you're sure the cable is good?  you're sure it isn't a cross-over cable that you were using to network your old computers directly?

network cable unplugged is a hardware failure -- either in the cable, somewhere along the link, or in one of the two connecting devices.  what happens when you plug into integrated LAN instead of the dlink card?   I doubt both would fail at once, so it would help to pinpoint the problem

try a different cable?  just for me?

also, try plugging it into something else that's active -- like a spare switch if you have one

here's some isolation that we can try

that error "network cable unplug" involves 3 devices your NIC, Router, Cable

if you have tried the new computer on the router with the same port and cable that was being used by your old computer, it could be a problem already with the NIC. assuming that you have replaced the cable aswell.. you can try plugiing in your OLD computer directly to your cable modem to check if you have the same problem :smileyhappy:

stealth -- basically what i was saying -- it would be so rare for both NICs on that computer to fail at the same time though.  almost has to be the router or cable (I would think??)

Good ideas. I was trying to avoid moving the machines around (the suspect cable is longer than the known good one). Also I'm too cheap to go and buy another cable (just kidding). Guess I'll have to do some more extensive troubleshooting. Thanks for the ideas. I'll let you know what happens when I get the chance to play with it (been working alot of overtime). 

What is the Service Tag

?

If you find any machine connecting (anywhere) to the internet, go to support.dell.com and put in that Service Tag value. It will allow you to go to the Downloads section and point you to all the drivers for that system. If you just need the ChipSet drivers (and network adapter?), whatever, you can put those all down in a DOWNLOAD folder which you can then "burn" to a CD-R and move over to the 'unplugged' system. I would then remove all hardware devices (obviously not your CD drive) in Device Manager and re-boot, letting Windows re-discover all the devices and in the course of that use any drivers you need but especially the chipset (which must be first). I usually follow that with the network adapter for obvious reasons.