Intel PRO/1000 PL on Windows 7 - Error 651?

[idata]

Hi, hoping someone can help please? I've had Windows 7 since release, and used a Wireless connection to my router for almost all that time. Obviously, when I first connected, I must have done so in a wired state, before going with the Wireless choice, because of my room layout. Recently had some issues with wireless networks congesting, and was advised by my ISP to test in a wired state. So I drank 4 cups of espresso.... No, I bought a long enough ethernet cable, and attempted to connect, but I keep getting this Error 651, modem (or other connecting device) has reported an error. Googled this, and it appears it's a common error with W7, but none of the fixes I found has resolved it. Also aggravating, in that at some point, it patently did work (I also changed my router last spring, so had to connect wired again to setup). I d/l the Intel Utility this morning, and now have the console for various settings, but still cannot connect.

Does anyone have any ideas for resolving this issue please? If you need any more info, or reports from my system, please ask and I'll post them.

Appreciate any help,

Thanks

Steve

[Mark_H_Intel]

Hi Steve,

From what I can tell, error 651 is related to the PPPoE driver that comes with Windows. PPPoE is a protocol that encapsulates the normal wired Ethernet data inside the PPP protocol that is used by some ISPs to provide your Internet connection. Modems connected to phone lines use PPP to establish a connection when you dial in to an ISP.

Unfortunately, I have not had any experience with PPPoE in many years, so I am not sure how valuable any advice from me would be. You probably saw and tried most of the same answers I can find. The answer I keep running across is to replace the raspppoe.sys driver file, but I could not find a place to download the file.

Your ISP might be able to help you fix this. I would expect they have had to help other people with the same problem.

Mark H

[idata]

Thanks Mark,

The concensus seems to be that the Vista driver for this contains the correct raspppoe.sys file, so I may try uninstalling the current one and use that one (provided I can find it) later.

The odd part is that when I run the diagnostic test within the Intel setup, I get a report that says there isn't a DHCP enabled server available, and adapter cannot obtain an IP, but within my router set up (Netgear DGN2000), the box is clearly ticked for 'Use Router as DHCP Server'. Router firmware is up to date as well.

I'll see what my ISP has to say, though they said originally that I needed to contact the network adapter supplier for drivers....ho hum.

Steve

[Mark_H_Intel]

My theory is that your connection is bound to the PPPoE driver, which is trying to negotiate a connection for your IP address. You need to get rid of PPPoE so you can get your IP address from your router. Because there is no PPPoE link on the connection, your diagnostics tell you that a DHCP server is not available. If we get rid of PPPoE, then the connection will get an address from your router.

Even if your ISP is using PPPoE, your Netgear router is taking care of the communication to your ISP. Therefore, you do not need PPPoE bound to your Ethernet adapter. PPPoE was probably added at the beginning when you connected directly to your ISP's gear (e.g. cable modem or DSL modem) using your wired connection on the computer. Once the Netgear router was added, the router took care of that part of the communication.

Therefore, the solution would be to remove PPPoE from your LAN adapter.

1. If you open the Network and Sharing Center, you will see an option on the left to "Change adapter settings." Click on that link.
2. Find the Local Area Connection that has the Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection. Right click that connection and choose Properties.
3. Look at the list of items. Is there an item marked as PPPoE or RRAS or something similar? If there is, you might be able to resolve the issue by unchecking that item and clicking OK.

I am not sure if you will find anything in the list to uncheck. I have not worked with PPPoE installed on any PC in many years. My memory of how the PPPoE connection was setup and configured on the PC is basically nonexistant. Therefore, I am making a lot of (hopefully intelligent) guesses based on what I do know about Ethernet.

If the above suggestion does not work, you can try uninstalling and then reinstalling the LAN connection software.

1. Make sure you have a copy of Intel Network Connections software saved that you can use to reinstall the software. This is the PROWin32.exe or PROWinx64 software you download from Intel Download Center at http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&DwnldID=18713 http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&DwnldID=18713.
2. Look under the Windows control panel uninstall a program. If you have Intel(R) Network Connections installed. Uninstall it.
3. Run the package you downloaded from Intel Download Center.

The idea behind this last suggestion is that when you reinstall the drivers and software, you will no longer be bound to the PPPoE protocol, and your Ethernet connection will then work normally. However, Windows might have registry settings that will remember how you were configured and restore everything on your Ethernet connection to the way it was before doing these steps.

Hopefully some of the above will help you, or your ISP support people will figure this out.

[idata]

Thanks Mark,

After a couple of hours fighting, your advice (the second part - there was nothing in the configuration that referred to PPPoE on the surface, nor drilling down) worked. The re-installation of the Intel Proset did finally get the adapter to get an IP from the Router. The connection is very slow, something like 20% of what I get via the N enabled Wireless adapter I have, but I'd presume that somewhere in the settings that can be kicked on, or I may have to bite the bullet and look for a new ethernet adapter - or just revert to wireless again!! I'd been led to believe the ethernet would be faster and less prone to dropout - none of which appears to be the case at present.

Thanks for your help again,

Steve

[Mark_H_Intel]

I am glad you resolved the PPPoE error, but I am sorry to hear that the wired network connection is not working well.

Sometimes an issue like this can have a simple solution. Even though the Ethernet cable appears to be plugged in properly, you might want to try unplugging and then plugging in the cable at both ends to make sure the connections are plugged in well.

If you go into Windows Device manager (a shortcut is to type devmgmt.msc in search programs and files), you should see a Link Speed tab that shows the connection speed and duplex setting negotiated with your router. Are you getting the connection speed that your router supports?

The Diagnostic button on that tab will take you into tests that can test your Ethernet cable. A bad cable (or a cable that runs close to an electrical interference source could hurt your connectivity.

With built-in network connections, sometimes their are BIOS updates for the motherboard that can affect your network connection. You can check the web site for your computer (or motherboard) for information on BIOS udpates.

Sometimes other things are running on your computer or other network traffic through your router that can show up as slow connections. For example, Windows or one of the programs on your computer might be downloading updates or maybe you have other background activity running such as a virus scan.

Speaking of virus scans, make sure you have a good quality program on your computer to protect against viruses and other malware and that the program is up to date. You do not want some piece of malware slowing down your computer or network.

You might also want to check for firmware updates for your router that might help with your connection issues. Also, make sure you are using the best security settings on your wireless connections so that you do not have to share your Internet connection with everyone in the neighborhood.

Of course an add-in network adapter might solve your problems, but then again, you mgiht not get an improvement if something else is causing your slow connections.

I hope some of this will be helpful in tracking down your slow connection.

Mark H

[idata]

Mark,

Very many thanks for your help on this, and your excellent suggestions to try and improve the performance. I will be going through each of these, where they've not already been done (I did firmware update for router the other day, and installed MSE rather than AVG). The ISP I'm with state that they have problems with erroneous readings on individuals' net usage - currently shown as exceptionally high for lots of users - mine was nearly 5 times my average rate the other day, and I'd only been browsing, not downloading. I'm not convinced entirely that the readings are wrong, given the speed and loading problems recently experienced.

So, again, I want to thank you for your help on this. If I come across any issues that throw light on it, I'll post back.

Cheers

Steve