DSL Connection went awry - not sure about the cause

miaoling · 06-13-2006, 02:13 AM

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here:)

So my DSL connection hasn't been working since June 9, after a big thunderstorm (I'm not suggesting the storm is the cause of it though - just a coincidence that may have factored in). I had my modem - ZyXEL brand - checked by my ISP's tech support people, but they said there's nothing wrong with the modem. If you're familiar with cable modems, the symptom is that the 10/100M LED isn't on. The other three LEDs - PWR/SYS, DSL/ACT and PPP are on just as usual when everything was right. Since the DSL/ACT light is on, we can rule out a faulty or disconnected cable. The 10/100M light going off can only mean something is wrong with my PC itself - either the modem or the network card. But the modem, as I reported above, is all right (I'm fairly sure b/c I plugged the modem in my laptop, it works and I'm posting this on my laptop now). I checked my netword card (Surecom EP-320X-R1) - unplugged it and jammed it in another PCI slot, but it made no difference - still the 10/100M light is off. In Device Manager, the Network Adapters category, the Surecom card itself is working properly, but the WAN Miniport (L2TP) has a yellow exclamation mark next to it. Device Manager reports it as "Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31)" (note: this has been going on for a while, even when my connection was working properly, so I don't think it's the trouble, or the major one at any rate). Oh btw, I tried to reinstall the Surecom driver, but the driver setup I downloaded at their homepage wouldn't work; it says "This is a PCI version RSET. It doesn't support NON-PCI system!" Can't make sense of it.
I've provided you with all the info I have. Hope you can suggest another cause for this irregularity (and the solution, of course;)). I think I've exhausted all the possible causes and done everything I could, what with my sketchy knowledge of computers. Just can't think of anything else that could have gone wrong. Now, I'd really appreciate it if you could reply promptly, b/c just now I have a BIG load of things to do online that just can't wait. Many thanks for taking your time to read this. Cheers!

johnwill · 06-13-2006, 02:00 PM

Well, either the modem of the computer's Ethernet port appears to be dead. I'd see if you can find someone with a laptop to come and connect to the modem to see if the modem is OK. Remember, power cycle the modem when you attach a new device to it.

Another thing to check is the cable, even though you wouldn't think it would fail. Perhaps someone tripped over it.

miaoling · 06-13-2006, 07:43 PM

Hi Johnwill, thanks for the reply. I'm surfing on my laptop with the same modem so looks like nothing is wrong with the modem itself. The cable must be all right too because the DSL/ACT light is on (it'll be off if the modem doesn't get signals from the cable). This is a fullly plug-and-play modem - I didn't even need to power cycle it when I plugged it in my laptop. So all we're going by here is a 10/100M light that doesn't go on. Any other suggestion?

06-13-2006, 02:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
miaoling Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2 OS: WinXP	DSL Connection went awry - not sure about the cause Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here:) So my DSL connection hasn't been working since June 9, after a big thunderstorm (I'm not suggesting the storm is the cause of it though - just a coincidence that may have factored in). I had my modem - ZyXEL brand - checked by my ISP's tech support people, but they said there's nothing wrong with the modem. If you're familiar with cable modems, the symptom is that the 10/100M LED isn't on. The other three LEDs - PWR/SYS, DSL/ACT and PPP are on just as usual when everything was right. Since the DSL/ACT light is on, we can rule out a faulty or disconnected cable. The 10/100M light going off can only mean something is wrong with my PC itself - either the modem or the network card. But the modem, as I reported above, is all right (I'm fairly sure b/c I plugged the modem in my laptop, it works and I'm posting this on my laptop now). I checked my netword card (Surecom EP-320X-R1) - unplugged it and jammed it in another PCI slot, but it made no difference - still the 10/100M light is off. In Device Manager, the Network Adapters category, the Surecom card itself is working properly, but the WAN Miniport (L2TP) has a yellow exclamation mark next to it. Device Manager reports it as "Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31)" (note: this has been going on for a while, even when my connection was working properly, so I don't think it's the trouble, or the major one at any rate). Oh btw, I tried to reinstall the Surecom driver, but the driver setup I downloaded at their homepage wouldn't work; it says "This is a PCI version RSET. It doesn't support NON-PCI system!" Can't make sense of it. I've provided you with all the info I have. Hope you can suggest another cause for this irregularity (and the solution, of course;)). I think I've exhausted all the possible causes and done everything I could, what with my sketchy knowledge of computers. Just can't think of anything else that could have gone wrong. Now, I'd really appreciate it if you could reply promptly, b/c just now I have a BIG load of things to do online that just can't wait. Many thanks for taking your time to read this. Cheers!

06-13-2006, 02:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 31,468 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Well, either the modem of the computer's Ethernet port appears to be dead. I'd see if you can find someone with a laptop to come and connect to the modem to see if the modem is OK. Remember, power cycle the modem when you attach a new device to it. Another thing to check is the cable, even though you wouldn't think it would fail. Perhaps someone tripped over it. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

06-13-2006, 07:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
miaoling Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2 OS: WinXP	Hi Johnwill, thanks for the reply. I'm surfing on my laptop with the same modem so looks like nothing is wrong with the modem itself. The cable must be all right too because the DSL/ACT light is on (it'll be off if the modem doesn't get signals from the cable). This is a fullly plug-and-play modem - I didn't even need to power cycle it when I plugged it in my laptop. So all we're going by here is a 10/100M light that doesn't go on. Any other suggestion?