Figure 4
Scope: Describes general and specific techniques, tips and tricks useful for ensuring that a working wired connection exists between a Ethernet adaptor (also called a Network Interface Card or NIC) and a Zoom DSL modem ("regular" is model 5515 or 5615, ASDL 2/2+ Bridge Modem; "WiFi" is model 5590 or 5590AF, DSL X6).
This document assumes the operating system is Windows XP Home Edition SP1 or SP2.
Overview: The following topics are addressed:
Caveat: As with any operating system, there is always a number of different ways of
doing the same thing or getting to the "same place". The following procedures intentionally
use several different methods to get to the same places as exercises in variety and sometimes as merely
a matter of convenience.
Determining the existence of a physical NIC
The most convenient way to establish that an Ethernet card is installed is if the "Local Area Connection" (also referred to as the modem) icon is visible in the System Tray (also called the Notification Area) of the Taskbar in the lower right corner of the screen.
In general, it looks like tiny two monitors diagonally overlaid, one partially over the other; however depending upon the status of the adaptor, it may have additional visual characteristics (see Figures 1a-1d below):
1a. Normal; connected (two monitors, dark screens inactive, light blue active)
1b. Acquiring connection (animated orange dot bottom of icon)
1c. Not connected or unplugged (red ‘X’ bottom right of icon)
1d. Connected but no internet connectivity (yellow triangle with ‘!’ bottom right)
If the Tooltip does not appear, hover the pointer over a different System Tray icon or the time to force the Tooltip there, then return to the modem icon. This will usually jolt the Tooltip into appearing for the modem icon.
However, the Local Area Connection icon is identical in appearance to a dial-up modem icon when a dial-up connection is established and therefore cannot be relied up to prove the existence of an Ethernet card based on appearance alone.
The Tooltip will always say "Local Area Connection" for an Ethernet card, or the name of
a particular dial-up connection if it is a dial-up modem.
What to do if there is no modem icon visible in the System Tray
There are several possible reasons why a modem icon might not appear in the System Tray. The most common cause is #6, the adaptor being disabled, but this list is ordered roughly in terms of severity:
1) No adaptor installed - To determine whether or not a NIC is installed, look at where the plugs and ports are located on the computer, almost always in the back for a tower or desktop, usually in the back of a laptop but might be hidden behind a door or occasionally on the side.
An Ethernet jack (RJ45) looks very similar to a standard telephone jack (RJ11) with the following most noticeable differences:
| Connector | pins | width in. | width mm |
| RJ45 Ethernet | 8 | 15/32 | 11.8 |
| RJ11 Phone | 6 | 3/8 | 9.6 |
Note that a dial-up modem will almost always have two telephone jacks: one for "Line" and one for "Phone". An Ethernet card will almost always have only one RJ45 jack though older adaptors may have a coax connector as well; additionally, an Ethernet card usually has one or two LED’s to indicate connection and data transfer status.
2) Adaptor installed incorrectly - Usually the only way to determine if an adaptor card is not physically installed correctly is to open the computer and visually inspect it. Improper alignment is the most common problem.
Look closely at where the gold pins (fingers) of the card are inserted into the slot on the motherboard. The pins should be fully inserted into the slot. Look at both ends of the slot; the pins should be inserted to the same depth. Furthermore, each pin of the adaptor should be centered on the corresponding pin of the slot.
Generally, if something looks wrong (angled or offset) then it probably is. Remove the retaining screw, pull the card out a little then re-seat it gently and correctly.
3) Adaptor in defective slot - Other than a grossly evident defect (cracked slot or pins sticking out), there is really no easy way to determine if a slot is bad other than to try the adaptor card in a different slot. Always seat the card gently, fully and correctly.
4) Adaptor defective - Again, other than a grossly evident defect (burnt chip or other component, broken or cracked circuit board), there is no easy way to determine if an adaptor card is non-functional other than to replace it with a known working adaptor card. A working NIC borrowed from another computer is more reliable as a test than a new card off the shelf.
5) Bad drivers for adaptor - Missing or incorrect drivers (software which provides the interface between the adaptor hardware and the operating system) can usually be determined through the Device Manager:
There are only two relatively easy ways to install the right driver:
Unless you have some experience and a huge amount of patience, trying to locate the correct drivers for a particular device is often notoriously difficult.
A few of the major manufacturers may have the drivers you need. IBM, Intel, Broadcom, HP/Compaq, probably Dell and eMachines are a few who seem to provide pretty fair support for drivers for the adaptors which ship with the unit. There are others no doubt.
But usually you can forget about the adaptor manufacturer, the drivers are actually for the chipset on the adaptor. Forget about the chipset manufacturer, though you can try.
Chipsets are constantly being revised and updated and many, if not most, manufacturers only provide online downloads for their most recently released products and maybe a couple of generic "it might work, you can try it, we’re not responsible if the machine goes up in a huge ball of fiery screaming death" drivers.
Don’t even be mildly tempted by that tempting "Troubleshoot..." button on the adaptor properties window unless you’re interested in spending about 30 minutes answering a bunch of idiotic questions which almost always invariably end up at the same screen: "This device is not working correctly. Replace the device and/or reinstall the drivers. Did this solve your problem? Yes, No, I want to continue."
You can try finding the correct driver on the internet, but you have to search for the exact name of the adaptor ("Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection" is not the same as "Intel® PRO/100 VF Network Connection") and then hope that the driver which is provided is in fact what it claims to be. Most sites which provide drivers get those drivers from their visitors and users and you have to rely on them to know what they’re talking about.
To make a long story short, unless you have that CD for the adaptor or motherboard or get lucky with Windows Update, it is almost always quicker and cheaper (if you consider your time worth anything) to just go out and buy a new Ethernet adaptor for $10-$15.
6) Adaptor disabled - An Ethernet adaptor can be disabled in two widely different ways:
This involves tapping a keyboard key about once a second very early in the boot process, after the POST (Power On Startup Tests) but before the Windows bootstrap loader executes. The key varies from machine to machine but is often one of: "Del", "F1", "F2", " F10", "F11", "F12", or another function key. It is best to read the manual or do some research on the internet about the specific computer to find out for certain. The one key it isn’t is "F8" as that is reserved for starting Windows in Safe Mode.
Drill down through the BIOS setup to find the NIC settings. It might be under "Advanced" and "Onboard device configuration" and Onboard LAN or something like that, you’ll just have to look around as BIOS setup routines vary greatly. If the problem is here then generally you’ll be looking for something that says (roughly) either "NIC" or "Ethernet" or "LAN" with the setting being "Disabled". Change it to "Enabled" and exit the BIOS being certain to "Save Changes".
7) Adaptor OK but icon hidden - It’s possible that the Ethernet adaptor is working and enabled but still not visible in the System Tray (Notification Area) due to the Taskbar Properties. Each icon in the System tray can be set to either:
The double chevron indicates that there are additional icons present in the System Tray which are not being displayed. Click on the double chevron to see the hidden icons.
To change the settings for the Taskbar Properties:
8) Adaptor icon not set to be displayed - Another reason that the modem icon for the Ethernet adaptor would not appear in the System Tray is if the "Local Area Connection" properties (See Figure 5) has two checkboxes unchecked:
To access these selections:
9) System instability - Finally, while Windows XP is far more stable than its predecessors, it will still occasionally just "go stupid." This sometimes happens after a medium to major error has occurred and the system is unable to fully recover from the event within the current Windows logon session. It usually involves the loss of one or more key or critical background processes and therefore the system becomes unstable. Altered and/or erratic system behavior and/or appearance(s) sometimes manifest themselves as "missing" system tray icons.
This "going stupid" is defined as being limited to a single Windows session and is not related to serious system damage which is chronic and pervasive.
Cold boot the computer:
Unless there has been a catastrophic system-wide failure, the system should recover and the modem icon should reappear.
Configuring the Ethernet adaptor for access to the 5516/5615 Zoom DSL Bridge Modem Configuration Manager
Accessing the Zoom DSL modem Configuration Manager
Note that the Configuration Manager should only be used to verify that the DSL modem settings are
correct if it is suspected that they may be incorrect.
Screencaps for Zoom X6 Wireless Modem - Model 5590AF
Screencaps for Zoom Bridge Modem - Model 5615
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