It turned out to be the NIC at fault. It was a second-hand 3c900 in someone else's computer, connected to DSL. It would recieve fine, but only transmit intermittently. It was only when I happened to connect the DSL modem to the 3c905 in the next slot, and it started working, that I discovered the cause. The 3c900 got thrown out and replaced with a 3c509, IIRC.
It's relatively unusual to have this happen with a new NIC, but still possible. If it is, you should be able to get a replacement under warranty.
Incidentally, on the same network, we had link-level problems caused by a combination of poor-quality plugs on the Cat5 and an ultra-cheapo 10baseT hub. Every time someone jostled it, one had to go over and tweak one or two of the plugs until the link came back... I never have that kind of problem with my Kingston (hub) and D-link (switch) hardware. |
