I have a Dell 8300 computer that has the Ethernet port integrated into the motherboard. The problem I've been running into the last 2 wks is that I periodically am unable to get to the internet and get the msg "Page Cannot Be Displayed". I've also noticed that when this occurs I see a task in Task Manager called "svchost.exe" running under the System user name that is taking 50% of my cpu along with 50%+ of my 1 GB of RAM. The only way to resolve this issue is to reboot my computer. Could this be an issue with my NIC? In dev mgr the NIC is named Intel PRO/100 VE Network Connection.
I've already run mult spyware/adware programs and nothing has been found. I'm connecting to the internet via a cable modem that is plugged directly into the back of my PC. Called the cable provider and they say nothing looks out of the ordinary from their side of things. The odd thing is that when this internet connection/CPU spike occurs my music download program still works and is downloading music.
Could someone give me a suggestion on what could be causing this problem.
Also, is there a way to specifically test my NIC to see if is working properly?
Thanks in adnvance for your help

Have you updated the drivers and BIOS?

You can try running this command from a command line:

ipconfig /all

If the numbers beside IP Address reads something like: 47.198.180.191
And the Subnet Mask reads something like: 255.255.255.128
And the Default Gateway reads something like: 47.198.180.128
And the DNS server reads something like: 64.71.255.198

Then you should be fine.

If however your IP Address reads something like: 69.xxx.xxx.xxx

then you may want to consider a new NIC.

But the fact that you're still able to download music when this occurs seems to say that it's not the NIC.

What about the lights on your modem? When you get the page cannot be found error do the light on it stay green?

Also, have you tried a different network cable?

I had an error like this once where out of the blue my connections became intermittent. Finally traced the problem to the network connection on the modem itself. My NIC was fine, my cable was fine, my modem's ability to connect to my provider was fine. It was just the point where the network cable plugged into my modem that had gone wonky on me.

Thanks for the quick reply.
My IP address starts with 70.xxx.xxx.xxx. What's the significance of the IP address starting with "69"?
The lights on the modem are the same when the issue occurs as when I don't have the problem.

Id say more than likely its a driver issue or corruption the the svchost.
First update drivers, if this doesnt work, id try and clean install of XP

At least I think it's 69.xxx.xxx.xxx but it may have been 169.xxx.xxx.xxx, it's been a while since I've seen it. It's all about loopback addressing.

I don't remember the exact circumstances under which this happens but it's roughly along the lines of the NIC autoconfiguring itself. This was taken from a Microsoft TechCentre article:

Automatic Private IP Addressing

If the Automatic Private IP Address option is selected on the Alternate Configuration tab and a DHCP server cannot be found, Windows TCP/IP uses Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). Windows TCP/IP randomly selects an IPv4 address from the 169.254.0.0/16 address prefix and assigns the subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. This address prefix has been reserved by the ICANN and is not reachable on the Internet. APIPA allows single-subnet Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) networks to use TCP/IP without static configuration or the administration of a DHCP server. APIPA does not configure a default gateway. Therefore, only local subnet traffic is possible.

If you can, try getting your hands on another NIC. Install it in your system and see if the problems occur then. If you do do this, just make sure you do an ipconfig /release before you hook your modem up to the borrowed NIC.

Dont "do do" anything just "do" it.

It's probably the DNS server thingomebob addresses you have for set for your ISP and they are unable to resolve the domain name to an IP. This can happen for certain ISPs for certain IP ranges at times.
You can manualy set the two DNS server address to use others, this should find out if it is a problem with your ISP. Just do a google search for other DNS server address.

Does your modem connect to a router or a cable/dsl modem directly?

I have my cable modem plugged directly into the ethernet port on my computer. I had a router in the middle for over 2 yrs, but took that out of the mix when problem solving.
Is there a way that I can test specifically the Ethernet port on my motherboard?

If you have another computer handy, hook them both up to your router and maybe play a couple of games over the LAN. If you experience the 'page cannot be displayed' error something like every 3 hours or so when browsing, but you can play a LAN game for say 4 to 5 hours with no hiccups, it's not the NIC on your MB.