Windows 2003 Server

[jamesbond007]

Hey fellas! I'm setting up a trial version of Windows 2003 Server to kind of dink-around with. It's on a dual P3 866MHz system with 1GB of SDRAM. I currently have a Netgear FA311 NIC in there. Here's the problem:

Sometimes, but not always - 3 out of 5 boots - the NIC doesn't start up with Windows. Win2K3 says that there is 'limited or no connectivity' through the adapter and I have to mess with the settings to get the NIC to work. (ie: disable/enable the NIC, renew IP, restart the system, etc etc) Since I'm trying to base the use of this machine over Remote Desktop, a working NIC is imperative as the box will sit in a closet when finished.

I've tried putting in a Linksys NIC to see if there's some driver issues, but it acts the same way!

Any insight as to how to fix this issue is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
~Travis W.

 

[MiniDoom]

Have you tried a different cable?

 

[imported_Phil]

Are you using DHCP or have you assigned a static IP to the server?

Always, always assign an IP address to a server.

 

[imported_Phil]

Oh, and learn to love the Event Viewer. It'll probably tell you why, in a second, you have no connectivity.

 

[nweaver]

It sounds like DHCP issues (not getting an IP)

 

[spike spiegal]

The Netgear FA311 is a solid card. Used a lot of them in servers.

Try forcing the NIC's media type to 100/half, and then 10mbs to see if the behaviour changes.

 

[jamesbond007]

Thanks for the responses! I have tried 4 different cables prior to today. I have a static DHCP addressing scheme setup in my place here. I have also tried manually assigning the IP in the TCP/IP config for that box. No avail! =/

spike, I have had nothing but bad luck when you change the speed to anything but AUTO.(default) I guess that's worth a shot, though!

Would updating the BIOS do anything? It's an older MSI 694D-ProA, but brand new and never used. This is the first OS I've put on this rig, since I didn't want to spend any money on it. The motherboard and one of the two processors were free, as well as the RAM. The HDD is recycled from my modded Xbox and the case/PSU/HSFs were given to me as well! I wanted to make this a Quake 3 Excessive server for an upcoming LAN this Friday.

Keep the advice coming!

[EDIT] Are there VIA drivers I should be installing that could fix the problem!? (VIA 4-in-1) [/EDIT]