Troubleshooting: Intel® Network Adapters User Guide

PCI Bus Performance Issues
Common Problems and Solutions
Indicator Lights
Multiple Adapters
Other Performance Issues
Windows Event Log Messages

PCI Bus Performance Issues

The entire bus will operate at the speed of the slowest PCI card installed in the bus.

Common Problems and Solutions

Problem	Solution
Your server cannot find the adapter.	Make sure the adapter is seated firmly in the slot. Try a different PCI busmaster slot. Use the drivers that came with your adapter or download the latest ones from Customer Support. Check to see if your motherboard has the latest BIOS. Make sure your PCI slots are v2.2 compatible. Try rebooting the server. Try a different Intel adapter.
Diagnostics pass but the connection fails.	Check the responding link partner. Make sure the cable is securely attached, is the proper type and does not exceed the recommended lengths. Try another cable. Try running the Sender-Responder diagnostic Test. Make sure the duplex mode and speed setting on the adapter matches the setting on the switch.
Another adapter stopped working after you installed a second adapter.	Make sure the cable connections are correct. Make sure your PCI BIOS is current. Check for interrupt conflicts and sharing problems. Make sure the other adapter supports shared interrupts. Also, make sure your operating system supports shared interrupts. Unload all PCI device drivers, then reload all devices. Try reseating all adapters.
The adapter stopped working without apparent cause.	The network driver files may be damaged or deleted. Reinstall the drivers. Try reseating the adapter in its slot or a different slot, if necessary. Try rebooting the server. Try another cable. Try a different network adapter. Run the adapter and network tests described under Test the Adapter.
The link indicator light is off	Run the adapter and network tests described in Test the Adapter. Make sure you have loaded the adapter driver. Check all connections at the adapter and the switch. Try another port on the switch. Make sure the link partner is configured to auto-negotiate (or forced to match adapter). Verify that the switch is IEEE 802.3ab-compliant.
The link light is on, but communications are not properly established.	Make sure the proper (and latest) driver is loaded. Both the adapter and its link partner must be set to either auto-negotiate or manually set to the same speed and duplex settings. The adapter's link indicator light may be on even if communications between the adapter and its link partner have not been properly established. Technically, the link indicator light represents the presence of a carrier signal but not necessarily the ability to properly communicate with a link partner. This is expected behavior and is consistent with IEEE's specification for physical layer operation.
RX or TX LED is off (gigabit only).	Make sure you have loaded the network drivers. Network may be idle; try creating traffic while monitoring the lights. Try another adapter.
The diagnostic utility reports the adapter is "Not enabled by BIOS."	The PCI BIOS isn't configuring the adapter correctly. Try another PCI or PCI-X slot.
The server hangs when the drivers are loaded.	Change the PCI BIOS interrupt settings.
Adapter unable to connect to switch at 1000 Mbps, instead connects at 100 Mbps (copper wiring only).	This is applicable only to copper-based connections. Try another cable. Make sure the cable is Category 5 or 5e. Make sure the link partner is set to auto-negotiate. Verify that switch is IEEE 802.3ab-compliant (gigabit over copper) and that you are running the latest operating system revision for your switch.
Windows* 2000 and Windows Server 2003: Unable to remove Intel PROSet in SAFE mode	If you experience computer hangs (blue screens) after configuring network adapters with Intel PROSet, try the following: Start Windows in Safe mode. Go to the Intel PROSet utility, and disable the network adapters and teams. Restart the computer. Windows should be operating normally if the problem was caused by the disabled adapters. If Windows is not operating normally, discontinue the instructions in this section and troubleshoot Windows using the troubleshooting tools offered by your operating system. If Windows is operating normally, uninstall Intel PROSet and then reinstall it. To do this, follow the steps below. Start Windows in Safe mode. Use Intel PROSet to disable all teaming instances, if any. Restart the computer in Normal mode. Using Intel PROSet, remove all teams and VLANs shown. Go to the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs. Select Intel PROSet and remove it. Reinstall Intel PROSet by inserting the installation CD and clicking Install Software.
Event viewer message: A device attached to the system is not functioning	In NetWare, if there is a BIOS setting for "Plug and Play OS," make sure it is set to NO.
Install prompting for Prodd.vxd and Prokddp.vxd files in Windows 2000	If you use the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Windows Control Panel to remove an Intel adapter, and then try to install drivers from a later installation media, you may see a prompt asking for the following files: "Prodd.vxd" "Prokddp.vxd" This occurs because Windows is attempting to install the files associated with the earlier driver, which are not present on the later installation media. To resolve this problem, finish the installation and choose "Skip" when prompted for a missing file. Then, instead of removing the driver, update it with the later installation media. For instructions on updating the adapter driver, see Installing Network Drivers.
After upgrading operating systems, Intel PROSet is no longer available	If you are upgrading Windows operating systems and you have Intel PROSet software installed, it will be deleted in the process. You will need to reinstall Intel PROSet.
In Windows Server 2003, IP addresses are lost or Intel PROSet becomes unstable with bridging enabled	With bridging enabled, Intel PROSet does not retain adapter IP address information. If changes are made to any Intel PROSet advanced feature after enabling bridging, the Intel PROSet software becomes unstable.

Other Items to Check

Use the drivers that came with your adapter, or download the latest ones from Customer Support.
Make sure the cable is installed properly. The network cable must be securely attached at all connections. If the cable is attached but the problem persists, try a different cable.
For copper connections, make sure the cable is a 4-pair Category-5 or better.
Make sure the link partners match or are set to auto-negotiate. Make sure the updated driver is loaded.
Test the adapter. Run the adapter and network tests described in Test the Adapter.
Check the Common problems table and try the recommended solutions.

Indicator Lights

The Intel PRO/1000 XF Server Adapter has the following indicator lights.

Label	Indication	Meaning
LNK	On	The adapter is connected to a valid link partner.
LNK	Off	No link.
ACT	On	Data is being transmitted or received.
ACT	Off	No data activity.
Not labeled	Flashing	Identity. Use the "Identify Adapter" button in Intel PROSet or the BLINK command in IBAUtil to control blinking. See Intel PROSet Help for more information.

The Intel PRO/1000 XT Server Adapter has the following indicator lights:

Label	Indication	Meaning
ACT/LNK	Green on	The adapter is connected to a valid link partner.
	Green flashing	Data activity.
	Off	No link.
	Yellow flashing	Identity. Use the "Identify Adapter" button in Intel PROSet or the BLINK command in IBAUtil to control blinking. See Intel PROSet Help for more information.
10/100/1000	Off	10 Mbps
	Green	100 Mbps
	Yellow	1000 Mbps

The Intel PRO/100+ Dual Port Server Adapter has the following indicator lights:

LED	Indication	Meaning
LNK	On	The adapter and switch are receiving power; the cable connection between the switch and adapter is good.
LNK	Off	The adapter and switch are not receiving power; the cable connection between the switch and adapter is faulty; or you have a driver configuration problem.
ACT	On or flashing	The adapter is sending or receiving network data. The frequency of the flashes varies with the amount of network traffic.
ACT	Off	The adapter is not sending or receiving network data.
100	On	Operating at 100 Mbps.
100	Off	Operating at 10 Mbps.

The Intel PRO/100+ and PRO/100 S Server Adapters have the following indicator lights:

LED	Indication	Meaning
ACT/LNK	On	The adapter and switch are receiving power; the cable connection between the switch and adapter is good.
	Off	The adapter and switch are not receiving power, or you have a driver configuration problem.
	Flashing	The adapter is sending or receiving network data. The frequency of the flashes varies with the amount of network traffic.
100TX	On	Operating at 100 Mbps.
100TX	Off	Operating at 10 Mbps.

Multiple Adapters

When configuring a multi-adapter environment, you must upgrade all Intel adapters in the computer to the latest software.

If the computer has trouble detecting all adapters, consider the following:

If you enable Wake On LAN* (WOL) on more than two adapters, the Wake on LAN (WOL) feature may overdraw your system's auxiliary power supply, resulting in the inability to boot the system and other unpredictable problems. For multiple adapters, it is recommended that you install one adapter at a time and use the IBAUtil utility (ibautil.exe in \APPS\BootAgnt) to disable the WOL feature on adapters that do not require WOL capabilities. On most server adapters, the WOL feature is disabled by default.

Adapters with Intel Boot Agent enabled will require a portion of the limited start up memory for each adapter enabled. Disable the service on adapters that do not need to boot PXE or RPL.
Your operating system may need to re-enumerate the bus, especially if any devices with bridge chips are used. To force the re-numeration, uninstall or unload the drivers for all PCI devices installed and shutdown the computer. Then restart the computer and reinstall or reload all drivers.
The Intel PRO/100+ Dual Port adapter incorporates a PCI bridge device which allows the card to appear as two adapters to the PCI bus controller. When configuring a multi-adapter environment - when one of the adapters is a dual-port device (such as the Intel PRO/100+ Dual Port) - you must upgrade all Intel adapters in the computer to the latest software.
The "Plug and Play OS" setting in the BIOS should be set to "No" for non-Windows operating systems.

Check the sections on installing driver software for your particular operating system for further information.

Other Performance Issues

Attaining gigabit speeds requires that many components are operating at peak efficiency. Among them are the following:

Cable quality and length. Do not exceed the maximum recommended length for your cable type. Shorter lengths provide better results. Straighten kinks and check for damaged sections of cable.
Bus speed and traffic
Processor speed and load
Available memory
Transmission frame size (see discussion of Jumbo Frames)
Operating System - Features vary by OS compatibility, such as offloading and multiprocessor threading.

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