- if you have a Linux Boot CD/flash drive -- see if the network works there.....

* It is saying cable is disconnected.  What that means is that it can't "feel" a cable connection, which could be

- disabled nic in bios

- bad cable (this happens more often than you think)

* known good trumps everything

- bad port on the card

* jiggle it, if the lights change it is a bad port

- corrupt driver

* try the intel drivers rather than the ones on the dell site

- Network settings

* I noticed your IP config say IP routing is off -- not normal.

dLTPN,

If the previous owner did not install the drivers in the correct order, then the drivers did not get instslled properly. How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct Order

If it was from a retailer, Registering your Dell Product The Disk should say something like, operating system disk and the version of Windows that's installed.

Places to look to see if your Connection is enabled

Rick