A21p 3Com Mini PCI Card broken or ???

[hausman]

The network interface on my A21p has been behaving strangely for the past couple of weeks. I'll spare you the details because now it doesn't work at all. Here are the symptoms.

1. Dr PC reports that both the NIC and modem are functional. Device Manager also reports them OK with no conflicts or other diagnostic messages.

2. I've deleted both NIC and modem using Device Manager and WinXP recognizes them both at the next boot.

3. The modem works fine, but when I try to access a network resource through Ethernet, e.g. my cable/DSL router, another PC on my LAN, the Internet, etc. all fail. Windows reports that the connection is broken and/or that the cable is unplugged.

I doubt it's the Ethernet cable because I've tried several cables with the same results. I've also used both the RJ-45 at the back of the A21p as well as the RJ-45 at the back of two different port replicators. In all cases the link light on the router is off and the green LEDs on the RJ-45s are off.

I've removed/reseated the card a couple of times, all to no avail. I have no trouble with the modem, nor with PCMCIA NICs, both wired and wireless.

All of this leads me to believe that the card itself is probably OK but something is broken (perhaps the ribbon cable?) between it and the outside world. Any suggestions on how to proceed next?

Before I go to the trouble of pulling the system board, does anyone know how the ribbon cable attaches to it, i.e. is it a connector that may be loose or is it soldered in?

I presume the RJ-45 is soldered to the mobo. When I use a port replicator the signals get replicated out via the connector on the bottom of the A21p. Since the RJ-45 on the replicator doesn't work either, it seems to me that neither of the RJ-45s or the bottom connectors are faulty (unless they all are )

Comments? Suggestions? Thanks.

[hausman]

No one has any advice to offer

[Aramitz]

I've an old A20P(2629 6AG) but I can't activate Ethernet !??
My modem is a "Lucent Win Modem"
I've DL all the drivers from IBM site but...nothing
Sorry, chap

[jeroenp]

The network interface on my A21p has been behaving strangely for the past couple of weeks. I'll spare you the details because now it doesn't work at all.

I have had similar problems when the machine is very hot.

--jeroen

[gregpilot]

A couple of years ago I went through two 3com 10/100 and modem combo cards. On an A20p.

However in both cases I was getting errors on POST (bootup). IBM replaced the 3com card with an Intel one.

In your case, I would suggest swapping the card with a known good one. Then if you can connect you can verify your network settings (DHCP, fixed IP, etc) are OK. These are entirely different from connecting with a modem as you probably know. But the lack of a green status led when you plug in your RJ-45 cable is troubling. Are you using a router? If you do not have another mini PCI card to test, and you can connect another PC to at least verify the network, if successful, then you have narrowed down the problem to your network card . They are pretty cheap on ebay now.

Sorry I cant help more. However my gut feeling is the 3 com card is suspect.

Greg

[araina]

There is a cable on the mainboard that needs to be plugged into the mini PCI card. I was getting the same "network cable is unplugged" and the rj-45 LED wasn't coming on.

Once i connected this cable, fixed!

Maybe you are missing this simple step too?

[hausman]

There is a cable on the mainboard that needs to be plugged into the mini PCI card. I was getting the same "network cable is unplugged" and the rj-45 LED wasn't coming on.

Once i connected this cable, fixed!

Thanks! I'll double-check this when I have time. For the time being I have a PCMCIA card as well as a USB NIC that work fine.

[doodles113]

Here in the company I work as a vendor, we have 12 units of A21e with the same problem.Usually, we replace the Mini PCI card, and all network activity goes back to normal.We are waiting more cards come from IBM, to replace all of them.Does the A21p have a small door, similar to the cover of memory slots, at the bottom of system unit?If so,Mini PCI is attached to your motherboard like a memory card, but with two flat cables on it.
Is extremely easy to replace, about 5 min on the entire process.

[hausman]

Update: I managed to borrow an identical card from a friend's functioning A21p. That card behaves the same as my card, so as suspected, the fault lies elsewhere.