Saturday, November 24, 2007

Networks: NIC cards

A computer is unable to communicate with any other computers on the network. The indicator lights on the network interface card (NIC) are not lit.

What can you check to see if the NIC is failing?

1. Check the hub to which NIC is connected.
2. Check the Network Connection status in the Control Panel.
3. >>Check the NIC's status in Device Manager.-->Correct
4. Check the Internet Protocol configuration settings in the Local Area Connection properties.

Explanation : You should check the NIC's status in Device Manager. Device Manager will report if the computer has detected a problem with the NIC. If the computer does not detect a problem with the NIC, then you can check for other problems, such as a bad cable or failing hub port.

You should not check the hub to which the NIC is connected as your first check. If the indicator light on the port to which the NIC is connected is not lit, there is a problem, but you do not know if the problem is with the NIC, the cable, or the hub.

You should not check the Network Connection status in the Control Panel. You know that the NIC is not able to communicate because its indicator lights are not lit. Because of this, you know that Network Connection will report an error.

You should not check the Internet Protocol configuration settings in the Local Area Connection properties. The symptoms indicate a hardware failure, so you should start by checking hardware components.
Objective: Networks