XP Home not connecting to switch

I am trying to connect my XP Home laptop to my home 8 port switch which is connected to a service providers switch for wireless internet access.Connection is not recognised: msg in Network Connections Local Area Connections is “network cable unplugged”. if I bypass the switch and connect the laptop straight through to the service provider it works fine. But I have 2 other laptops (XP Pro, MacOSX)and they all work ok through the switch. Any ideas?