!! On-Board LAN of P4C800-Deluxe Motherboard !!

[CB.]

Hi there,
i have a small Q regarding the on board LAN of P4C800-Deluxe, because sometimes i suffer from not hocking up to the cable modem after a restart of my machine.
I had a look at the status LED's just besides the LAN socket.
One is constant on and one is flashing.
When i power down my pc, right at the point when the PWS switches off those two LED's also go off for about 0,5s. After that time period they will switch on again and show a established connection to the cable modem.
I did not caught it in action, but could that little "OFF" time period be the culprit, that my connection to the cable modem after a new power-up of the pc sometimes can not be established?

Is this normal, that the LED's of a LAN-card or a onboard LAN are switching off right at the point where the PWS is switching off or let us say going over to the stand-by mode and go on back again?

Thanks for your answers!


Christian

[CB.]

Hi there,
i had a closer lock to the LEDS's beside the LAN socket and they also switching of for a short while during startup.

Is this normal? Does this depend to the cable modem i use?

Thanks for your help!

Christian

[clintfan]

Hi CB,

To try to help you I just shut this machine down a few minutes ago, then brought it back up. This is a P4C800-E Deluxe, not quite your same model. But I did want to let you know the behavior with this model is the same.

At the completion of shutdown, both LED's go out for about 0.5s, then come back on. They probably go out because a bus reset is probably done as a matter of course at the completion of shutdown. They come back on because these PC's are bootable from LAN and also support LAN wakeup, therefore the LAN has to be powered by standby voltage, even when the front power switch is off. Because the network is still providing a LINK signal, the LAN chip in the mobo is able to reestablish a physical connection, and after that it lights the LEDs (I use a router, not a cable modem, but the idea is the same).

To reboot, I pushed the reset switch. This of course caused a bus reset: the LED's go out for about 0.5s, then they come back on as before. If you had begun from full poweroff, you might not see this initial-out, because the LED's would begin from an out condition.

Finally, about 2 or 3 seconds into POST, the LEDs flash again, same way. This is the point at which keyboard lights usually flash, so I assume all the devices are again being reset. Actually I would not be surprised if they go out again when the Windows LAN driver comes up... though I did not check for this.

So in summary, all the LED-out conditions you saw on your model, are also happening on my model.

Hope this helps,
maybe you could try explaining a bit more about the problem you have, so we can see if this is part of it or not (probably not).

-clintfan

[CB.]

Hi Clintfan,
thanks for the speedy answer! This problem is realy driving me crazy!
I try to be more precise:
My pc is hocked-up with a 20m Ethernet cable (CAT5) to my cablemodem DCM03 (probably a CISCO) which is the standard modem supplied by cablecom. Cablecom is one of the major broadband cable companies in switzerland.
The cablemodem has 3 LED's to assign the status to the server, RECEIVE, SYNC, READY. They are constant on when the connection to the server is established.
Just beside those 3 LED's, i have 2 LED's for the LAN connection,
ENET and SEND.
When everyting is ok, ENET is flashing probably synchronous to the flashing LED beside the LAN socket of the PC, SEND is flashing only when i acces the internet or send mails. This LED's are showing communication.
The second LED at the PC is constant on.

The failor is dedect when:
I start my pc (each 5 to 10-th start or shut-down of my pc, dont know exactly) and try to go to the internet or mail DL --> no acces to the www!
When i have a look at the flashing LED either the one on the pc or the modem (ENET) it will show a constant on signal, no flashing LED!
Then i have to shut down the modem, power it up again, shut down the LAN-connection (via shortcut to the LAN connection icon) and restart the LAN connection by doubleclick to the shortcut.
So, thats the whole scenario. Hopfully it is clear enough!

I had a lock at the settings of the LAN within device manager (attached pic)
but did not change anything. I also had a lock for some manuals for the 3C940 settings but i could not find it on the web.

Any suggestions are highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Christian

[clintfan]

I start my pc (each 5 to 10-th start or shut-down of my pc, dont know exactly) and try to go to the internet or mail DL --> no acces to the www!

You know, I have weird startup problems with my P4C800-E also: every once in a while, when I start up, it gets partway through boot, then stops ans sits there with a black screen and no HDD activity. A second attempt usually works. I improved this a while ago by installing a new LAN driver, a version newer than what Asus has. But the other day it just did it again, first time in about 50 boots that this has happened.

My point is... I think these Asus mobos, good as they are, still have a few glitches when strying to start up. As users, we can either live with them, try to find our own solutions, or explain the problem to Asus and see what they can do. (Not much help for you , I know, but there is not much we can really fix as users.)

I had a {look} at the settings of the LAN within device manager (attached pic) but did not change anything. I also had a {look} for some manuals for the 3C940 settings but i could not find it on the web.

I could not find docs either. The blowup of the mobo in your model's manual is low-res, but for a different model (P4P800) it looks like the LAN chip is actually a "3Com Marvell 940". Sadly, neither 3Com nor Marvell websites reveal that they provide this embedded chip, so neither publish any datasheets, product briefs, or drivers. So I cannot tell about the settings, LEDs, etc. either.

When I looked at your screenshot image I did not see what I was looking for, which is the speed and duplex settings for the LAN. There should be a setting called something like "Link Speed & Duplex" but I did not see anything quite like that.

Look for that setting. If you can find it, it is probably set to "Auto detect". Because you are having problems, I suggest you do NOT use the auto-detect mode. Instead try to figure out what your Cable Modem is providing. EDIT: From my quick research probably it is either a 10Mbps Half Duplex device, or maybe the newer 100Mbps Full Duplex; (100-Half is unlikely, and 10-Full would certainly not be used). If you can switch the LAN chip in Windows, to use the matching setting instead of Auto detect, you may have a better chance of establishing a good connection at bootup.

Hope this helps,

-clintfan

[CB.]

Hi Clintfan,
thanks for the answer!

Originally Posted by clintfan

I improved this a while ago by installing a new LAN driver, a version newer than what Asus has.

Are still running on the motherboard LAN or did you install a LAN card?

Originally Posted by clintfan

I could not find docs either!

I had again a look into the driver zip DL-ed from ASUS and there is a winxp.txt
wich gives some information on the settings.
The problem is, it describes not exactly the same parameters i have, although
it is the same driver as on the CD which was shipped with the mobo and
installed. The parameter you where looking for was "media type" and this was on AUTO. I have also no tech. docu about my cable modem but i setted it to 100Mb Fulll duplex. Until now it is ok and it hocked up to the modem perfectly.
Will have to monitor the situation and reporting in in a few days!

Again thanks for your professional help!!!


Christian

[clintfan]

Are still running on the motherboard LAN or did you install a LAN card?

This is the Intel "motherboard LAN" chip, the one that hooks to the Northbridge on my model. On your model, your 3Com is a PCI device on the bus.

i setted it to 100Mb Fulll duplex. Until now it is ok and it {hooked} up to the modem perfectly.

That might have just been first-timer luck. Hopefully not, and the fix will last. Not all devices can successfully autonegotiate, and for those you need to force a fixed mode, such as you have done. Beware though, Full duplex is relatively rare in consumer network hardware, so if you have trouble with dropped frames etc., try 10/Half.

All the discussions I found on your modem, were all in German and were all on user forums-- nothing like a user manual or a specsheet that would tell me the speed of its port.

-clintfan

[CB.]

{look}
{hooked}

OOOPPSSS!

Try to improve my written english!

Christian

[CB.]

Hi Clintfan,
did a little research and found that my cable modem is a branded
Ambit 60678 EU modem.
Whitin the tech. datas on the link

http://www.ambitbroadband.com/broadband/U10C011.asp

I found that the modem is capable for 10/100Mbps full-duplex.

You wrote that i should stay away from 100Mbps full-duplex.

What do you think?

Thanks!

CHristian

[Prophet]

when you have no connection have you checked your device manager for problems?
Did comcast give you any connection software that might have a troubleshhoter or status checker program?
I may have misunderstood your post but do you have 2 ethernet ports and if so is one on board and the other a pci card?
Is your computer part of a network?
Did you happen to install any programs around the same time this problem started?
how many programs run at start up?

[CB.]

Hi Prophet,

Originally Posted by Prophet

when you have no connection have you checked your device manager for problems?

Yes, no problem assigned!

Originally Posted by Prophet

Did comcast give you any connection software that might have a troubleshhoter or status checker program?

No

Originally Posted by Prophet

but do you have 2 ethernet ports and if so is one on board and the other a pci card?

No, just the one on the mobo. The second one i mentioned is one at the cablemodem. I pointed out this port because of the ENET LED, which is constant on, when the fault occurs!

Originally Posted by Prophet

Is your computer part of a network?

No, just the pc directly ethernet wired to the cablemodem

Originally Posted by Prophet

Did you happen to install any programs around the same time this problem started?

No

Originally Posted by Prophet

how many programs run at start up?

36, but i am always monitor this and disable the programms in autostart after a carefull check if a installed program is using the autostart function.

I am realy looking for a proper cabelmodem manual to improve my LAN settings for the 3C940 chip.

The Q is still if should run the 10Mb/half-duplex or 100Mb/full-duplex.


Thanks!

Christian

[clintfan]

I found that the modem is capable for 10/100Mbps full-duplex. You wrote that i should stay away from 100Mbps full-duplex....i setted it to 100Mb Fulll duplex. Until now it is ok What do you think?

Actually I wrote that 100 is newer than 10, and therefore not that many modem devices have it. Yours does, and that is good: it sounded like you already set to 100/Full and it worked, so just use that.

-clintfan

[CB.]

Thanks for your reply!
Because the parameter description within the LAN driver zip matches not exactly the settings i have got after installing the driver, i will post 2 zip files with screenshots with all the standard settings.
I just have changed "Media Type" from AUTO to 100Mb/full-duplex.
To try to overcome my LAN problems i would like to get the whole knowledge
over all parameters.
Any explanation on the screenshots will be highly appreciated.
I have a open case running at my cabel company and asked them for tech. infos on my modem. Try to find the best manual settings with your infos on the LAN!

Thanks!

CHristian

[clintfan]

CB, the only one of those configuration fields the user should even need to modify, is the Media Type. Of the others, they are mostly manufacturer-specific fields. I could only make educated guesses at the purposes of many of them. But the fact is, a user should only ever need to set the Media Type (which is what it's called on your 3Com LAN), but only if there is a problem using the default Auto setting. The other fields should all work fine at their default settings.

Hope this helps,

-clintfan

[CB.]

Thanks Clintfan!
Yesterday i was setting the Log Status Messages to "All messages" to get all the entries in the Event Log. The description for the LAN driver was at least for me a bit missleading, because i could not find a seperate Log file from the 3C940. Probably it is only writing into the event log.
Will have a look how my system behaves, with 100Mb/full-duplex although
Cablecom told me to run on 10Mb/half-duplex.
The strange thing is, when i run it on Auto i get the popup that the the pc is connected with 100Mb. Dont know why i should run on 10Mb!


Christian

[clintfan]

Cablecom told me to run on 10Mb/half-duplex. The strange thing is, when i run it on Auto i get the popup that the the pc is connected with 100Mb. Dont know why i should run on 10Mb!

I could be wrong, but AFAIK a cable-company's coaxial cable is a shared medium, just a single straight piece of wire, with repeaters along the way every 100m or so. Only one station can transmit onto the wire at a time, if anybody else tries, everybody will see a collision, and will have to back off, wait a random amount of time, and try again. This is basic CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detect) technology.

This is is inherently a half-duplex arrangement: meaning you can't transmit and receive at the same time. That's probably why the cable company told you that. Although running full duplex into the modem may "work", it likely is actually artificial: the modem probably has to buffer what you're sending, wait for the line to clear, then send it. And it won't receive any more new data until it finishes sending.

BTW, 10Mbit/s is still probably more than what you'll ever actually get from the cable at max rate, what I's guess might be about 7Mbit. So that might be why they told you to run at 10... plus they probably either don't work at 100/half, or there's no point to trying it, if 10 is fine.

Hope this helps. And like I said, i could be wrong on some of this.

-clintfan

[CB.]

Thanks Clintfan for leading me trough that whole issue!

No, everthing runs fine and i will see what happens next!

Christian

[CB.]

Hi there,
a colleauge of mine gve me this very informative link regarding
auto-negotiation from NIC to a modem, router etc.

http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/network/autosense.html#intro

But, for shure you all know this! Maybe still worth to have a look!

Christian