The laptop freezes when network cable plugged in. After you hard power down and restart the laptop, it works fine until the network cable plugged in again.

Possible cause:

1. Defective network cable.
2. Corrupted software.
3. Motherboard failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Try another network cable. Maybe your cable is defective and has to be replaced.

2. Try reinstalling the network adapter driver. The driver can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website.

3. If reinstalling the network driver doesn’t help, try reinstalling the operating system from scratch. Back up personal files and reinstall the operating system from the recovery disc or installation CD. Download and install the network adapter driver if it’s missing. Test the laptop again.

4. If you still experiencing the same problem even after reinstalling the operating system, most likely this is the motherboard failure. In most laptop the network port is soldered directly to the motherboard. If that’s the case, you’ll have to replace the motherboard.

Alternatively, you can try using the laptop with a PCMCIA network card. Plug this card into the available PC slot and get a new network port instead.

Orange light on the laptop network port stopped flashing. The laptop will not connect to the local network and Internet.

Possible cause:

1. Local Area Connection is disabled.
2. Defective network cable.
3. Bad network port.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

It’s possible the orange link light stopped flashing because the Local Area Connection in the laptop has been disabled. Check the network connection properties and make sure the Local Area Connection is enabled.

Windows XP:
Click on Start button >> Right click on My Network Places >> Click on Properties
Right click on Local Area Connections icon and Enable if the connection is disabled.

Windows Vista:
Click on Start button >> Right click on Network >> Click on Properties >> Click on Manage network connection (in left pane)
Right click on Local Area Connections icon and Enable if the connection is disabled.

If enabling the connection doesn’t help, it’s possible that you have either bad network cable or broken network port.

The laptop network port is loose. In order to connect to the Internet you have to wiggle the cable inside the network port.  The light on the network  port starts blinking only if you find the right position for the cable.

Possible cause:

1. Bad network cable.
2. Damaged network port.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

First of all, test connection with another network cable. It’s very likely that you have a damaged network cable. Replace the cable if needed.

Take a look inside the network port. Make sure there are no damaged pins inside the network port. It’s possible that one of the pins is bent and connection to the network fails because of that. In some cases you can straighten the bent pin with a thin rigid object.

It’s possible that the network port is broken and it loses contact with the motherboard when moved. In this case it is necessary to replace the broken port with a new one. Unfortunately, this is not an easy repair. In most laptops the network port is soldered directly to the motherboard.

You can work around this problem without replacing the damaged port. Simply buy a PCMCIA Network card. Plug this card into the available PC slot in your laptop and get a network port instead.