Ethernet port

Question

A laptop that my fiance's father gave me for my office is a dell latitude, the ethernet port does not click when i try to plug in the ethernet cord at work. He said that he was not sure if it clicked for him when he tried to do it, but one day the internet quit working on him. so i can push the ethernet cord all the way in, but to no avail it does not connect. Anyone have any suggestions, or know what i could do to possibly fix this, or also any more info i could give to help. Any help would be great, thanks! Jeremy L

dbramlet · Answer

The clicking sound comes from the network cable as there is one or maybe 2 little plastic deals there that slide in the ethernet port and snap into place. They be weak on the cord and not snapping into the slot. Hopefully when he pulled the cord he released those pins and didn't force the cord out as that would damage the slot. Try another cable and see if it snaps into place. But this may not be the problem with the internet not working. Look under control panel>device manager>hardware and see if the network card shows any yellow marks.

Message Edited by dbramlet on 09-22-2007 12:55 PM

jeremylehn · Answer

Alright, so what I did was because it is no longer under warranty. I checked to see if the ethernet port was not damaged itself, so i removed the top part (the keyboard) and i looked to make sure all wires were connected correctly, and everything was correctly in place, I grabbed another ethernet cord and checked it, and it also did not snap. But the ethernet port does not show signs of any damage as it is right next to the 56k modem, regular phone cord slot and they look exactly the same. I am currently putting it together and going to check into seeing if everything is reading correct. Or if it is something to do with the ethernet card itself.

jeremylehn · Answer

Yes, I can pull it out without hitting the clips also, no there are no wires dangling around inside of there though. The port looks just fine, it looks perfectly identicle to the 56k port. That is why I am not understanding what is wrong with the port. Edit: device manager says that "this device is working properly"

Message Edited by jeremylehn on 09-22-2007 01:36 PM

dbramlet · Answer

Ok, but the wire connections would look ok most likely. If you look inside the port you can see little wires in there also. That is usually where the port gets damaged if the cable is pulled without releasing the little tabs. Maybe one of the little wires was pulled up or loose. Yes, make sure the card shows working and no yellows before going unto the port issue. Just to ask, when you push the cable into the port can you pull it out without releasing the little tabs? Shouldn't be able to do that even if you don't hear the snap or unless the inside of the port has been damaged.

dbramlet · Answer

Ok, it there are no yellow marks in device manager for this network card then it must be fine. You said you cannot get on the internet. Tell me how you are connecting the other end of the cable? Like to a cable modem? I assume you have high speed. Look down by the clock and see if you see a network icon. Looks like a computer monitor. Is it there? When you hold the mouse over it what does it say? Is there a red X there? What happens when you start IE to get onto the internet?

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Ethernet port

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