Network is 10/100, only running at 10 . . . any ideas?

[XMan]

None of the 100MBps lights on the NIC cards or the 10/100 switch are on. I am using Belkin CAT-5E rated cable which is supposed to handle up to 1000MBps.

Suggestions???

 

[XMan]

Bump - now my main computer will not see any other computers on the network, including itself.

The other computer can see itself but not the main. Any ideas?

 

[XMan]

OK, now both computers can see themselves but not each other . . .

HE'P!!!!

 

[b0red]

force 100? go to network properties -> NIC properties -> advanced -> connection type -> 100 full duplex

 

[XMan]

The 3Com NIC in my tower only has three options, PCI slot number, PCI bus number, and bus mastering.

The Intel NIC in my laptop does have those options. I'll try.

 

[dblevitan]

Is this a crossover cable? Is it cat 5? Is there a switch/hub in between that is set to 10 Mbps? Remember that everything needs to be rated at 100 Mbps for anything to work. Usually, cards should be able to determine between 10 and 100 without a problem.

 

[XMan]

Yeah, everything is 10/100 rated. My main concern now is just getting everything to work at all.

 

[dblevitan]

OK, can you ping between the computers? Make sure each computer has a TCP/IP address (like 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2), open a dos prompt, and type in "ping 192.168.1.x", where x is the final ip number of the other computer. If this works, the connection is active, and the problem is in windows. If it doesn't work, then there's a network problem.
Also, make sure all of the computers are on the same workgroup/domain. What OS are you running on them?

 

[XMan]

Hmm, I guess have sould have checked more carefully - the file server can see itself and the main computer. But the main computer doesn't see anything. I think I'm losing my hair.

OK, can you ping between the computers? Make sure each computer has a TCP/IP address (like 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2), open a dos prompt, and type in "ping 192.168.1.x", where x is the final ip number of the other computer. If this works, the connection is active, and the problem is in windows. If it doesn't work, then there's a network problem.
Also, make sure all of the computers are on the same workgroup/domain. What OS are you running on them?

Main computer = 192.168.0.11
File server = 192.168.0.12
Laptop = 192.168.0.15

I'm running 98SE on both the file server and main computer, and 95 on the laptop. I can ping the main computer from the file server, and I can ping the file server from the main computer - I just don't see it in Network Neighborhood.

 

[XMan]

Ok, now it spontaneously started working . . . am I going insane????

I'm wondering about the speed . . . I started a 6GB transfer of files to the file server, and it estimated that it will take about 60 minutes. That's 10 minutes per gigabyte, or 100MB a minute. Is that about right for a 100MBps setup?

 

[dblevitan]

If it works, then don't change anything else and pray it stays that way . Assuming everything is at 100 Mbps (make sure the 100 lights are on on all equipment), then that is too slow. Because of TCP/IP and SMB overhead, you're looking at a max of around 80 Mbps. That's about 10 Mega Bytes per second. The problem is that while you can get 10 Mega Bytes per second, it hard to because the hard disks are probably not fast enough. I administer a small group of video editing workstations, which have 10,000 rpm ultra 2 scsi hard drivers ($1500 for 18 GB). A 6 GB transfer between two computers through a 100 Mbps network takes maybe 5-10 minutes or so, although I haven't really benchmarked the connection. But remember that these are high-end workstations with 1/2 GB ram and 600 MHz processors. Your transfer speed will depend on the computers involved. If you want to do a transfer test that isn't affected by hard drive performance, there's a special test program Anandtech uses. Look at one of the switch reviews on Anandtech.

 

[XMan]

Assuming everything is at 100 Mbps (make sure the 100 lights are on on all equipment), then that is too slow.

The lights aren't on for the switch or on the cards themselves. Should I try updating the NIC drivers? The one's I'm using are off of the Windows 98 CD.

 

[PELarson]

<< Assuming everything is at 100 Mbps (make sure the 100 lights are on on all equipment), then that is too slow.

The lights aren't on for the switch or on the cards themselves. Should I try updating the NIC drivers? The one's I'm using are off of the Windows 98 CD. >>



Do youu have the configuration diskette for the NIC's? If you do boot to DOS run the configuration utility and see if both card are set up for 10/100.

 

[XMan]

Do youu have the configuration diskette for the NIC's? If you do boot to DOS run the configuration utility and see if both card are set up for 10/100.

I don't have one, no. I bought these NIC cards off of FS/FT a while back.

Is there a program on 3Com's site?

 

[dblevitan]

Are there any 10/100 switches on the hub/switch itself? I believe that some old ones had this. Also, if you have a crossover cable, try connecting two of the computers together dirrectly.

 

[XMan]

Are there any 10/100 switches on the hub/switch itself? I believe that some old ones had this. Also, if you have a crossover cable, try connecting two of the computers together dirrectly.

Nope, it's an auto-detect Linksys.

I found a program on 3Com's website that allowed me to change the settings on the NICs. They were set to 10MBps, half-duplex. I set to 100/full.

But now it's even slower . . . how is that possible?

 

[knutp]

I just saw at the 3com site that some of their nic's could have some problems connecting at 100 mbps. But it could be solved by downloading the driver pacage. And upgrade your drivers. Be sure to set everything back to autodetect. I got a 905b and one 905c and works at 100 mbps everytime on a 10/100 smc switch. Did also work great with a 100 mbps intel hub (only 100, not 10 at all...)

 

[Scarpozzi]

If it's an auto detect linksys you can look at the lights and check &quot;each&quot; device to make sure it's connected to the switch at 100Mbps. If you don't see the light lit up, you'll know you have something going down.

 

[XMan]

OK, I set both of them back to auto-detect, and they show as 100s now.

Not sure about the speed, but I can stream an MP3 from the file server and move a large file from the main system to the file server at the same time, and the MP3 does not skip or anything. So I guess that's good, right?

Just on guesstimation, it transfer about a megabyte a second.

100 MBps is megaBITs, correct?

 

[dblevitan]

Yes, so its about 12.5 Mega Bytes per second. Realitically (because of overhead) you will get 80 Mbps, so around 10 Mega Bytes per second.