I was downloading a Linux ISO with my lower end workstation while I was using my more powerful system for gaming and noticed strange bahavior with the integrated NIC of this lower end less powerful workstation.
I first noticed a strange blink pattern of the port that this system was connected to of the router which was fast blinking for about 3 seconds followed by about 4 slow green blinks and then the port would black out, then it would repeat this pattern where the port would link blink fast for 3 seconds and then 4 slow blinks and then out.
I then switched my KVM back to the focus of this workstation and saw that the progress indicator of this download on the desktop would show progress of data transfer while the LED was blinking and then would pause when the port would go black ( no lit green LED for about 3 seconds ) and then pick up downloading further when the port would repeat the activity pattern.
During this time the workstation is not locked up. I can open and close applications etc, I also opened the network traffic graph through task manager for Windows XP Pro and it was graphing an activity/inactivity cycle that looked like an EKG heartbeat pattern.
The download completed successfully and so I figured that maybe the nVidia network driver that came with this motherboard's CD might have a bug and so I went to nVidia's website and downloaded and installed the driver all over again. I wrote down the driver version prior to reinstalling the driver and looked at it after installation and the driver version did not change, so the NIC driver must have never been updated by nVidia and the version that came with the motherboard on CD is the final version.
A few years ago one of my friends ran into issues with his nVidia integrated NIC, but I cant recall the specifics of it and he is no longer in contact to compare my issue with what he had. I think he resolved it by just stuffing a new NIC into a PCI slot and saying forget about using the integrated NIC.
To test the NIC after this reinstallation of the driver, and to compare against a different website, I went to
www.adobe.com and downloaded the newest Acrobat Reader since I was still using 9 and could use an update. The NIC behaved exactly the same way as it did with the ISO download from the LinuxMINT website for Mint14. So the problem remained.
Last test before posting here was moving the Cat5e cable from port 4 to port 5 of the D-Link router. And perform a download and test. This time I downloaded 7zip and watched its download process. Once again the same pattern of what looks like a burst of activity ( fast flashes ) followed by slower activity ( slower / longer duration blinks ), followed by Activity Green LED blacked out for about 3 seconds.
Last observation before posting here, took side panel off of the computer so i could observe the integrated NIC which has an amber and lighter orange LED pair for Linked and Activity. Downloaded a flash update from
www.adobe.com and the Linked LED of the NIC stayed solid = connected while the Activity LED on the NIC as well as the router would both show the same activity and inactivity pattern.
Tested home networking and ISP with my gaming computer, downloaded a free game through steam client and watched the activity, the download was a constant fast blink, so the problem is pointing to a driver or hardware issue with this lower end workstation in relation to the NIC.
Hoping to resolve this without having to stuff a USB wifi NIC into it's USB 2.0 slot or a PCIe 1x NIC into it.
Here is the hardware/specs:
ZOTAC GF6100-E-E AM3 (up to 65 watt TDP) / AM2+ / AM2 NVIDIA nForce 430 MCP Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500045CPU = Sempron 140 (2.7Ghz) single-core AM3 (idles around 37C)
RAM = 1GB DDR2 800Mhz Corsair ( memtest86 passed x6 times )
OS = Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit ( all security updates performed )
HDD = 500GB SATA II Seagate ( drive is healthy when tested with seagate tool )
* NOTE: An option popped up during the nVidia nForce 430 chipset driver installation regarding the nVidia nForce NIC if I wanted to install Network Management Software. I declined this software installation since I dont need any extra bells and whistles.
My search through google did not show any others with this problem, so I figured I'd mention it here to see if anyone has any suggestions?
* I have not changed out the Network Cable Yet... maybe this is a start, but I had other hardware connected to this same cable before with no issues with the prior workstation I had there, and the Cat 5e cable is only 7ft long and there are no fluorescent lights of anything around to cause EMF noise.
