I have jsu installed BT Broadband using their free modem/rputer which is a Voyager 205. It has two outlets – 1 USB and 1 Ethernet which can be used simultaneously. I have successfully connected two computers to the Voyager: the computer in the room next to the telephone socket is connected with BT supplied USB cable. The other computer is two rooms away and is connected with a Belkin Cat 5e 50ft cable that came with an RJ45 plug moulded onto each end. Both computers work perfectly but with one rather strange problem when the Ethernet-connected computer has been turned off for a while e.g. overnight. When I turn it back on the LAN icon in the system tray appears with a red cross over it an a balloon message saying ‘Cable Unplugged’. When it first happened I thought a plug must have been knocked loose, but no – both ends were solid. However, unplugging and then replugging one end solved the problem and the connection was back on. Since then, the same thing has happened each time the Ethernet-connected computer has been off for a while. All I need to do is to unplug the RJ45 from the back of the computer and plug it straight back in. The system then does a quick search and handshake and I am back on line. Turning the computer off for a short time e.g. a re-boot does not lose the connection.
I have been to the Realtek site and downloaded and installed an updated driver for the Network Adapter (it is on the MSI motherboard) but to no avail. The problem persists.
Has anyone idea what could be causing this? It is clearly not the physical connection as that cannot change just by sitting there undisturbed. It is as if something times out somewhere – but what and where?