NIC problems?
 

On my parents' pc (NTL 600k btw) whenever the machine is booted up, the isno connection, no IP address etc. If I uninstall the NIC, reboot and reinstall it, connection comes back.

Obviously this is a NIC issue but does this mean it's pooched and needs replacing?

Re: NIC problems?
 

when you say there is no ip address, do you mean that it is 0.0.0.0? or showing something like 169.254.x.x??

what happens if you try to renew the ip address for it? does it say 'an operation cannot be performed on something that is not a socket?'

Re: NIC problems?
 

My mistake - it comes up as a 169.

I've spoken to tech support who said there's no loss to the modem from their end.

When I get a 169, simply uninstalling the NIC then rebooting solves the problem until the next time my parents switch their machine on....and the whole thing starts all over again.

New NIC needed perhaps?

Re: NIC problems?
 

it could be a problem with windows reverting to the wrong drivers on reboot, if it was a faulty nic i would expect it to flaw randomly, and i can't imagine why a uninstall and reinstall would affect it. When you get a 169, check the driver version and make sure it is using the official nic drivers instead of some random ones that windows has decided will be good for it.

Re: NIC problems?
 

What version of windows are they using?

I don't know much about this stuff, but I had win98 with a NIC and the card just wouldn't work at all, due to a massive IRQ conflict. Tore out half the contents of the PC (sound card, graphics card), set it all manually thru the bios, but still it wouldn't work.

When I upgraded to XP, it worked first time.

H

Re: NIC problems?
 

They're using XP and all this happened after a reformat - and they have yet to download any Windows updates yet so I think I'll hang on until that's completed first.

So, after 66Mb of downloads, I'll post back.....

Re: NIC problems?
 

ah ok :) good luck all the same!

*wonders about the collective number of hours the human race has spent battling getting all the different incarnations of windows working*

*shudders, and carries on with the rest of the day*

Re: NIC problems?
 

Hmm, this is annoying me now. The Windows updates did nothing to help the situation so I tried using USB. I downloaded the Ambit drivers, the computer installed them and the modem fine...but no connection and STILL a 169 IP!!!

So each time I switch this machine on, I have to uninstall the NIC then reinstall it just to get on line.

I do believe the appropriate word is "grrrr".

Re: NIC problems?
 

have you tried the NIC in a different slot, Russ? - clutching at straws here, but I'm thinking it could be an interrupt conflict?

Re: NIC problems?
 

I didn't think of that but could it really be a possibility?

Re: NIC problems?
 

With you Russ .... anythings possible ;)

Re: NIC problems?
 

not really sure tbh, but it's worth a try? :)

Re: NIC problems?
 

Well I tried that and still the same. There's no connection, I just get a 169 IP. Uninstall the NIC, reboot, reinstall and connection's back, until the machine is switched off. Then I get the same problem over and over again and it's really doing my nut in now.

Re: NIC problems?
 

what brand & model is the nic?

Re: NIC problems?
 

Netgear FA311