Ethernet controller problems...

Hi all,

I have a LG LW70 which uses a Marvell Fast Ethernet controller.

I have tried the drivers LG supplied, the latest drivers on Marvell's web site and also the ones MS update wants to give me.

First problem is it will max out at a download speed of 1MB/sec (it does say its in 100base mode).

Second problem is the card will not work after coming back from PC suspend.
I have to manually disable and re-enable the card to get it working (or reboot).

Anyone had these issues before?
Know of a fix?

Thanks!

 

If you're talking about downloading from the internet, the speed if completely dependent on how fact your internet connection is. If you have a 1MBit service, you're not going to be able to get more that 1Mbit (1Mbit = 125KB/s). It also depends on how fast the otehr end is sending the data to you.

But, if you're talking about transfering from 1 system to another system, that's a different story, kinda. Again, it will be limited by the slowest device, so if one computer's using a 10Mbit card are you have a 100Mbit card, it'll only go at 10Mbit max. 10Mbit/s is only 1.25MB/s, so that should be within your range. Also, there's header and trailer info that gets sent with the packets, so that may drop overall performance by a bit, so 1MB/s is within norms.

Regarding the problem coming back from suspend. I have heard of issues regarding network cards in general and XP. I believe it's something to do with the XP OS, but you may want to check with LG to see if they have this reported before or check MS's site for any updates for this issue. It's possible it may just take a bit before you get connectivity again. How long did you wait before reseting the card? What version of XP are you running SP1 or SP2? If it's not SP2, you may want to upgrade as this has fixed a lot of problems.

-Vb-

 

I'd follow VB's advice. I've heard of the problem when coming back from suspend but i've never experience that myself. Then again i never let my notebook go on suspend the fact that i hate suspend. Its either off or on Never suspend. Anyways personal opinion.

 

Thanks for the replies.

It is connected at 100mbit, and other PCs do get the full 10MB/sec off the same source (my Linux server box).

I am running SP2 and do have the lastest MS updates.
Hrm, i might have to give up on suspend then
No point on asking LG about it, thier support is dismal (ie, no reply).

 

Since it works for other systems and not this one, the problem is limited to this one unit. It's possible it could be a config problem with the NIC.

- Try changing the properties of the card so that it's full duplex and connection type is 100Mbit rather than auto-detect.
- Try upgrading the NIC drivers from the manufacturers site (Intel NIC, goto Intel's site, etc....)
- You may even want to check the NIC cable, I've heard of issues where a bad cable could cause performance problems (lost packets, constantly resending)
- Try booting in Safe Mode with network connectivity, this will eliminate other software/processes that could be interfering

-Vb-