Something weird with my network card?

[Zoruglu]

Hello every one!

My T41 has been working fine since I got it, and then I went away for a month - WITHOUT taking it with me... So during that month, it has been nicely packed, in it's carry case in my wardrobe on a safe place.

When I returned home, I unpack it again and connect it to the internet and I had no connection... The other desktop computer did connect well to the net, so that was working.

When I looked at the network stats, it said it's sendin xx amount of data packets, but is receiving none... So I decided to take a look at the intel PROSET utility, where I find out it IS receiving packets...

All of the time, the outgoing packets are exactly the same on the standard network info (you know, that little monitor in your taskbar) and on that intel PROSET utility.... but the incomming packets are ALWAYS 0 on the standard network display...

So what could this be? Do you think my network card is broken? I found that weird because nothing happened to the laptop at all during my stay in england (remember, I did NOT take it with me so it hasn't been used!)

I have done a complete re-install of winXP to see if that would help, but no result... all is still the same...

Does any one have any suggestions?

Thanks! :p

[Kyocera]

Try doing an ipconfig/ all from a command prompt, see if the IP address of your laptop is in the same subnet of your desktop, it kind of sounds like your laptop is unable to pull an IP address and is using the windows default which will be in the 169.xxx.xxx.xxx area.

[Zoruglu]

Thank you for the reply
I tried the ipconfig tool but without any results... the ip i always get is indeed of the form of 169.xxx.xxx.xxx

I went to england for a few months and there I could connect to the net without any problems (using BT)

In Belgium however, I cannot connect to the 2 main internet providers (through cable)...

I also tried networking with a fiew other computers, and the networking is 100% ok!

My brother told me that IBM might have some security thing against theft?
And that this may go to certain providers as to lock the computer out of the net? Is this true?

This is not a stolen laptop!
I bought it in second hand from a guy who got it from his work, last year.
He was going to move and live in another country for his work, and he was going to receave a new T42 model so he had put the T41 for sale to finance his new direction in life.

So my question is: is my brother right? Does IBM have such a system to protect laptops from theft? How can I prove my ownership is legal? I can only assume the laptop is still registered to the company/guy I bought it from?
I do have a paper where is stated that he sold it to me, the model number and the price it costed...

So what do I do from here?
I live in Belgium....

thank you!!

[GomJabbar]

I don't think this is an IBM security thing.

I think you are talking about an ethernet connection here. If not, then let us know.

Take a look inside the RJ-45 ethernet jack and make sure none of the pins are bent. I have seen where one user on this forum had that problem. Secondly, try another ethernet (cat 5) cable to verify that the cable is good.

If the above checks out OK, then I think you have a hardware problem. The only way to fix it properly would be to replace the system board (motherboard). You can however buy a PCMCIA ethernet card and plug it into the card slot on the left side of the T41. These cards are fairly inexpensive.

One example: JETLAN 10/100MBPS ETHERNET PCCARD NETWORK INTERFACE CARD

EDIT: I just remembered to check the BIOS settings. There is an option in the BIOS to Enable or Disable the Internal Network Device.

If you disable this function, the internal Ethernet device is hidden from the OS.

[Zoruglu]

thanks for the answer, yes it's the plug for networking i was referring to.

Well the cable is allright, our setup is like this:

1 cable modem with a dual connection, meanng we receive 2 ip adresses to connect to the net: one for my brother's desktop comp, and one for my T41...
When my friend comes sometimes with his laptop, he can connect without a problem... And another fiorend of mine needed his laptop freshly installed, and after the installation we tested it on the net and it worked as well...
It is only with my T41 that it doesn't work...
I have tested with another cable already, and the pins of the one I am using are ok (otherwise the 2 other laptops wouldn't work either I presume)

If it is a hardware problem, why is it that I can connect to the net in England then? I had no problems in going online there at all... Just plug the cable in and i was online

I will check the bios... but like I said in my original post: I did not touch my laptop at all, it was in it's carrybag in my room, and didn't move, and nobody has touched it either... So I find it weird that suddenly it doesn't work... And i have always been very carefull with it in usage, I love that litle machine!!

[bill bolton]

the ip i always get is indeed of the form of 169.xxx.xxx.xxx

That address is from the range that Windows assigns when it does not see a DHCP service it can acquire a dynamic IP address from. In other words you are not establishing a connection with a working "network".

The cause could be anything from a faulty Ethernet cable to a failed network port in your ThinkPad (which means a planar/motherboard replacement).

Cheers,

Bill

[GomJabbar]

It is only with my T41 that it doesn't work...
I have tested with another cable already, and the pins of the one I am using are ok (otherwise the 2 other laptops wouldn't work either I presume)

Actually I was talking about the pins in the jack on the ThinkPad.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=13777