Network ONLY after REBOOT

Browndoff

Hi,
This is driving me NUTS! My Home LAN works perfectly with all RJ45 sockets working fine etc. but on my own PC the Ethernet Adapter[Marvell Yukon onboard Intel Desktop Board] simply WON'T run until I RESTART the PC!!!! The other computers on the LAN start up normally with an 'instant' Internet Connection.

I've tried downloading new drivers and re-installing them [several times!] but I never get an internet connection until AFTER I REBOOT! Before I began to use it for the LAN [recently created] I used the same Creative Broadband Blaster modem on own my PC with a USB connector [for the LAN it uses the RJ45/CAT5e ports]. THEN the connection to the internet was 'instant' [perhaps 'cos I wasn't going through the onboard Ehternet Adapter?].

With the case of the PC is OPEN, I can see the RJ45 socket light up immediately when I RESTART - but NEVER when I boot-up initially!

Thanks for your help

seamus

The only thing I can think is that perhaps there's a setting in BIOS (or maybe even in Windows) to disable the device when there's nothing plugged in. This is why it only switches on when you reboot - the BIOS detects the plugged-in cable and enables the device.

It would be a power-saving measure.

Browndoff

Thanks Séamas,

I opened 'Control Panel/Power Options' but found no option relating to external devices. The PC's Power Scheme is set to 'Home/Office Desk' with default settings. It seems only to relate to when the PC should go into 'Standby mode' and NOT to what is 'switched ' at start-up.

Hang on, the Ethernet Adapter is built into the Motherboard [so it's DEFINITELY NOT an external device!] and if it had 'switched on' [as it should] and found no external cable linking it to the NET, then it would be flagged [within Network Connections] as 'Network Cable Unplugged' BUT the network would be fully identified [within Network Connections]. As things stand, Network Connections starts up with NO Network listed at all !

seamus

Yep, definitely sounds like a BIOS setting so. When the machine first starts up (well before Windows loads, before the beep even), you usually see a message like "Press F2 to enter BIOS". That message could take many forms, and the button it mentions may be Esc, F1, F2, F5, F12 or Del. I usually just hit all of those buttons until the BIOS appears.

Poke around in there, but don't change anything unless you're sure what you're doing. Do you know what kind of motherboard it is?

cpu-dude

Browndoff wrote: »

Hi,
This is driving me NUTS! My Home LAN works perfectly with all RJ45 sockets working fine etc. but on my own PC the Ethernet Adapter[Marvell Yukon onboard Intel Desktop Board] simply WON'T run until I RESTART the PC!!!! The other computers on the LAN start up normally with an 'instant' Internet Connection.

I've tried downloading new drivers and re-installing them [several times!] but I never get an internet connection until AFTER I REBOOT! Before I began to use it for the LAN [recently created] I used the same Creative Broadband Blaster modem on own my PC with a USB connector [for the LAN it uses the RJ45/CAT5e ports]. THEN the connection to the internet was 'instant' [perhaps 'cos I wasn't going through the onboard Ehternet Adapter?].

With the case of the PC is OPEN, I can see the RJ45 socket light up immediately when I RESTART - but NEVER when I boot-up initially!

Thanks for your help

Are you using XP or Vista?

seamus

I should also note that there is a known issue with Intel boards not waking up the LAN device when resuming from standby. Though this may not be your problem.

Browndoff

Hi Séamas,
I tried the Bios setting before but found nothing I could recognise as relevant [just the usual Boot-Order and such] - nothing which would relate to motherboard devices. Anyway, it starts-up automatically when I re-start - I don't have to 'request' an Internet Connection or any such - I wish I knew how one COULD, for then I wouldn't have to reboot!!!!
As for the issue with Intel Boards - I never put it on Hibernate or any other 'odd' setting - just 'Shutdown' or 'Restart', so I don't see why it would boot up the system in any 'different' way...?

seamus

Standby wouldn't be an "odd" setting. Afair, XP usually has it set to go into standby mode after 20 minutes or so.

If you start up the machine without the cable in, and then as soon as windows has loaded, insert the network cable, does it pick it up then?

Browndoff

Hi CPU-dude,

I'm using Win XP SP3 on an Intel D915GEV Motherboard with a Marvell Yukon Ethernet Adapter [built into the Motherboard] and, like I said before, it works reliably - when it switches on but it does this ONLY after a reboot!

Browndoff

Tried that Séamas,

When this problem first arose [NO, I DON'T remember what I did which might have caused it!!!!], I tried that [plugging-in the cable AFTER boot up] and looked for some Bios setting which might relate to the Ethernet Adapter but found none.
As I mentioned before, if the cable is 'OUT' but the adapter is 'LIVE', then the Control Panel/Network Connections lists the network but says it's got a 'Network Cable Unpligged'. What happens now [after a 1st boot] is that NO network is listed in Control Panel/Network Connections!!! It's totally BLANK!!! After the REBOOT the network is LISTED - with or without the cable in place. The only difference is that after the REBOOT, it'll show 'Connected, Firewalled' or 'Network Cable Unpligged', as appropriate!!

Browndoff

Séamas,

Of course you're right about STANDBY and yes, my PC is set to go into standby mode after 20 mins. but it comes out of it without a hitch, every time! It's just the NORMAL BOOT that's effected by this peculiar flaw.

Browndoff

Hi Séamas,

Thanks for your help. Ithink I may have stumbled upon the answer! I went to a MicroSoft help site [to solve a different problem - unwanted autostarts] and its reccommended progamme for checking on the FULL list of autostart prog was "Autoruns" [from SysInternals.com]. I ran this programme and it showed that the exec file for the USB Modem connection was being 'auto-loaded' AS WELL AS the exec file for the Ehternet Adapter. If one assumes that they could interfere, then it's obvious that removal of the [currently unwanted] exec for the USB Modem is likely to allow the Ethernet Adapter to start properly at boot-up!!!!

Thanks again!!!