Status: Network Cable Unplugged

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Paladin

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  • #3
    Yeah a PPPoE adapter is a software/virtual adapter that kind of 'sits on top of' your actual physical network interface.

    You have 2 issues:

    PPPoE is probably for a connection to your ISP. Usually a PPPoE connection configuration would be done on your router. If you have a wifi router or something like it, you may want to remove the PPPoE software from your computer.

    The next issue is that if you are not getting a link between your computer and whatever is at the other end of the cable, your network interface port on your computer might be disabled or damaged. Look at the cable from your computer and trace where it goes into the router and see if the router has a link light to indicate the link is working. Unplug the cable and plug it back in and see if a link light goess off and back on reliably. If there is no light, your port on the computer might be disabled (check the Settings area to see if the network connection is disabled) or dead (you need a replacement network interface such as a USB network adapter).
     
    Paladin

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  • #5
    And I assume you have devices connected to all 5 ports? They should not be lit up unless they have a device connected to them and using the connection (powered on). Usually they will blink a bit to indicate activity as well but that depends on the model of hub/switch. Not all of them blink for network activity.

    I would recommend replacing that hub (no one has made hubs in near on 20 years now) with a switch that will have better performance as well.

    https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Gigabit-Ethernet-Network-Switch/dp/B00A121WN6

    and a basic USB to Ethernet adapter.

    https://www.amazon.com/BENFEI-Ethernet-Compatible-Notebook-Windows7/dp/B08KWC7D78

    You could get a couple of new cables as well, just to be sure your cables are good.

    But before you buy anything, make sure you have checked that the network interface is not disabled in Windows.

    If nothing else, unplug the network cable and see if the link light turns off to indicate the link went down. Power cycle the hub too.
     
    Andrewcw

    Andrewcw

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  • #6
    Alphonso said:
    Linksys "10/100 5 port network hub". All five port lights are on. The network hasn't been touched in over 5 years. The machine in question hasn't been turned off in that time.
    Click to expand...
    Soo... Does this really say a "10/100 5 Port Network Hub". If so. Your Network hub is two decades old and should be replaced.

    Also assuming your hardware is that old already. You should be able to get some live Linux CD/USB stick and should be able to ping something straight of out the box. And that will determine Windows or possibly hardware if you get a different result.

    I'll point to the possible 2 decade old linksys device.
     
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    Alphonso

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  • #7
    Only four machines and uplink to another hub.
    New cable to machine in question.

    Link/activity LEDs constantly blinking. All ports show 100MB connection. Power cycling hub makes no difference.
    Network interface is enabled.

    Socket on computer is lit and blinks like all the others in the LAN.

    I am probably wrong, but I feel like the problem is in the machine, not the hub.

    Soo... Does this really say a "10/100 5 Port Network Hub" That's what the label on the device says.

    And, yeah, the hub is probably twenty plus years old.
     
    Kyuu

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  • #8
    Alphonso said:
    I am probably wrong, but I feel like the problem is in the machine, not the hub.
    Click to expand...
    It doesn't sound like there's anything wrong hardware-wise. PPPoE is only likely used for two things:

    1) The most likely option is that this is used essentially for authentication for your ISP, generally only seen nowadays with ISPs still providing some flavor of DSL. If this interface is not working and this is preventing internet connectivity from functioning, it's likely the configuration got broken/erased. You may need to contact your ISP to resolve this.

    2) Less likely, PPPoE was sometimes used for the connection between a PC and an ISP router. Given the vintage of the hardware you seem to be using this is more likely than I'd otherwise assume (I'd normally put the likelihood near zero nowadays). But the resolution would be the same: your ISP should be able to tell you how to configure the PPPoE interface appropriately to connect to their equipment.
    Alphonso said:
    Soo... Does this really say a "10/100 5 Port Network Hub" That's what the label on the device says.

    And, yeah, the hub is probably twenty plus years old.
    Click to expand...
    Regardless of what else is going on, you should probably replace this with a modern ethernet switch. A decent gigabit dumb switch is not expensive in the least. Hubs are not appropriate on modern networks... although perhaps your network isn't what one would call modern.
     
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    evan_s

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  • #10
    I think it's more likely the PPPoE is a red herring. It's not working but it's not needed and isn't related to the problem. Might be a default part of an older windows installation or some left over from some time it was actually needed in an older Windows install or even cruft hanging around from upgrading Windows from several versions ago.

    What version of Windows are you on?

    If you go to task manager and look at networking what does it show?

    What is the actual symptom you are seeing? "Lost connection to other machines on LAN." is rather vague.

    Do you still have access to the internet on this machine? Can you ping 8.8.8.8 in a command prompt?


    I'd also agree there is no harm in upgrading the ancient hub to a modern switch. They are pretty inexpensive. I'd also suggest going up to an 8 port switch because having some free ports never hurts and they aren't really more expensive.
     
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    Alphonso

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  • #11
    Network and dial up connections window comes up when clicking on icon in tray.

    This is what is displayed:
    Name Type Status Device name Owner
    Local area connection 2 LAN Network cable unlugged Efficient Networks Enternet PPPoE adapter System
    Local area connection 4 LAN Enabled VIA Rhine Fast Ethernet Adapter #3 System

    No internet or connection to any other LAN devices.

    Don't laugh, W2K professional.

    ping 8.8.8.8. 4 packets sent 4 packets received lost 0 Round trip time: min 19ms max 26ms

    Agreed that I should get a modern switch.

    ISP: Starlink
    This is what shows in settings on W10 machine, FWIW.

    Name: Local Area Connection* 9
    Description: Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
    Physical address (MAC): 8e:3b:ad:2e:e1:36
    Status: Not operational
    Maximum transmission unit: 1500
    IPv4 address: 169.254.91.32/16
    IPv6 address: fe80::650b:f192:9c69:fb67%4/64
    DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
    Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
    Name: Local Area Connection* 12
    Description: Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #2
    Physical address (MAC): 8c:3b:ad:2e:e1:36
    Status: Not operational
    Maximum transmission unit: 1500
    IPv4 address: 169.254.210.179/16
    IPv6 address: fe80::b461:e8fe:6e65:6e7%5/64
    DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
    Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
    Name: Ethernet
    Description: Intel(R) 82567LM-3 Gigabit Network Connection
    Physical address (MAC): bc:30:5b:ca:4f:83
    Status: Operational
    Maximum transmission unit: 1500
    Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 100/100 (Mbps)
    DHCP enabled: Yes
    DHCP servers: 192.168.1.1
    DHCP lease obtained: ‎Friday, ‎April ‎24, ‎2026 4:02:01 PM
    DHCP lease expires: ‎Friday, ‎April ‎24, ‎2026 5:02:01 PM
    IPv4 address: 192.168.1.93/24
    IPv6 address: 2605:59c8:44f1:7900:88f7:1f0c:6877:7048/64, 2605:59c8:44f1:7908:8a86:fa32:5535:6cd3/64, fd7f:c1ce:13e7:0:655f:d88c:cbf1:6c08/64, fd7f:c1ce:13e7:8:f61d:8700:d2d5:8065/64, 2605:59c8:44f1:7900:adb6:2cd:b707:fcf8/128, 2605:59c8:44f1:7908:adb6:2cd:b707:fcf8/128, fd7f:c1ce:13e7:0:adb6:2cd:b707:fcf8/128, fd7f:c1ce:13e7:8:adb6:2cd:b707:fcf8/128, fe80::1784:194e:768a:7423%16/64
    Default gateway: fe80::7624:9fff:fec2:c311%16, 192.168.1.1
    DNS servers: fd7f:c1ce:13e7:8::1, 192.168.1.1, fd7f:c1ce:13e7:8::1, fd7f:c1ce:13e7::1
    DNS domain name: lan
    DNS connection suffix: lan
    Network name: STARLINK
    Network category: Private
    Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Connected to Internet
    Name: Wi-Fi
    Description: NETGEAR A6100 WiFi Adapter
    Physical address (MAC): 8c:3b:ad:2e:e1:36
    Status: Not operational
    Maximum transmission unit: 1500
    IPv4 address: 169.254.8.203/16
    IPv6 address: fd7f:c1ce:13e7:8:bd5e:6262:d971:de32/64, fd7f:c1ce:13e7:8:cd7d:f888:e3:1cdb/128, fe80::d432:f80b:816:d5cb%11/64
    Default gateway: 192.168.1.1
    DNS servers: 192.168.1.1
    DNS connection suffix: lan
    Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
     
    Paladin

    Paladin

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  • #12
    ping 8.8.8.8. 4 packets sent 4 packets received lost 0 Round trip time: min 19ms max 26ms
    Click to expand...
    That means it has working internet basically.

    The system you believe has an issue is the Win 2k pro machine? I would guess it just thinks there is a problem but everything you have shown so far seems to indicate everything is working fine.
    Open command prompt and try to ping the IP address of the other machines on the network, ping 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1 again and then ping google.com and see what happens.
     
    C

    Cool Modine

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  • #15
    AFAIK Starlink doesn’t use PPPoE. Given that Starlink didn’t exist when this Win2k system was actually deployed, it’s most likely that the PPPoE was from a previous internet provider. Thus it isn’t used.
     
    An interesting blast from the past, this thread. PPPoE? What on earth is PP Power over Ethernet? Ohhh, Point to Point Protocol Over Ethernet. The last time I saw PPP was when I was using dialup.
     
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