Windows XP A network cable is unplugged when its NOT

While several folks replied that the cable must be bad, I think the OP was clear enough that they tried the cable on other computers and it worked, and switched network ports, etc, enough to figure out that the NIC is the problem.

First, if this is an add-in card, do carefully remove, then re-seat the NIC, then recheck the card’s connection and verify the cable is securely plugged into a working ethernet jack on the wall as well as in the back of the computer.

Here is how to troubleshoot the NIC driver in XP:

1.Open the Device Manager by going to Start–> Settings–> Control Panel and double-clicking on the System Icon. This will bring up the System Properties window.

2. Select the Hardware tab and click on the Device Manager button to view the Device Manager.

3. Locate Network Adapters in this listing and click on the + sign in front of it. This will display the current network devices that are detected by windows. 

One of the following will appear in the Device Manager if there is a problem:

* The Network card does not appear at all, or the Network Adapters icon cannot be found in the Device Manager. In this case the network card may not be installed correctly, as Windows should detect almost all cards put into the computer.

* There is a listing for Other Devices in the Device Manager which has a Yellow Question Mark (?) icon next to it. Check this listing to see if there is an item that may be the network card. If this is the case the drivers could not be found by windows so the device it detected was placed in the other devices category. Windows does not currently know what the device is so updating the drivers to the correct ones will help resolve this. Follow the instructions below beginning with step 4 clicking instead on this “Other device”.

* The card appears but has a yellow *explanation* point or a red X over the icon. In this case the card is being detected and Windows recognizes it as a network card but incorrect drivers may have been installed or there is another conflict with the card. Follow the directions listed below beginning with step 4 to resolve the problem.

* There are multiple network cards with the same name but there is only one network card installed in the machine. One or both of the cards may have a yellow *exclamation* mark, or a red X on it. In this case, click on the network card, and click the Remove button. Do this for each card that appears until there are no more cards listed. Close the Device Manager and restart the computer when prompted. Windows should detect only one device when it boots up. Start over at step 1.

4. Right-click on the device that appears to be the Network Card and select Properties. This should open a new window for that device.

The Device Status Screen may give some insight as to what the problem is. If the message here sounds similar to the following “Windows cannot find Drivers for this device, or they are installed improperly,” then it is likely that updating the driver will fix this situation. Make sure that in the “device usage box” that the selection is “Use this device (enable)”. Click on the Driver tab button at the top of this screen to continue.

The drivers tab will give information on what driver windows is currently using for this device. Usually there are newer drivers available for any given card then those that are shipped with it.

These can be found at the manufacturer’s website, in your case, here: http:/ Opens a new window/www.realtek.com/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=13&PFid=5&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

Download either the driver or the Auto-installation program from that page in a .zip file. Extract the files (un-zip them) to a folder and run the setup/install.

If re-seating and re-installing the driver do not work, the NIC may be dead.