Hi there! I am having an incredibly strange problem with my network in my dorm room. After 6+ years of Computer/Network repair I've never seen anything like this... Here's the deal: If I plug my dekstop (hand-built, completely updated, tested in other environments and works fine) directly into the ethernet port on the wall of my dorm, I get nothing. No lights on the LAN card, no activity in Windows, not even Local Access. The only information I get from the desktop is "Network cable unplugged." This desktop worked on another connection on campus when plugged in directly to the port. Now, if I take that same cable from the port on the wall and plug it into an old linksys wired router, then plug a new cable into my desktop, EVERYTHING (connection and internet) works just fine! Further, if I take my laptop (same OS), and plug it directly into the wall, it works just fine. If I attempt to install my brand new Linksys WRT54G2 router, it says no connectivity. I've even taken the cable from the wall and used a brand new one that works in other areas of campus (it was tested at our "Helpdesk"), and I put that in place of the old cable...still no connection! This is baffling to me. Why would the desktop work fine through a router, but not directly through a wall. I've done about 50 links on Google search and I can't find a solution...maybe you guys can help! I am wondering if there might be something wrong with my port on the wall (although it does appear to work in some situations...). If you guys have ANY ideas, I'm willing to try them! THANKS!!! -Tom-

College dorms are a strange environment but I'll take a shot anyway. Is the NIC set to a static IP address instead of DHCP? Is the DHCP client service running in services? Is flow control on the NIC set to auto? How do you know when a politician is lying? His mouth is moving.