Wierd Lan Problem

I own a Studio 1555 and i am having this peculiar problem with my onboard LAN connection. The LAN cable is connected to the NIC, yet it is displaying cable not connected. I need to reconnect the cable (remove it from the NIC and reconnect it) and it displays cable is connected and the connection ensues. Once i restart the machine, the same is displayed and i will have to reconnect the cable once again in order to get connected.

I hope the situation is understood. I do not want to reconnect the cable every now and then, when i reboot the laptop..

 

Try reinstalling your LAN drivers from support.dell.com. Sounds like some sort of software glitch to me.

 

^Agreed, but use Dells site, there might be newer drivers. Also check your event log to see if the driver has stopped responding.

 

support.dell.com as mentioned by Mastershroom is Dells site........

 

I tried the official drivers. But it is not working.

Right now i installed Windows Vista using the DVD which i got with the laptop. It was the same situation until i reinserted the LAN cable once again. It was detected. Now after countless reboots and switch on/off sessions the cable is still detected. I pray it remains the same. I am a bit anxious of cable-remove-reinsert procedure. What if the NIC goes kaput?

 

Then Dell will replace it for you. That's what warranty is for.

 

Will they have to replace the entire motherboard? Or is it a separate module?

 

Sorry to say this, but this is wrong.

What you should do is contact Dell technical support. There could be any number of things wrong with your machine that does not require a replacement. There could be a conflict with other drivers just as one example.

However, Dell may then decide to replace the item.

The LAN is onboard, which means they'll replace your motherboard if it needs to be done. If you bought the system care plan then they will possibly come to your home (or place of work) with said part to replace.

The main point is though that if you've tried the drivers again then you need to speak to Dell technical support.

Good luck!

 

If the NIC itself goes kaput, that means it's broken. Not a driver conflict, but broken hardware. If it wasn't accidentally broken by the user (or even if it was if he has accidental damage coverage), then Dell will replace it.

 

Holy cow, you mean Kaput = broken .....

Just kidding. All I was saying is that although disconnecting and reconnecting fixes it temporarily, it could still be software related. Heck, it could even be the cable itself rather than the NIC, and restarting the machine actually has nothing to do with it.

The op said:

Not that it definitely was kaput.

I just know myself how easy it is to jump to conclusions before everything else has been ruled out.

Hell, it's what the Dell tech guy has to figure out anyway, so they'll test a whole bunch of stuff before even thinking about replacing it; some of which can be achieved over remote desktop. Just trying to help.....

 

The situation seems to be stabilized as of now. Once or twice i faced the same problem, fixed it by restarting the machine. I got this laptop exactly one month earlier (12th may).

Thanks for the help, guys !!

 

If it happens again, you could try disabling the power management setting on that NIC and see if that makes any difference.

 

The problem has not resurfaced after that. To be on the safer side, i recrimped the cable today. Let us see what is the future is holding for me!!