lan reconnect issues

[trinix]

I have a big problem atm.

I am running a Asus P5n-E sli motherboard with lan on it. Windows xp sp3 and have a admtech usb lan. I think after one of the thunderstorms, at the time also my PSU's died after reconnecting the power, my motherboard lan died. I can put the cable in, it shows up connected, but can't get any ip address from my dhcp.

So I put in the admtech usb lan in and it works fine. But after a few hours, can be a day, I lose my ip adress and when I try to get a new one it will fail. Manual ip won't help either. I can't ping anything on the network anymore. When I try to reboot my system the system stops at the last page before rebooting. It doesn't shut down or restart. If I choose to shut down, the same things happens. The only way to fix it is to hit the reset button.

After rebooting the device works fine again and I get my IP address normally again. And after a few hours the same problem comes back. Needing to reset the system again. The system reboots and shuts down normally if I reboot or shut down, while my computer still has an IP address. This is also a fresh windows XP install.

If anyone could help me please.

 

[JustAGuy51]

Your problem seems really random; I have no idea what the specific cause is.

Here are some stuffs you can check:

1) For IP issue, make sure DHCP lease time on your router is not too short. After whatever specifies there, your PC will refresh its IP

2) For Mobo issues, check to see Asus has diagnostic tools available for your motherboard. If so, download and check the board

3) The fact that your PSU dies after thunderstorm tells me that it is a cheap PSU. On the long run, cheap quality PSUs cost you more (w/o counting other components it can damage). Get a good brand with sufficient power. A few reliable brands are:
- FSP (Fortran Source Power) - Taiwan Company
- Sparkle - same as FSP but US branch
- Silverstone
- OCZ - reseller of good brands including FSP
- some Antec models
- tagan (research on specific model)
I don't buy outside of those brands. In general, the heavier the PSU, the better (FSP being a bit exception to this rule).

 

[trinix]

It was a good PSU, antec trio power 550. It was a really odd problem with it. When I put the power back in, I would see a little spark and then all of a sudden boom. It happened to two PSU, one cheap from another system and the antec. And it was always at the same spot I put the power back in, so I stopped using that spot to get power too (old house we are renting, so it might just also be something wrong with the power or bad wiring, I really don't know).

Thanks for the other tips, I'll look into it.