Q. Under "other devices" in Device Manager i have 4 options ? Ethernet Controller ? Multimedia Audio Controller ? PCI Simple Communications Controller ? Raid Controller all 4 show "?" all other devices look ok i will say that network adaptors shows 3 1394 Net Adaptor 1394 Net Adaptor #2 Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC the 1st 2 under adapters have red x's through them...not sure if that matters.. anyhow i as you probably can tell already am a novice at this stuff....and was hoping for help. one question also...i've been having problems reaching the 1.5 to 3.0 mb i'm supposed to get on my internet DSL connection(most time its at 600kbps and i did check with my provider and all is well on there side).....would the problems above have anything to do with that?

Do you have you motherboard cd that has all the drivers? If you do, select properties of each device to see if it is working properly. If it is not, select update driver and insert the cd. Windows will automatically search the cd and install the proper drivers for you. Do it for each device that has a red x. Did your ISP tech people refer you to the DSL Reports website to test your system to see if your upload/download capabilty is correct?

thanks for the quick reply... i do have the motherboard CD. am going to try to update each... DSL peopl had me do speed test on 2 site and both had me well under what is supposed to be the minimum(300 to 800kbps) the odd thing is that there has been times it has reached 2.5megs.....but its rare. according to my provider i should never get less then 2.0 due to where i live etc.

You might have to have someone come out and use their test equipment to make sure all the cable connections and lines are good. My modem tested OK remotely, but when the technician tested in my house, it needed a new cable connector.

If you can find the outside box where the telephone line connects to your inside wires, check the connections inside it. If moisture gets in there it can corrode the connections pretty badly. I don't think there is a charge if they come out to fix it, unless you break it of course. Do yourself a favor BACKUP!!!