A network cable is unplugged" repeatedly flashing on networked computers.
Thanks

Dani AI

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A repeatedly flashing "A network cable is unplugged" icon usually means the NIC is repeatedly losing and re‑establishing the physical link (link flapping). Each brief link drop tears TCP/SMB sessions and can produce the "\(computer) is not accessible / you might not have permission" symptom reported by — treat the icon as a symptom, not the root cause. (learn.microsoft.com)

For focused diagnostics (building on earlier suggestions from ): if a machine has both wired and wireless adapters (as described) temporarily disable one adapter and/or set the interface metric so the wired adapter is preferred — Windows will otherwise flip interfaces and break sessions. Booting a Linux/Live USB is a fast way to determine OS/driver vs. hardware/firmware problems: if the link still drops under a clean live OS, the fault is at the NIC/switch/router/cable level. (learn.microsoft.com)

If shares become "not accessible" after the link flaps, verify the OS file‑sharing components (Server/LanmanServer, Workstation/LanmanWorkstation and TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper) and firewall/AV exceptions for SMB. Also remember modern Windows may have SMBv1 disabled by default; that can break old discovery and browsing — prefer mapping by IP or enabling the minimal protocol required. (learn.microsoft.com)

At the link layer, autonegotiation or duplex/speed mismatches and noisy/broadcast storms can make some NICs repeatedly report "no carrier." As a test, try a different switch/router port and (briefly) force the same speed/duplex on both ends. For consumer gateways (WAG54G and similar) check vendor firmware or try an alternate switch/router — older home gear can behave badly under certain loads. (community.intel.com)

Summary: isolate interfaces, reproduce with a live OS, check SMB services/firewall and interface metrics, then look at switch/router port behavior and firmware. These steps separate OS/configuration causes from hardware/firmware faults so the correct fix can be applied.

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All 6 Replies

benyam_dessu,

1 Check the Cable and/or try a different one.

2 Try updating the NIC drivers.

3 In Device Manager,Right click the NIC adapter,select properties,if power management tab available.,then click to uncheck the option to allow windows to turn of the device for power save..

4 Try Reseating the NIC card or also try to seat it in different slot

5 check the cable length,try limiting it to less that 6 ft.

6 Try Flashing the bios

J_

Great!
Now the Icons of the computers near me are show up. But another problem is starting.
"//(computer name) computer is not accessable.You might not have permission to use this network resources.Contact the administrator of the server...." would be displayed. What is the solutin then?

Best regards

benyam_dessu,

Right click My Computer >> Manage >> Local Users and Groups >> Users >> Add the users of the computers you would like to connect with. Ensure the user name and password are the same on all computers.

I was running into a frequent issue attempting to network 98, 2k, and XP. The systems would connect fine, with the periodic exception of XP. To remedy the issue, all I had to do was run the Network Wizard on the XP machine, and everything was up and running again.

Hope this helps.

J_

Great!
Now the Icons of the computers near me are show up. But another problem is starting.
"//(computer name) computer is not accessable.You might not have permission to use this network resources.Contact the administrator of the server...." would be displayed. What is the solutin then?

Best regards

I have the same problem
My Pc has two NIC wireless and wired Ethernet.The problem is that it gets disconnected automatically.The Error message shows A network cable unplugged. The router I have is Linksys WAG54G.

Please tell me how did to get it done...
Is it the problem coz of the network card, cable or the router firmware needs to be update.
Thanks

Hi ,

the error message is becoz u chcked the box which says show the the lan icon in system tray " unchck the box"

the reason behind is tht , with limited or no connectivty the icons keeps on flashing try that.

let me know

the reason behind is tht , with limited or no connectivty the icons keeps on flashing try that.

Er... just turning off the notifications won't fix the actual problem, now will it? :mrgreen:

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