win98 computer disconnected from the net

[HipHoper]

Hello all :O)

Have a client win98 computer which is connected to a novell 3.11 server.
There are like 8 stations at his site, But a computer I replaced few months ago (P4 1.4) Is disconnecting from the network a lot of times.
The computers are all connected via wired edimax switch on the upper floor, And there is a light on the switch which the computer is connected to when he can't connect to the network. On my last visit I saw that on every reboot I see for a few seconds "windows is updating configuration" on the DOS boot portion of win98,So I've replaced the network card and reinstalled win98 just to be on the safe side.
It didn't helped, But I replaced the place of the computer cable on the switch (From port 5 to 6) And it worked for about a month without problems !
Since the stations are using netbeui protocol, I can't ping them as far as I understand.
The cabling is quite new (2 years old).
In the last attempt to guide the client to replace the place of the cable on the switch and rebooting the computer, It didn't helped.
I am considering to go there tommorow with a cable tester and a new switch. Any suggestion for a thorough inspection of the problem ?

[NooNoo]

Novell uses ipx... why are they using netbeui? You can combine TCP/IP with IPX without a problem
If it is just this one machine, have you checked sysedit for old/outdated command lines?

[HipHoper]

Oops.....Right it uses MS built in ipx client, Sorry.
I haven't used sysedit when I then saw the win98 booting message at that time, But now since I did a fresh win98 install it boots perfectly.
If I'll add tcp/ip protocol to this machine, and to another machine on the network, Except from pinging them, How can it help me to diagnose the problem ? I don't want to mess with the server at all.
Maybe I'll download novell's 32 client for win98, But I hardly believe it will solve something, Since the problem seems hardware related to me....

[NooNoo]

OK, don't change what works, if it is running ipx that's fine. Novell's client32 from memory was a pita...

If it's hardware related, then take another nic. May be something is shorting... bad cable end or similar. Had one thing where the user pushed the PC back against the wall and mashed the cable each time till eventually one of the strands broke and then arced... could be that too.

[HipHoper]

Since I've already changed nic, I'll look into the cables and open the wall box to see if all is tight. I hope it won't connect when I'll arrive so I can see what's wrong.
A technical queston : If only 3 out of the 4 relevant wires in the network cables are good, Would the switch led will be turned on ?

[NooNoo]

If you are thinking that the cable might be broken, it has been my experience that the link light can stay on.. or flashes (as if rx/tx is fine) but it isn't. You can also get link lights and the cable is not broken but you have split pairs (ie the colours not done in the right order) you will get a link light, but the crosstalk is such that no signal gets through.

[HipHoper]

Thanks Noo for pointing out some cable-problem possibilities.
I've bought some cheap cable tester like this few years ago :
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-NETWORK-LAN-CABLE-TESTER-RJ12-RJ45-CAT5E-RJ11-UTP_W0QQitemZ220331533337QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item220331533337&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

It is a 2 parts tester with 10 leds on both sides (Only 8 needed for RG45).It sends a light signal from one part through another through the network cable in a specific seqence, And it helps to see if cables are not shorten, And that all of them are connected. Hope it will help to diagnose the problem.It won't help in the case of crosstalk or induction diagnose, But it's better than nothing and much cheaper than a few hundred bucks for a pro equipment...

[NooNoo]

Yah but it won't do split pairs (http://www.flukenetworks.com/fnet/en-us/supportAndDownloads/KB/Datacom+Cabling/dsp-4000+series/Wire_Map.htm)

[HipHoper]

The simple tool I have WILL show if there's a singal on the checked wire or not, but in the case of the twisted pair, the light on the far end will be lit on a different led number, It just send a simple 9v signal or whatever on wire 1 and after 1/2 of second to number 2 and so on and so on.

I went to a a client which is well known patnet advocate (well he is over 70 yo now), And needed to check network wiring in his office, And bragged about this "Self imported" 10$ of equipment and on how it lets me identify cabling problems....LOL

[HipHoper]

Just went to the client today, And there was no connection to the server when I arrived. Tried to restart the computer to see if it's not an software related - Still didn't login. Checked the network cable with the tester, And it seemed fine. Replaced the cables going from the socket on the wall on the workstation side and on the server side, And opened the wall sockets to firm the seatings of the wires in the socket, And now everything seems fine. Will know in a few days/weeks time if it might be the cause....