Archived from groups: comp.dcom.lans.ethernet (More info?)

I have a Windows ME Thinkpad notebook that locks up soon after I connect it
to a small office network. Internet Explorer and/or Active Desktop crash as
soon as I try to surf the net. Oddly enough, the computer works fine on
another networks. A different LAN card makes no difference. It appears
there's something about the small office network that is triggering the
problem. The network uses a D-Link 604 router which is connected to a cable
modem. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could cause this problem?

Thank you,
Steve Smith

Archived from groups: comp.dcom.lans.ethernet (More info?)

Steve Smith wrote:

> I have a Windows ME Thinkpad notebook that locks up soon after I connect
> it to a small office network. Internet Explorer and/or Active Desktop
> crash as soon as I try to surf the net. Oddly enough, the computer works
> fine on another networks. A different LAN card makes no difference. It
> appears there's something about the small office network that is
> triggering the problem. The network uses a D-Link 604 router which is
> connected to a cable modem. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could
> cause this problem?
>

Yes. Windows. ;-)

Do you have an IP address?

Archived from groups: comp.dcom.lans.ethernet (More info?)

James Knott wrote:
> Yes. Windows. ;-)
> Do you have an IP address?

The computer gets an IP address just fine. I can ping the network and the
net without problem. It seems the problem only occurs when I try to surf the
web while connected to that network. After a few seconds of surfing, the
system will hang while waiting for a web page to open. Then Active Desktop
will crash and Internet Explorer will stop responding. I've run the repair
utility on IE and I've cleaned the registry, done a virus scan and tested
the hard drive, etc. I can take the computer to another network and surf the
web all day without problems. I understand that Windows ME is unstable, but
both LANs are very similar and why would one network cause Windows ME to
have problems while the other network does not.

I've considered the possibility that this problem might be caused by an
electrical power issue instead of a network problem. This is a laptop, but
the battery will not hold a charge more than 5 seconds, so I can't test it
on battery alone. Or, could "dirty power" to the router affect the network
and cause this problem? The router appears to work fine. There is only one
other computer on the network and it usually does fine. Perhaps the LAN
wires in the building are crossing florescent lights or picking up
interference from something. Could this cause a computer to crash? Is there
a way to test this?

Thanks,
Steve Smith

Archived from groups: comp.dcom.lans.ethernet (More info?)

Steve Smith wrote:

> I've considered the possibility that this problem might be caused by an
> electrical power issue instead of a network problem. This is a laptop, but
> the battery will not hold a charge more than 5 seconds, so I can't test it
> on battery alone. Or, could "dirty power" to the router affect the network
> and cause this problem? The router appears to work fine. There is only one
> other computer on the network and it usually does fine. Perhaps the LAN
> wires in the building are crossing florescent lights or picking up
> interference from something. Could this cause a computer to crash? Is
> there a way to test this?

I'd suspect a software problem. Nothing on the lan should cause that sort
of problem and power problems would affect everything. Can you try a
different browser, such as Mozilla?