A network cable is unplugged

I hope I'm posting this in the right section. I live alone and use one single computer. It is an E-Machine T4010, equipped with Windows XP. My ISP is Verizon and my modem is a Westell VersaLink model 327W. I am using Avast Anti-Virus Home Edition.

I'll get right to the point. The little pop-up balloon that used to occasionally appear in the lower right-hand corner that reads,

"Local Area Connection
A network cable is unplugged "

...has, within the last couple of weeks, become unbearable. It now pops up just about every 10 seconds (even as I am typing this). I might just need to re-adjust or update something, or I might need a new modem altogether, but this is really excruciating for someone like me, who enjoys watching YouTube videos. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you very much for any suggestions in advance.

 

Is it cable or wireless connected?

If cable it could be simply that one end of the cable is not fully plugged in - or the cable is faulty.

If wireless - it's losing the connection occasionally, in which case you probably need to speak to your ISP Support.

 

Agree with the above post. You can stop that though by going to Network Connections and right clicking on the connection and take a check out of the 2 bottom boxes. It won't notify you anymore. But, like the above poster said, there is a problem if it pops up that often. Could be the NIC card (or on board connection), Cable, Modem or your ISP.

 

I do not use wireless. It is connected to the wall. I've pretty much ruled out the possibility that it is the cable that leads from the modem to the phone jack, because it goes into a splitter, and the phone that uses the other half of the splitter works fine. Plus, I've tried it with a couple of different cables and get pretty much the same result.

Now there is a definite possibility that the ethernet cable that leads from the modem to the computer might be showing it's age. It'll have to wait until tomorrow before I can determine that though, because I don't have another ethernet cable handy, and will be paying a visit to someone who does, tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, just out of curiosity, what would happen if I were to right-click on the "Local Area Connection" thing in "Network Connections" and then click on the thing that says "Repair? "

 

Hi IDLERACER, click on Repair and it will check out for problems and show a screen if there is a problem. Otherwise it will just say all is OK. You won't blow anything up! Cheers Neil.

 

Not using the wired connection???

Hi Idleracer,
Sounds like you're not using the wired network adapter in that machine if you're getting "Network cable unplugged" all the time in normal operation. Why not just disable it then?
- {START}{RUN}ncpa.cpl<ENTER>
(click START then click RUN and enter ncpa.cpl in the box and press <ENTER>
- <RIGHT CLICK> on Local Area Connection and select {DISABLE}

That ought to clear up the "network cable...." message baloon in the system tray and you'll pick up a bit of speed on the wireless if that's what you're using to connect to the internet.

 

What's with the font and colour Jack? Not everyone's eyes are as good as yours.

 

Whoops!

Sorry Idleracer,
I didn't read that you're not using wireless. That router should be able to verify the cable integrity by plugging both ends of the cable into lan ports and confirming the lights come on. Just plug one end into port 1 and the other into port 2 and if both lights come on the cable is good. Look in the jacks you're using with a flashlight to verify the pins are straight and blow them out a bit. If the router light coresponding to the port used lights when the pc is connected and powered on then the cable is probably ok. Try to ping the loopback (the insides of your network interface) with "ping 127.0.0.1" from a command prompt to verify all ok in the internal logic. Good luck

 

One other thing....

[FONT= "Tahoma"]And one other thing to check Idleracer....
Check the modem settings on "connect on demand" or "keep alive ".
Sounds like the modem may not be keeping the connection when idle.
A search of "Westell keep alive" on DSL Reports comes up with a keep alive redial time of 180 seconds.

...and what makes you guys think my eyes are good
it takes me 3 pair of glasses to eat breakfast!
[/FONT]

 

Link to the modem TS info at Verizon...
http://www22.verizon.com/residentialhelp/highspeed/networking/troubleshooting/questionsone/98976.htm

 

Thank you very much for this link. A couple of things I've noticed. I can no longer re-adjust my modem using the generic "admin" and "password" combination (I used to be able to). Also, doing the "ping command in Windows XP or 2000 to verify the connection between your computer and router" thing, does not bring up results resembling what is supposed to appear in the black pop-up box in the illustration. Instead of:

C:>192.168.1.1

What I get is:

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>_

All of this is leading me more and more to believe that there's either something wrong with the ethernet cable, or the socket at the computer. Like I said, I'll know for certain later this afternoon if it's the cable.

By the way, is the E1 port indicator light on the modem supposed to be completely lit up like the "Power" and "DSL" light, or is it supposed to pulsate (which is what it does, when it isn't periodically switching off altogether)?

 

Probable cause..

Hi again Idleracer,
Modem/router port lights usually pulse with activity when connected. I'm not sure about the Westell 327W but it's probably OK. Your router may very well be dropping connections periodically and then refreshing them upon demand. When the modem stops accessing the LAN ports, your NIC driver software senses a cable issue due to no loopback (power) at the other end - that's most likely the modem/router since leaving a phone line open indefinitely is a big no-no in the telecom provider business. That's where the "keep alive" setting comes in. You'll probably find your answer here:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r13747078-westell-versalink-327w-disconnect-issues.~start=100
The Westell IP address should be 192.168.1.1 and if you set it up with Verizon software, the username and password are the same as your Verizon account username and password. If you reset it with the button on the back it will be admin/password. Don't worry about anything before the ">" in the black box of the command prompt. That simply tells you what folder you are in. Just do the ping typing after the ">" - ping 127.0.0.1 for the NIC interface on your computer and ping 192.168.1.1 for the modem/router and ping google.com for the internet.
I'm pretty sure you're going to find your answer in the settings of the modem (Westell manual online) or in the DSL Reports idea about the NAT table size in the link I'm giving you here. Keep me posted OK?

 

By this evening (Pacific Time), I will have tried all of this, and will report back. Thanks!

 

Here are the results. What does it all add up to?

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ping 127.0.01

Pinging 127.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=48
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=48
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=48
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=48

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ping 192.168.1.1

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>

Incidentally, I also tried a different ethernet cable (a newer one) and if anything, the results were even worse, so that's definitely not it.

 

Call your ISP. Tell them the problem you are having. They can ping your modem and see what errors there are, if any.

 

Thank you. Will do.

 

I just found out pretty conclusively that it's the computer, and not the modem or the ISP. I've downloaded a bunch of drivers in the form of zip files from this website:

http://www.e4me.com/support/drivers.html

I clicked on Desktop >T Series >T4010 and then downloaded everything that was available in the form of zip files, namely:

Chipset Driver
Audio Driver
Card Reader Driver
LAN Driver
Modem Driver
VGA Driver

I assume that the LAN Driver is the key to most of my problems, but before I unzip any of them, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. In which order shall I unzip them, and will any of these make my computer explode?