Ethernet Network Card Help

[HoofHearted]

I am currently experiencing problems with my broadband.I am PC illiterate and just know the basics.I am connected to the pc via a USB cable but not getting the 20megs I am paying for.I had a technician out and he plugged my modem into his laptop via an ethernet cable and got 20megs.He rebooted and tried mine but I cannot get a steady IP address or connect to the web.

I took my tower to a PC repair shop and he took checked out the network card and it worked there too.I then tried again at home and get nothing.Is there any solution for me?

[Paul K]

When you switch to ethernet from USB you have to reboot/ power down everything including the STB/ stand alone modem. Did you reboot everything?

[HoofHearted]

I rebooted everything.The whole pc everything.It keeps saying 'limited connectivity'.I troubleshooted it and it says it is working fine.I have installed the latest drivers yet it still doesnt connect to the web.As soon as I plug in my USB everything works again.Very frustrating.

[Mick Fisher]

Maybe if you uninstall the USB?

[vmtech]

make sure your nics enabled, start run devmgmt.msc, check device manager(no red cross on it)
and try start, run and type netsh winsock reset

[handyman]

What Paul means is did you follw the required order.

Turn off computer
Turn off router
plug in ethernet (making sure you remove usb cable)
Turn on router (wait for lights to settle)
Turn on computer

I do appreciate that there is no need in some cases to do some of these steps but it is the easyest way to explain to someone how to do the change over.

[punky]

:welcome: to the site :)

You could try swapping the card, sometimes they can be a bit funny.. Only cost a couple of quid.

[HoofHearted]

Did all that again.It's still saying 'Limited or no connectivity'.There are no question marks or red crossed in the device manager network adapter settings.I think maybe I'll have to purchase a new network card.

[vmtech]

did you do the winsock??? ment to say you have to reboot the pc after you do this
what kind of modem do you have??

[Raistlin]

1. Have you unplugged the USB?
2. Have you tried a different Ethernet cable?
3. What IP address do you have when plugged into the modem via Ethernet?
3a. Click Start > Run
3b. Type: cmd
3c. Type: ipconfig /all
3d. Copy and paste the results into the next reply you give
4. Do you have the correct type of cable?
4a. Look at the end of the cable, you should be able to see coloured wires through the back of the cable
4b. The colours should match on both ends


Take a look at that stuff, if that doesn't work we can try something else :)

[jcw00]

Have you tried a new ethernet cable?

[HoofHearted]

1.Yes and even unistalled it.
2.The technician and pc repair shop have both tried different cables and both worked fine.
3.

Description: Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address: 00-11-09-13-F6-B8
Dhcp: Yes
Autconfig Enabled: Yes
Autoconfig IP Address - 169.254.137.81
Subnet - 255.255.0.0

The modem is working for my xbox 360 on live though,so I used that cable.

[Raistlin]

Can't remember what IP range the Cable Modems use, and not sure if they work with static IPs on the clients anyway, anybody else know? Maybe setting a static IP in the right range would allow the PC to use the modem as the gateway and get around it that way?

Is there any chance that a firewall of some sort is blocking the DHCP request/reply? I'm guessing that the tech on site would have checked that though.

[vmtech]

what kind of modem do you have and did you reboot after the winsock?

[HoofHearted]

When the technician arrived he plugged my cable modem into his laptop via a blue ethernet cable and straight away he got 20megs on a speed test.I can't even access the web when I plug mine in.Modem is fine.Network Card is fine according to the PC repair shop.They just aren't working together.

[Tightscot]

did the tech use his own network cable? or are you using the same network cable the tech tried?

[HoofHearted]

I am using the one I use for my xbox live.The technician tried the one he used from my modem to my pc and it still wouldn't work.

[vmtech]

ok dont mean to be rude but if you want help you kind of have to answer my questions
after the winsock did you reboot, what modem do you have?

[Tightscot]

ok so the network cable would seem to be ok, are you running any kind of firewall? what make/model is your modem? i take it you only have 1 modem, no router etc and so you have to unplug your xbox to plug the PC in?

[homealone]

does this help?

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/309823-post1.html

?

[HoofHearted]

ok dont mean to be rude but if you want help you kind of have to answer my questions
after the winsock did you reboot, what modem do you have?

Yeah sorry. I did what you requested and still get a 169. IP address.

The modem I am using is a black one

Model no:E08C007

I did check all what Gaz posted and called NTL.That's why the technician arrived today.Only to tell me it works okay on his and it works okay in the repair shop.It's just when I connect my modem to my pc using an ethernet cable it doesn't want to know.I get 'connected' for around 5 seconds then it goes to 'awaiting ip address',then it says 'limited or no connectivity'.

[vmtech]

turn off cm, make sure its directly plugged into pc, remove coax(big white cable) turn on cm, do an ipconfig, if you get a 192 ip call us as faults at our end, if its a pc issue

[HoofHearted]

I got the 192 IP address after doing that.I did call NTL/VM and they basically told me to update my network card drivers (which I have) or buy a new NW card.

[Tightscot]

based on that i'd call VM again and speak to someone else...

[HoofHearted]

I hear what your saying but I have spoken to 7 different people in 2 days and my phone bill is going to be huge.

[hokkers999]

I got the 192 IP address after doing that.I did call NTL/VM and they basically told me to update my network card drivers (which I have) or buy a new NW card.

and that's why charging 25p a minute for some moron at the far end to spout crap is retarded. The card is working...

[moaningmags]

Most likely the reason you are getting a 169 ip address
with the white coax in and a 192 ip address with the coax out
is that you have what's known as a generic mac address.
NTL and Telewest networks (now VirginMedia) operate using
mac addresses for assigning IP addresses.(the number you need to get online)

More and more people allow their operating system to install the
drivers for their network card resulting in a generic mac address.
This causes conflict on the ubr (providers servers).
The first person with that mac address gets the valid ip address
to get onto the internet leaving the other person with a 169.
The only way to resolve this is
A) Use USB - but no 20mb
B) Use another network card
C) Spoof The Mac Address of the network card (illegal I think)

Hope this helps

[HoofHearted]

I got told that on the phone that one person is using the IP already therefore mine is rejected.I'll buy a new NW card.Been told it will be supply and fit for £25.
Fingers crossed that resolves this fiasco.

Great forum by the way.At least my 360 and Live still work.:D

[jcw00]

Use the network card's MAC address, and don't override it via Windows. You should then have unique MAC address.

[HoofHearted]

Use the network card's MAC address, and don't override it via Windows. You should then have unique MAC address.

How would I do that then.

[hokkers999]

Most likely the reason you are getting a 169 ip address
with the white coax in and a 192 ip address with the coax out
is that you have what's known as a generic mac address.
NTL and Telewest networks (now VirginMedia) operate using
mac addresses for assigning IP addresses.(the number you need to get online)

More and more people allow their operating system to install the
drivers for their network card resulting in a generic mac address.
This causes conflict on the ubr (providers servers).
The first person with that mac address gets the valid ip address
to get onto the internet leaving the other person with a 169.
The only way to resolve this is
A) Use USB - but no 20mb
B) Use another network card
C) Spoof The Mac Address of the network card (illegal I think)

Hope this helps

Globally unique MAC addresses are burnt into the card during manufacturing, have a look here - http://www.techzoom.net/nettools-macdecode.asp you can over ride if you really must but there is never any reason to do so.

---------- Post added at 22:49 ---------- Previous post was at 22:45 ----------

I got told that on the phone that one person is using the IP already therefore mine is rejected.I'll buy a new NW card.Been told it will be supply and fit for £25.
Fingers crossed that resolves this fiasco.

Great forum by the way.At least my 360 and Live still work.:D

You're being fobbed off by some moron who knows NOTHING at all about networking (wonder if you are getting vmtech :dunce:). The IP address is assigned BY vm's network TO your machine, so it isn't possible to have "your" one rejected :dozey:

It may be that the MAC address is duplicated elsewhere.

---------- Post added at 22:56 ---------- Previous post was at 22:49 ----------

How would I do that then.

1. Start
2. control panel
3. network and internet connections
4. network connections

there will be a number of things listed (or maybe one depends on your hardware). one of which will say "local area connection" with status "connected"

5. right click that one
6. properties

it will say in a box at the top left the hardware it found and next to that a button that says configure

7. configure
8. clck on the advanced tab
9. look for an item that reads "network address" or "locally administered address"
10. highlight that item.
11. It should have the "not present" radio button pressed, if not set it to not present.
12. save all your changes and then reboot your pc.

[moaningmags]

I got told that on the phone that one person is using the IP already therefore mine is rejected.

My response to the above is either the agent was clueless, relayed the correct information badly or hoofhearted picked it up wrongly.

It may be that the MAC address is duplicated elsewhere.

As for the MAC address being duplicated elsewhere that is exactly
what is happening.
If the other person with the same MAC as hoofhearted goes offline he will get
connected.

Question for you hokkers999
I checked the link you put, honestly, I don't fully understand it, quite freely admit that.
So I checked my physical address through network connections, right click, status, support then details, this is the MAC that registers with the modem.
Then I did ipconfig and got a different physical address, I'm assuming this is the one
globally burnt into the card at manufacture.
If this is the case why is it a different physical address in the local area connection for that card?
Answer much appreciated

[moaningmags]

Pls ignore the question part of previous post,
I rechecked they both match, need an eye test methinks

[HoofHearted]

I have managed to get on this morning using the ethrnet cable.(Until I log off and someone else uses it that is.)If I buy a new network card will that give me my own unique address to use all the time? Also I thought my speed would increase to 20megs but I'm still only getting 3.5.

[hokkers999]

I have managed to get on this morning using the ethrnet cable.(Until I log off and someone else uses it that is.)If I buy a new network card will that give me my own unique address to use all the time? Also I thought my speed would increase to 20megs but I'm still only getting 3.5.

Did you go through the checklist that I gave you? what were the results? What do you mean by "log off", your bb connection is permanently on you never log on or log off. The only way to "log off" is to switch your computer off.

[vmtech]

You're being fobbed off by some moron who knows NOTHING at all about networking (wonder if you are getting vmtech :dunce:). The IP address is assigned BY vm's network TO your machine, so it isn't possible to have "your" one rejected :dozey:

It may be that the MAC address is duplicated elsewhere.


uncalled for:@ i dont fob people off, vm cant be held responsible for duplicated MACs

[HoofHearted]

Hokkers I went through what you told me and that's how I got on.Will I be able to connect all the time now or will it just be pot luck that I get the address before someone else does?

I know I'm sounding moronic but I just don't have a clue about pc's.All your help is greatly appreciated.It was just one VM customer service guy that was a right idiot.The rest of the time I'm just trying to understand they're broken english.

[handyman]

I have managed to get on this morning using the ethrnet cable.(Until I log off and someone else uses it that is.)If I buy a new network card will that give me my own unique address to use all the time? Also I thought my speed would increase to 20megs but I'm still only getting 3.5.

Just for the record this is how things work with the cable modems.

Your modem boots up (irrespective of if anything is attached).
Your modem gets an IP address assigned to it via the dhcp server. (80.xx.xx.xx or similar).
When you plug in your pc / xbox / other equipment the modem issues this ip address to the computer (its worth noting that the modem will have its own WAN address (10.xx.xx.xx) though you do not have access to it as it is Virgins side of the network. The modem can only assign the IP address to the device that is plugged into it when it boots up, you have to reboot the modem if you connect anything else.

You don't get issued a dedicated address Virgins dchp server simply allocates you the next IP on the pile. 9 times out of 10 though you get the same one back and if you do not turn off your modem it can be many months you keep the address for.

You might want to check the connection on the modem (is it a ntl 100?) some of the ntl modems had initial quality problems with the Ethernet ports. there is a dirty fix for this but I'd recommend convincing ntl to give you a new modem instead if this is the case.

Check the cable and try a new one. The wires in network cable can break quite easily.

Please don't pay £25 for a network card. Get one from ebuyer delivered for under a fiver and fit it your self. It is not rocket science and we will assist you if required.

---------- Post added at 17:01 ---------- Previous post was at 16:59 ----------

uncalled for:@ i dont fob people off, vm cant be held responsible for duplicated MACs

That sort of comment highlights your lack of knowledge. His modem has 1 mac address, if this has been cloned he may have issues using both usb and ethernet.

Winsock issues generally went out with win98.

[7@m3 G33k]

Globally unique MAC addresses are burnt into the card during manufacturing, have a look here - http://www.techzoom.net/nettools-macdecode.asp you can over ride if you really must but there is never any reason to do so.

Actually MAC address spoofing was very useful back in the days when you had to register MAC addresses with Telewest (dunno about NTL) and when you swapped devices (i.e. with different MAC addresses) you could wait up to 24 hours before getting back online. Thus cable routers often had this feature (I expect they still do) so that when you got your shiny new router home you could just spoof the MAC address of the NIC in your PC and be online right away.

Enough ancient history... :erm:

And it would seem that MAC address spoofing might help Hoof now if the fault is being caused by someone else spoofing the MAC address of Hoof's NIC (unlucky but possible!). What you need Hoof is the MAC address of any ethernet device that is not in use - I don't have an old NIC to hand right now but perhaps another geek can grab an old NIC and post the MAC address here before tossing said NIC in the bin.

[handyman]

@ Hoofhearted what spec is your pc? What OS are you running? Are you running and anti virus and spyware programs etc?

[7@m3 G33k]

p.s. If I'm right can we re-name this thread: "Spoofed Hoof spoofs again!"? :D

[handyman]

And it would seem that MAC address spoofing might help Hoof now if the fault is being caused by someone else spoofing the MAC address of Hoof's NIC (unlucky but possible!). What you need Hoof is the MAC address of any ethernet device that is not in use - I don't have an old NIC to hand right now but perhaps another geek can grab an old NIC and post the MAC address here before tossing said NIC in the bin.

Spoofing mac address's with ntl was only really used for xbox customers.

I'm a little confused how would spoofing the mac address of the NIC cause issues since it is local to the modem. I can see this being a problem on a LAN but not outside of it. That said there are plenty of issues with duff NIC's.

I thought the issue was with the mac cloning of the modems themselves which should affect the OP regardless of the presentation used (USB/NIC)

[vmtech]

That sort of comment highlights your lack of knowledge. His modem has 1 mac address, if this has been cloned he may have issues using both usb and ethernet.

Winsock issues generally went out with win98.

ok were did i say that and it wont be his modem mac address being cloned it will be the mac addres from his nic, emm naw they didnt when get them all the time and most times a mini winsock work but sometimes it has to be a full winsock reset

turn off cm, make sure its directly plugged into pc, remove coax(big white cable) turn on cm, do an ipconfig, if you get a 192 ip call us as faults at our end, if its a pc issue

this was the last thing i said

[HoofHearted]

@ Hoofhearted what spec is your pc? What OS are you running? Are you running and anti virus and spyware programs etc?

Compaq Presario Intel(R)
Pentium (R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
2.80 GHz,512MB Ram
Windows XP
Norton Security 2007

Hoof's Spoofing actually sounds like a dodgy site.I'll be banned before I get established properly.:angel:

[7@m3 G33k]

I'm a little confused how would spoofing the mac address of the NIC cause issues since it is local to the modem. I can see this being a problem on a LAN but not outside of it. That said there are plenty of issues with duff NIC's.

I thought the issue was with the mac cloning of the modems themselves which should affect the OP regardless of the presentation used (USB/NIC)

Hmm...well I may be totally wrong about this (so feel free to point and laugh if I am) but on cable BB aren't IP addresses allocated on the basis of the MAC address presented to the cable modem? Thus if the NIC's MAC address has been spoofed VM's DHCP server will reject the request for an IP address if the spoofing device is already online and has a current DHCP reservation.

[piggy]

Hmm...well I may be totally wrong about this (so feel free to point and laugh if I am) but on cable BB aren't IP addresses allocated on the basis of the MAC address presented to the cable modem? Thus if the NIC's MAC address has been spoofed VM's DHCP server will reject the request for an IP address if the spoofing device is already online and has a current DHCP reservation.

thats how i understand it.......your replys sound very familiar!!:p:

[7@m3 G33k]

thats how i understand it.......your replys sound very familiar!!:p:

I'm that bloke you see in the mirror every morning - handsome devil huh? :D Of course being in the mirror I have the advantage of being left handed: clearly superior as ne fule kno! :dozey:

[hokkers999]

Hokkers I went through what you told me and that's how I got on.Will I be able to connect all the time now or will it just be pot luck that I get the address before someone else does?

I know I'm sounding moronic but I just don't have a clue about pc's.All your help is greatly appreciated.It was just one VM customer service guy that was a right idiot.The rest of the time I'm just trying to understand they're broken english.

Nope, that should be fine from now on. The odds of someone guessing and setting their mac address to the same as yours are billions to one.

[moaningmags]

"Nope, that should be fine from now on. The odds of someone guessing and setting their mac address to the same as yours are billions to one."

It's not someone guessing, it's simply the NIC.

"On cable BB aren't IP addresses allocated on the basis of the MAC address presented to the cable modem? Thus if the NIC's MAC address has been spoofed VM's DHCP server will reject the request for an IP address if the spoofing device is already online and has a current DHCP reservation."

That's exactly what happens.

[jcw00]

"On cable BB aren't IP addresses allocated on the basis of the MAC address presented to the cable modem? Thus if the NIC's MAC address has been spoofed VM's DHCP server will reject the request for an IP address if the spoofing device is already online and has a current DHCP reservation."

That's correct. Connect via USB or with a router, and you will get a different IP address.

[7@m3 G33k]

That's correct. Connect via USB or with a router, and you will get a different IP address.

As everyone seems to agree that I was right about the way IP addresses are allocated on cable BB I my suggestion is worth a try.

Hoof: I am donating you a MAC address from an old NIC that I will never use again. Have sent it to you as a private message.

[popper]

"Nope, that should be fine from now on. The odds of someone guessing and setting their mac address to the same as yours are billions to one."

It's not someone guessing, it's simply the NIC.

"On cable BB aren't IP addresses allocated on the basis of the MAC address presented to the cable modem? Thus if the NIC's MAC address has been spoofed VM's DHCP server will reject the request for an IP address if the spoofing device is already online and has a current DHCP reservation."

That's exactly what happens.

it seems everyones missing the trees but seeing the forest :dozey:


you got that a little wrong and missed out some of the full reason.

IF your CM/STB MAC has been spoofed/cloned/copyed/duped ..... NOT any LAN side NIC

AND....., that same CM happens to be on the same section of cable/UBR then
YES the UBR(nothing to do with the DHCP server) will reject the second seen kit.


HOWEVER, it perfectly possible and valid for many reasons to clone your side of the network (thats anything after the CM) and is not in any way illegel/unlawful or any negative thinking you want to put to that cloning monica.

your confusing a simple Nic card MAC clone with the FAR werse CM MAC clone.

many 3rd party kit have a generic MAC of 00.00.00.00 although it appears that isnt the cause of the problem here.

changing the MAC is a perfectly valid option here if it works for the OP.

right now lets see if i can clear a few things up and perhaps help the OP (and interested readers) given your limited info/experience.

"
I am currently experiencing problems with my broadband.I am PC illiterate and just know the basics.I am connected to the pc via a USB cable but not getting the 20megs I am paying for."

so your CM when connected to the pc with USB is working.

"I had a technician out and he plugged my modem into his laptop via an ethernet cable and got 20megs.He rebooted and tried mine but I cannot get a steady IP address or connect to the web."

'tryed mine' as in, you also have a working RJ45 Motherboard/PCi NIC and straight through cable, and its not working in windows right now....


"I took my tower to a PC repair shop and he took checked out the network card and it worked there too.I then tried again at home and get nothing.Is there any solution for me?"

he pluged in to your PCi NIC/PC into his own VM cable modem and it started working fine...


-----------
some generic info i gave out elsewere for testing and getting a problem PCi NIC with a MAC of 00.00.00.00 working in side windows.

keep in mind the slax liveCD is for you to do a quick test of your pc without installing anything so try that first as it quick and easy for most generic RTL etc NICs.

"his machine had a SIS900 LAN chip on a motherboard, these and the old blue official USB-to-RJ45 adaptors that NTL supplyed when pluged into a windows OS machine seem to have a MAC of 00.00.00.00 and it appears the 250/255 at least dont like that generic MAC on PCi sometimes.

you can solve that by entering your own MAC or do as i did ,just get and boot a linux liveCD ftp.slax.org (ftp://ftp.slax.org/) and that gives you a valid MAC that you can put into replace the default 00.00.00.00 MAC on the windows side.

you can just as easy use the slax liveCD to register the cable modem and enter your details etc, but you might want to save off your details to a USB stick/HD for later reference etc in windows.

if your slax gives you a MAC No. of say A1:B2:C3:E4 take that MAC
inside windows , open your 'network connections' find the lan card thats pluged directly into the cable modem, open its 'properties', click 'configure' ,'advanced' and 'network address', enter the new MAC No. as
A1B2C3E4 not A1:B2:C3:E4 or A1.B2,C3,E4 and your done."

so there you have a possible fix and at least a simple test of your PC kit as it stands now.

you said this:
"
1.Yes and even unistalled it.
2.The technician and pc repair shop have both tried different cables and both worked fine.
3.

Description: Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address: 00-11-09-13-F6-B8
Dhcp: Yes
Autconfig Enabled: Yes
Autoconfig IP Address - 169.254.137.81
Subnet - 255.255.0.0

The modem is working for my xbox 360 on live though,so I used that cable."

so its not the generic MAC of 00.00.00.00 problem in your case, but non the less a cloneing might cure your problem. so do this.

assuming you have a working web connection and a cd/DVD writer, grab the slax ISO above.

make sure you dont have the USB cable connected to the VM CM and make sure the straight through RJ45 network cable is connected into the CM and the other end into the Realtek RTL8139, then boot the slax.

VM/CM-RJ45<--->yourPCs-RTL8139

NOT
VM/CM-USB<--->yourPC-USBport or werse,both conections at the same time...


the livecd should then boot off the CD and take you into the linux desktop.

(you might need to read the on screen text and type root/toor as the user/password and startx depending on the which livecd you get, its easy)

start the slax web browser and see if you can now connect to the web and browse, if so, proving your current kit is fully working with the hardware and its eather a problem with the windows install or a simple mixup of your factory installed Physical Address: 00-11-09-13-F6-B8 MAC address .

type ifconfig into a cli/shell to get/check the assumed working slax ip/MAC address and if the mac is different to the Physical Address: 00-11-09-13-F6-B8
then write it down and type the reported working one into the windows OS later, as per the underlined above, it should then also be working inside windows as well as the current booted slax linux livecd test.

[7@m3 G33k]

IF your CM/STB MAC has been spoofed/cloned/copyed/duped ..... NOT any LAN side NIC

AND....., that same CM happens to be on the same section of cable/UBR then
YES the UBR(nothing to do with the DHCP server) will reject the second seen kit.

Well I did say I may be wrong... :dozey:
Ta for the clarification and extra useful info :)

[popper]

hell, if you dont have both your PC and your XBOX360 powered at the same time
you could even use your XBOX360s MAC and clone the RTL NIC if you wanted, but not advised...

---------- Post added at 14:06 ---------- Previous post was at 13:39 ----------

Ohh, the slax live above is your first quick test CD to try but , care of Mr clean
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/12/33614425-can-i-change-ip-address-all-page-2.html
"
Re: Can i change Ip address at all?
I believe you require something like this....

http://tmac.technitium.com/tmac/index.html (http://tmac.technitium.com/tmac/index.html)

It nice and easy. Just change the last figure/letter of your existing mac address to one higher or lower than the value. Reboot modem and Hey Presto. New IP.

I use it alot."

[HoofHearted]

As everyone seems to agree that I was right about the way IP addresses are allocated on cable BB I my suggestion is worth a try.

Hoof: I am donating you a MAC address from an old NIC that I will never use again. Have sent it to you as a private message.

You sir are a gentleman.I shall use that (when I ask how to on here of course) if mine goes tit's up.Many thanks.

[7@m3 G33k]

You sir are a gentleman.I shall use that (when I ask how to on here of course) if mine goes tit's up.Many thanks.

Ta! :D But it appears that I am a wrong gentleman :dunce: popper is fairly convincing!

[popper]

not wrong , just lacking some more info, we all learn and help here so ill probably learn something new off you sometime :)