[mythtv-users] Why does my dvr randomly drop from the network?

[Rick]

On 09/25/2011 11:33 AM, Kris B. wrote:
> On Sunday, September 25, 2011 9:03 AM, "Rick"<rbonafied at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> On 09/24/2011 02:00 PM, PJ wrote:
>>>> On 09/24/2011 11:28 AM, Michael Watson wrote:
>>>>> On 25/09/2011 01:09, Rick wrote:
>>>>>> On 09/24/2011 09:47 AM, John Drescher wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 9:23 AM, Rick<rbonafied at gmail.com>       wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I admit I'm in a bit of a panic and I'm fearful that the answer will be
>>>>>>>> a bad motherboard.  I'm keeping an open mind!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The problem is my DVR randomly drops from the network within the hour
>>>>>>>> after a reboot.  The link beat it still there, it just stops
>>>>>>>> communicating.  If I unplug the cable and plug it back in, it comes back
>>>>>>>> to life.  If I rmmod r8169 and modprobe r8169 it comes back to life.
>>>>>>>> If, however, I shut down eth0 and bring it back up, it doesn't come back
>>>>>>>> to life.  I even reset the bios to defaults and started again.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I figured it was something with the OS, so I just reloaded the OS from
>>>>>>>> scratch and it happened again.  I'm freakin!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The realtek r8169  was never a good nic.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> John
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there a setting or something I could try?  That nic is all I have at
>>>>>> the moment.
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
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>>>>> Before you jump to the conclusion that it is your network card causing
>>>>> the issue, try running a few tests.
>>>>> The Realtek R8169 may not be a good network card, but they do still
>>>>> work. (and ultra cheap)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Try a different port in the hub.
>>>>> Try a different network cable.
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards
>>>>> Michael
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I've tried a different port (no difference).  I'll go try a different
>>>> network cable.
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>> I'm having similar problems with my home server's Realtek RTL8111 after
>>> it overheated this summer. It hangs almost immediately when link speed
>>> is 1 Gbps or it's offloading features are enabled. As a temporary
>>> solution I'm using it with 100 Mbps switch and most offloading features
>>> disabled and it has been stable.
>>>
>>> You can try to use ethtool to set link speed to lower value and to
>>> disable some offloading features in case some of them are enabled by
>>> default.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> mythtv-users mailing list
>>> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
>>> http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>>>
>> I took your advice and downloaded the latest Realtek drivers.
>> Unfortunately, it still dropped from the network.  I've also changed the
>> offload settings.
>>
>> score so far ->  me: 0, network card: 500  :)
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
> At the worst of it, you can buy another card or a usb ethernet port for
> $10-$20 and still live, so don't despair.
>
I ended up running new cable in the wall just to eliminate that as a 
variable.  So far so good.