dell 2400 unplugged network cable after install

JimmyTee

hi all,

I am struggling with a dell 2400 that i did a fresh xp install on, it keeps showing network unplugged.

By changing the duplex speed to 10 half/full i managed to get it displaying limited connection, but still no internet.

This has been strange from the start, the service tag is not reconized on the dell site and also it has a second network card on a pci slot, i have tried running 1 port at a time ansd both togther but same result.

The only device i cant clear in the device manager is the pci simple controller but i dont believe that is causing the problem.

I would really apperciate some help on this one, thanks

ppshay

Try the chipset drives on this page.

JimmyTee

ppshay wrote: »

Try the chipset drives on this page.

Already done that, but no good, thanks

ppshay

I think that the PCI Simple Communications Controller relates to a modem so might not be related to your problem. If it's happening with more than one card it might be the cable or whatever is at the other end of the cable.

JimmyTee

update:

I tried installing win7, it did install and load all but the audio driver automatically.

Very slow as to be expected, but the same story on both network cards.

i am getting limited connection error and power and activity lights are flashing.


I am gonna put xp back on and go from there as 7 would be unusable on this machine.

Come on tech heads, someone knows the solution............

ZENER

Wrong or damaged cables or connectors on that cable would be my theory.

I presume the devices are listed in Device Manager and have no exclamation marks next to them ? One for each network controller ? Is it possible that the onboard controller has been disabled in the BIOS and that the PCI controller you mention is actually a modem ? If it is actually a network card try removing it to see if there's any difference.

Ken

riclad

just buy a network card pci type, in maplins,peats ,15 euro,install it, install drivers from cdrom in box.
IS there any yellow icons in device manager, missing drivers?
First knock off pc, remove power plug from esb socket, put card in the pc slot.
Or try a linux livecd,mint 9,32bit .fits on one cd.
use imgburn http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=60 ,burn image, iso file ,to a cdr.PC is old,its possible network card is faulty.
mint works on any pc,looks like windows xp,has music player,webbrowser,
firefox built in.runs faster than windows.
OLD PC s have modems, and network cards,eg modems for old dial up phone acess .IF theres a modem card remove it, take out power plug first from esb socket.
When i get old pcs .i always remove modem card, waste of power, its the one with a phone cable socket .
take out one of the network cards
AFTER 3 mins ,with mint loaded ,it,ll show network icon,icon has network avaidable,on.off state,
you know if theres any hardware fault ,loads from cdrom into ram,
click install icon on desktop,to install to hardrive.
try another network cable.
MINT comes with drivers for just about any pc,including dell pcs.
some routers have usb cable mode ,if you wanna try that.

JimmyTee

ZENER wrote: »

Wrong or damaged cables or connectors on that cable would be my theory.

I presume the devices are listed in Device Manager and have no exclamation marks next to them ? One for each network controller ? Is it possible that the onboard controller has been disabled in the BIOS and that the PCI controller you mention is actually a modem ? If it is actually a network card try removing it to see if there's any difference.

Ken

No exclamation on either network cards.

I have been into the bios and checked that.

I have reseated the pci network card.

All cable look fine, and the network cable connected i keep swapping it to another machine to ensure that i have a live cable.

The only exclamation in the device manager is simple pci controller.

ppshay

Have you done the driver installs in this order?

JimmyTee

ppshay wrote: »

Have you done the driver installs in this order?

yes i have installed them in tat order but.
I can't find the Dell DSS for this machine is i assume it's not available for the 2400.

riclad

Remove modem in bios, try bios reset to default,switch off bios fast boot,
look at network settings in bios.
theres no need to have 2 network cards in 1 pc.
if theres one ,set bios,diagnostic mode on.
Make sure ethernet ,networking is on ,in bios.
i have got old pcs, where network card is dead, i just buy a new card.
check network card is fully seated in the slot.
What is dell dss,is that the pc model id no.
IF mint detects, no ethernet signal, it shows red x ,beside network icon ,in the system tray.similar to windows xp ,layout.

riclad

See http://capita.wustl.edu/CAPITA/People/AGonzalez/VigorDoc/9437/diag.htm

Start the utility partition by pressing <F10> during the power-on self-test (POST).
From the utility partition's main menu, select the Run System Diagnostics option from Run System Utilities.

JimmyTee

riclad wrote: »

Remove modem in bios, try bios reset to default,switch off bios fast boot,
look at network settings in bios.
theres no need to have 2 network cards in 1 pc.
if theres one ,set bios,diagnostic mode on.
Make sure ethernet ,networking is on ,in bios.
i have got old pcs, where network card is dead, i just buy a new card.
check network card is fully seated in the slot.
What is dell dss,is that the pc model id no.

dss :
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/w/wiki/installing-dell-system-software.aspx

i have tried your suggestions.

I removed the pci network card, and did a clean install.
loaded the drivers in order including reboot after each one.

bios Version A05.

fast boot : off
no reset option - (strange but true)
on option to remove modem in bios
no diagnostic mode

thank for you ideas, this is damm annoying

riclad

I installed xp on 4 dell pcs, mostly pentium 4.never bothered with dss,
windows xp should work fine using drivers built in ,try a linux livecd,
if mint doesnt see network,signal, buy a new network card.
try putting network card in slot on the extreme right ,near cpu. or near the pc case.Knock off pc, remove power cable from esb socket before removing,or inserting card.
does win 7 detect network card ok?
try safe mode,vga mode.
obviously for security purposes ,on a pc,you,ll need to download service pack,2,3 at some point
when running windows xp.
Can you borrow a network card from another pc.?
go to netcafe,bring a cdr,download mint, use image burning program, click burn image,
to cd.

JimmyTee

riclad wrote: »

I installed xp on 4 dell pcs, mostly pentium 4.never bothered with dss,
windows xp should work fine using drivers built in ,try a linux livecd,
if mint doesnt see network,signal, buy a new network card.
try putting network card in slot on the extreme right ,near cpu. or near the pc case.Knock off pc, remove power cable from esb socket before removing,or inserting card.
does win 7 detect network card ok?
try safe mode,vga mode.
obviously for security purposes ,on a pc,you,ll need to download service pack,2,3 at some point
when running windows xp.
Can you borrow a network card from another pc.?
go to netcafe,bring a cdr,download mint, use image burning program, click burn image,
to cd.

I got no spare net card at the moment.

sp 2 is on the xp disc i used

win7 can see the cards but same story

f10 wont work or ctrl+f11 wont work either

JimmyTee

riclad wrote: »

See http://capita.wustl.edu/CAPITA/People/AGonzalez/VigorDoc/9437/diag.htm

Start the utility partition by pressing <F10> during the power-on self-test (POST).
From the utility partition's main menu, select the Run System Diagnostics option from Run System Utilities.

I think as the system has been formatted the Dell Diagnostics is gone off the machine or at least is not accessible,but i could be wrong.

riclad

I think you,ll have to either buy another network card,or just download, run livecd,linux ,if you want it to work today .OR use a pci wifi card.Are you in dublin, i might have a spare card.?

riclad

Try this,
http://everest.en.softonic.com/

it might give test data on the network card.

PrzemoF

Try a linux livecd to make sure hardware is OK

JimmyTee

riclad wrote: »

Try this,
http://everest.en.softonic.com/

it might give test data on the network card.

Tried this but it requires an internet connection to run.

JimmyTee

PrzemoF wrote: »

Try a linux livecd to make sure hardware is OK

Ok i am totally green to linux, correct me if i'm wrong.

I acquire this OS, burn to disc, then boot the machine with the cd and it will basically run an linux OS from the disc, then i can see if the network card works.

Ok i have
PC Linux OS 2009.2 Gnome Live CD ISO

on the way down, will that one work ?

JimmyTee

Update:

I dug out a d-link wireless pci adapter from the attic, installed it and away she went , internet through wi-fi

I feel like i just invented wifi .

Having a connection i was able to run softonic (i never like this kind of software) but anyway it did show the network port sending and receiving data but only at a 2 or 3 kbps.

So it must be hardware failure on both network cards however unlightly that may be.

I may try updates see if that sorts any thing out.

riclad

on my laptop ,about 15ft from router, i get 5meg per second.IF you boot from linux, it loads os, in 4 minutes approx, into ram , then go to www.speedtest.net , click test, from ireland,dublin,.IF you want to test go to speedtest, or just go to youtube,a music video should load in about 10 seconds.
IF you are browsing a webpage,eg boards.ie ,it only uses a few k/per sec.OR download a podcast,eg thisweek in tech, twit ,chrome will show speed of download,eg 200k per sec
if a page ,eg pcmag.com loads up in 2 seconds ,then its likely network card is working ok.
BY the way ,mint is much faster than winxp, it doesnt have loads of unnecessary services running in memory.IT takes about 15mins to install to drive,
or just run it from cdrom.

PrzemoF

JimmyTee wrote: »

Ok i am totally green to linux, correct me if i'm wrong.

I acquire this OS, burn to disc, then boot the machine with the cd and it will basically run an linux OS from the disc, then i can see if the network card works.

Ok i have
PC Linux OS 2009.2 Gnome Live CD ISO

on the way down, will that one work ?

You're correct. Depending on the card it might work or not - 2009 was loong ago. I'd rather get something newer if that's not a problem. If it's a problem try that PC linux live cd.

Linux live cd are slow, but that won't affect downloading speed.

Torqay

The Dimension 2400 is way older than PCLinuxOS 2009.

riclad

Linux mint, 9,or 10 is best for that pc, 32bit version,has a similar interface to windows.And you can download,all the latest apps thru,menu.software manager.Get chromium browser,and vlc media player.Try running it from,cd , install it if you like it.

JimmyTee

Update:

I have fitted a new PCI Network card and same story.

Linux cd live 2009 won't load correctly, so on riclad suggestion i have Linux mint, 9 on the way down.

What am I missing with this install, i have done tonnes of installs and system builds and this simple little dell has me stumped....

riclad

IF network card doesnt work,,you could buy a usb to ethernet unit,12 euro approx,mint 9 is much easier to use,then the latest version.
i have never failed to detect all devices,chipsets ,usb,network card,on a pc using mint livecd,
Even when windows doesnt detect them.
its possible, circuit for connecting to, network .ethernet is faulty on the motherboard.
IF you are getting 4meg/per sec on speedtest.net on wifi where pc is, then you ,dont really need a network card

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ethernet-RJ45-Network-Adaptor-Converter/dp/B003Q85EEA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360368448&sr=8-3
this should work on your pc,as long as usb port is ok.
i got a dell laptop ,pentium 4, 3 years ago.installed windows, the ethernet port doesnt
work, everything else works fine ,network card icon is in system tray,
all drivers installed.Does not detect network connection.

JimmyTee

Just ran Linux mint 9 cd, same story.

It must be a mobo fault, but to be honest i cant see how, as other pci cards are fine.

Just tried flashing the Bios and it made no difference.

riclad

Would it not be easier to just buy a usb to ethernet,unit, 10 euro from amazon co uk,
rather than taking out the whole motherboard,take out network cards,
less cards = cooler pc.I GET 11meg,/ PER second on my usb ethernet unitITS as fast as a 10/100 network card.OR try bios, reset to factory settings,did you change any bios setting, re network speed, does the motherboard not have built in ethernet?

JimmyTee

Your usb to ethernet unit is logical.

I'm just like a dog with a bone on this one, but i think it's time to let this bone go and find use the work around.

Thanks for your advice on this one riclad.