"Paul" <pflammert***@gmail.com> wrote:
>The following problem has had me stumped for the past few days. I have
>two Windows XP SP2 machines hooked up to a 10/100 mbit router to the
>internet. The machine I'm writing this from is hooked up just fine with
>a 100 mbit connection.
>
>The other machine, however, has some problems. The on-board 10/100 mbit
>NIC has worked previously, but no longer works since I reinstalled the
>computer for my father. I have a completely new installation of Windows
>-- as fresh as you can imagine -- but the network would not work. I
>first tried acquiring an IP address automatically, which, after about 5
>long minutes of acquiring, returned the following:
>
>IP: 169.254.158.74
>Gateway: 255.255.0.0
>
>This seems to be in the domain of the standard settings if Windows uses
>when it can't reach the DHCP server. But as we know, the server is
>working fine since I'm using it as I type this message. I believe that
>connecting to the DHCP fails for some reason, perhaps because of the
>line speed (?).
>
>The router is set up such that it *should* be:
>
>Gateway (router's IP): 10.0.0.2
>Subnet mask: 255.0.0.0
>DNS (router's IP): 10.0.0.2
>
>Just to be sure, I checked the status of the LAN here, and these are
>indeed the settings we should be using.
>
>Using the incorrectly appointed IP address above of course results in
>XP telling me I have 'limited or no connectivity', I can only send
>packets while no packets are received, and the network connection does
>zilch, i.e.: the computer cannot be seen nor can it see others.
>
>If I configure the network manually, using the proper settings, a
>network connection is made and Windows says everything is hunky-dory.
>However, once again, no packets are received from the router and the
>network connection still does zilch; Windows just doesn't know it.
>
>To my surprise, if I *only* change the line speed from 100 mbits to 10
>mbits (either full or half, neither makes a difference) everything
>works like a charm, even getting an IP via DHCP.
>
>I've also tested the cable using a laptop; 100 mbits full-duplex works
>perfectly fine.
>
>The NIC device used uses the Realtek RTL8139/810x Family  Fast Ethernet
>chipset with driver version 5.649.615.2006 (most recent as of this
>message). It may be worth mentioning that I've tried resetting WinSock
>2 (which wouldn't have been necessary anyway, since I just reinstalled
>XP) and IPv6 is *not* installed.

> You've done some good troubleshooting to isolate the problem, Paul.
>
> Connecting successfully at 10 mbit but not at 100 mbit usually means
> that something in the network hardware is substandard.  An improperly
> wired cable is the most common problem that I've seen.
>
> If the same cable and router port work OK with another computer, that
> points to the Realtek NIC as the likely culprit.  Try connecting that
> NIC using a different cable and different router port.
>
> If nothing else works, consider installing a second network adapter.
> --
> Best Wishes,
> Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)
>
> Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
> for everyone to see.  I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
> addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.
>
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