I have a desktop PC, Acer laptop, cable modem, and a Linksys wireless router (WRT54G). I connected all the hardware correctly to create a small home network.
The wireless connection to my Acer laptop runs perfectly. Meanwhile, the PC connection to the router, via an Ethernet cable, has begun disconnecting, with the error message "a network cable is unpplugged" appearing in the Windows taskbar.
Everything is plugged in and I've gone through several troubleshooting steps, including chaging Ethernet cables and configuring the network adaptor (10Mbps/Half-Duplex).
Even more odd, I was playing a first person shooter game and once I exited the game, the network cable is unplugged message suddenly appeared. At the back of my PC, I unplugged the Ethernet cable, waited 5 secs, and then plugged it back in. The connection was re-established!! The network adaptor's lights started blinking again.
Is it my PC's network adaptor or my router or my cables??
Thanks for your help!
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3 responses so far ↓
1 Vishal A // Jun 28, 2008
seems your lan card has some problem
2 GTB // Jun 28, 2008
It is not likely the cable.
I am surprised it is set for 10 Mbps half duplex; I would expect it to be 100 Mbps full duplex.
Do you have the router assign LAN IP addresses dynamically (via DHCP)? I would make sure this is the case. Make sure all LAN appliances are set to obtain IP address automatically. I wonder if there are 2 devices with the same LAN IP address causing the problem - what I just suggested should eliminate that issue.
I would also see if there is a newer firmware for the router - check the maker's web site for info on this and how to upgrade firmware. Use a wired connection, not wireless, when you upgrade firmware. You may loose the configuration and need to reconfigure the router when you upgrade the firmware. Firmware defects may contribute to this.
You may also need to upgrade the network card's driver on the pc as it could be a problem.
Any of the above could be a cause. It is pretty hard to definitely state which it is.
3 payne747 // Jun 28, 2008
That error indicates a physical connection problem - it is NOT a layer 2 IP addressing problem or anything software. 'Network cable unplugged' means exactly that - your PC has lost a physical link to the router.
Either you have a dodgey ethernet cable (most likely), or your LAN card is damaged. It's also possible the port on your router is failing, replace the cable, and use another port on the router to rule out the last 2, as for the LAN card, you can buy cheap PCI ones (though LAN ports rarely fail).
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