Thinkpads Forum

I received my brand new W500 and I have the feeling that something is wrong with the Ethernet port.

The Ethernet port is equipped with two LEDs underneath the port itself. Whereas the right LED is lit constantly green, the left LED blinks in amber, approximately twice per second. The blinking starts immediately after powerup and goes on indefinitely.

Only when booting the Linux kernel (I do not have Windows) the blinking stops for about 2 seconds, but then it starts again. I suppose the temporary stop is due to the kernel resetting the Ethernet controller.

I now exclude that the issue is driver-related since the blinking starts immediately after switching on the W500, before any operating system can boot.

The Ethernet cable is connects the W500 directly to my DSL modem. Replacing the Ethernet cable does not stop the blinking.

Of course the entire behavior described above only applies if an Ethernet cable is plugged in. If no Ethernet cable is present, both LED lights are off.

Although the Ethernet port works (I can access the network through it), I have a strong feeling that this behavior is not normal. Amber blinking makes me think of a warning.

I am looking for a technical document where the behavior of the Ethernet port LED lights is specified. Has anyone has got an idea on where to find such a document?

Thanks

The amber light would be the data activity indicator for the port. Kind of strange to be blinking so consistently, however.

I think this is normal. Mine does it and I honestly didn't think it was odd...just a constant polling of the connection.

Let me know if you find out otherwise. I've had mine for about 2 weeks and have no issues.

Just FYI there is a blinking amber light next to the Ethernet port on my 4 year old T42p that has been blinking since I first started using this TP.

Thanks for your replies.

I found out that the blinking behavior is related to my cable/DSL modem which sits at the other end of the Ethernet cable.

When I connected my W500 to a different wired network, the LED was only lit rarely, possibly in coincidence with activity on the Ethernet link.

I had thought that the LED in question was a dual-color led (green/amber) which should be lit green during normal conditions and be lit amber in case of problems. However, it seems the LED is monochromatic. So there is nothing wrong in it lighting amber.

However, I would still expect that regular 50%-on 50%-off blinking with a period of about 0.5 s is not the lighting pattern that signals normal operation.

Usually on these, color can be an indicator of duplex as well, with DSL that could cause the issue if you have weird keepalive settings.