I have two Dell computers, a desktop and a laptop both running XP. Both are and have been connected to each other in a home network for several months. They were connected using Win XPs Home networking wizard.

Yesterday morning an error message began flashing on the computers, stating that "A network cable is unplugged" when it definately is not! I presumed that this could be the cable since I have had this particular cable for a long time so I went and purchased a new network cable. Upon plugging this in and restarting the systems, the error message was still there and became much more frequent, flashing approximately once every two seconds and the computers become disconnected.

The server is a desktop and the client, a laptop. When the network connection becomes disconnected, the desktop's network adapter stops lighting up altogether whilst the laptop continues to flash at intervals, as if attempting to create a connection?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It doesn't have to be the cable thats at fault here.. you've already ruled that out. looks to me as if one of the network adaptors has stopped functioning. have you checked to ensure that the network hasnt been disabled anywhere in eithr computer. if all seems to be apparent there and is showing as ok, attempt with a new card in the server machine. the main thing here is to rule out thing bit by bit until you find out where the problem is laying.

what brand of network adaptors are you using??

I think I've narrowed it down to the port on the laptop. If I wiggle it, the connection seems to stay. I've got it covered in sticky tape and it appears to work at the moment!

What can I do about this? If I take it to a repairer can they repair it or will I have to get a new one? i don't know how to change it myself because it's on a laptop.

If it is the port itself you will probably need to have the motherboard swapped depending on model.

Personally I would put a 10/100 card in the pc slot and disable the damaged built in adapter to avoid being without my laptop.

BTW, are you sure it isn't just the connector on the cable?

After searching all over the internet and reading too many conclusions the hardware might be broken one might try the following which solved this issue for me;

Select the networkcard which is giving the "A network cable is disconnected"-message.
Go into the Advanced type, then "connection type".
Select the appropriate Type in the dropdown on the right.

This was set on Auto-Negotiation, which gave me the error.
Setting it on 100BaseTx Full Duplex solved it for me as it was appropriate for my Ethernet card.

Is your laptop still within Warranty? That's a part your manufacturer will replace, if it's messed up. That's usually either a motherboard replacement, or a little jack attached to the bottom plastics assembly on the laptop.

Oh no, I just came across this thread searching for the Status message "A network cable is unplugged" which was frustrating me. And couldn't find anyhere a solution.

The above actions did solve it for me, so I just thought to post my solution inhere as this one of the first forums that I came across in google while trying to find answers in google myself.

Thanks anyhow

Hi guys. I stumbled across this problem as well, except mine is a little different. I have a desktop PC and an xbox 360, when I go hardwire from PC to modem, everything is perfectly fine and I can idle on messenger clients for days. Unfortunately when I go through my router I keep getting random "A network cable is unplugged" flashing repeatedly every 5 minutes or so. I've swapped routers and even purchased new ones and still tend to receive this problem. At first I thought it was a bad NIC card but nope, it isn't. The only thing that bothers me is that it's really annoying, and I can't seem to keep a STEADY connection on a messenger client without getting disconnected every hour or at random times. I lost all hope in routers due to this issue, and the part that it's even hard wired, and still giving me this issue is just weird. Any suggestions/ideas? Thanks!

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