Dell precision T3400 broadcom netXtreme 57xx gigabit Controller (NIC disconnects network connection)

Hello,

I am actually having the same problem. I thought it was because I was downloading torrents. Then I seached and came across your post. I would be interested to know if you get any driver updates that fixes this problem. I guess I will need to get a new NIC card since I don't know when Dell will come up with a BIOS update. I am surprised that not more people reported this problem...

Randy

update: I tried to explain to DELL TECHNICAL SUPPORT this is a hardware issue related to the software which runs the bios or network card.  This is really not a "TRUE" hard ware failure.  I have also had several replies from multiple individuals that have said they experienced this problem on their computers.  The total number individuals which have replied to the 5 different threads I have posted on the DELL web site and another website. 

To note. The bios version I had was dated for August 2008.  Which is the latest version they have as of today 1/25/2009. 

So DELL is going to replace the mother board on 1 of the 4 computers.  They said is was standard protocol and they could not offer me anything else until they at least replace the mother board.

In the mean time.  I purchase 4 brand new network cards on Friday to place into these boxes($14.99 each for 10/100/1000)...(The two computers I placed the "older" pci network cards in are still working..so I am going to purchase the same card for all 4 machines)   Once Dell figures out that the problem is related to the BIOS of software for the network card.  I hope to get reimbursed...I will keep updating this post as I get more information.

To anyone who is having this problem...........PLEASE KEEP POSTING to this message board and tell DELL TO REFER TO THIS POST when speaking about your problem... If we do not....DELL will never post a new network card driver/bios version.

Thanks, Doug

 search engine reference:

DELL PRECISION T3400 network card error
DELL PRECISION NETWORK ERRORS
dell precision network card does not work correctly
dell precision t3400 internet connection fails
dell precision t3400 wired netwok connection does not work all the time
network card on the dell precision falls asleep with out notice
power settings on the dell t3400 computer does not have anything to do with the problems of the network dropping
dell t3400 workstation network card has errors
problems with the dell t3400 workstation box is related to the net card or bios version

Hi Doug

Have what would appear to be the same problem here but on a different platform. This is an Optiplex 745 which uses the same driver and chipset combination.

We had some issues configuring a machine to work with both a wireless USB key and the onboard NIC. Problems seemed to point to the Netgear wireless USB but having read this post and checked the system, the onboard NIC was the common problem.

We're running XP Pro and have unchecked the "allow OS to sleep card" (or whatever it is) option to see if that solves the issue short term but since you describe it as a BIOS issue, I wonder whether this will make any odds at all!

Still, you may take small comfort from the fact that the problem is now "global", so to speak as we're in the UK :-)

Cheers, Pete

hey guys, im having the same problem at our company. we have 4 precision t3400's. the first 3 we had no problems. the last one we got is giving me problems. everytime i restart it and log back in, it takes 10-20 seconds to acquire an ip address because the nic is disconnecting upon startup. i don't get it, the other computers have the same bios version number and same nic driver version number. i just don't get it. any ideas?

Have you already tried the latest drivers from the Broadcom website?

Here two issue fix that may help you out but im unsure but try these see if any of these fixes might help.

The error message "Network is Unplugged" may appear in Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista. This issue occurs on an irregular basis. The Network Interface Card (NIC) LEDs on the Optiplex 755 will switch off during failure.

FIX

Check the attached cable, speed and duplex settings on the Optiplex 755 and the attached switch. If all connections and settings seem normal, perform the following fix:
Product group put out a bios flash to fix this issue. Before doing anything else, try updating the bios to the newest version. If that does not work, try the workaround.

WORKAROUND

1. Disconnect the system from both power and the network for up to five minutes.
2. Reconnect only the power cord and restart the computer.
3. After boot sequence is complete, connect the network cable and verify that the connection is stable.
4. Disable the Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) in the BIOS.
   NOTE: Disabling the Intel AMT will turn off all of the AMT features. If the computer is not utilizing the AMT, it will not impact the system and can be left in this mode.
5. Upon restart, press 'CTRL + P' to enter the Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx). Change the password at the first entry into the MEBx. The default password is 'admin'. The new password must have 8 characters containing at least one special character, one upper case character, one lower case character and one number.

After creating the password, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the 'Intel ME Configuration'.
2. Go to the 'NE State Control' and set the 'Management Engine (ME)' to 'Disable'.
3. Exit the MEBx and the system will restart.

Slow Performance in Microsoft Windows Vista
Slow network performance in vista causes web sites to load slowly and file transfers to take an unusually long time. A recent Microsoft Knowledgebase article describes one potential cause of the problem: RFC 1323 compliance(kb929868). Basically, websites that don't fully support RFC 1323 or the default Windows Scaling factor of 8 will be very slow or even unaccessible.

To disable auto-tuning to resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. click on the start menu and type cmd in the search bar
2. right click on the cmd icon ans select run as administrator.
3. on the command prompt window type the following command
   netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

Following are the possible values for autotuninglevel:

• disabled
• restricted
• highlyrestricted
• normal

Another available option is to turn off Remote Differential Compression. To turn off Remote Differential Compression, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the start menu and select 'Control Panel'
2. Double-Click the icon for 'Programs and Features'
3. In the left window pane, select 'Turn Windows Features On or Off'
4. Be patient as it could take a few minutes for the list to populate.
5. Once the list has populated, Find the Option for 'Remote Differential Compression' and uncheck the box next to it.
6. Click 'OK'

I just did ret those drivers.  No luck.  The same thing occurs under Vista:  the network connection is dropped and becomes "limited".  I cannot connect to the Internet or the other computers around me.

And here's the most interesting thing:  I can connect and work for hours under Windows XP on the same machine.  Not one hiccup.

Is Dell going to do something about this?   I deliberately purchased a computer with downgrade rights and started out with the installed windows XP, and now after installing Vista ultimate I have had constant networking issues.  I cannot work for longer than twenty minutes without the network connection failing. I've tried DHCP (dynamic address), tried static IP address, same issue.

MK

Well, I am disappointed with Dell. 

A followup:  After wasting two days trying to get the Broadcom 57xx NIC in the T3400 to work with Vista Ultimate, I gave up and installed a very old 10/100 card I had in an old discarded Pentium II machine.  After getting the drivers for it (with Microsoft's help) I finally have a network solution that is stable and works.  I have disabled the broadcom NIC in the PC.

Dell should do their homework and make sure that the motherboard components are really going to work with the OS.  This is my first very bad experience with Dell, and I am not impressed at all.

MK.

We have 2 T5400 and are experiencing this with one of the systems. I've confirmed with Dell the T5400 has the same NIC as the T3400. Both systems are running XP and it has been a nightmare because we just set up executive staff with remote access into their office PCs. Needless to say, if the NIC won't stay up or wake up it make for a very unpleasant RDP experience. This has just about cost me my job! Due to the posts on this forum, we aren't jacking with it any more. We'll be going to the local Fry's and purchasing external NICs.

Thanks

KP

I am having the same issue with several different generations of Dells with built in NICs. I have not been able to fix it with anything suggested in this thread except by replacing the NIC with an external/plug-in card.

(Duplicate)

Un update: got the problem solved.

I've managed to solve my problem by disabling the tcp auto tuning on windows 7 as described in several links I've found on the web.  Here's one of them with instructions: www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php

Basically, there appears to be an optimisation in Vista and Windows 7 which can increase the windows size in tcp dynamically following some heuristic algorithm.  Some routers which use Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) do not like this.  I have read some people with linksys routers were able to get an upgrade to the firmware in the router and got it to work without having to change the above parameter.