>>The problem described below has been solved, but I don't quite understand it.
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>>This morning, I couldn't connect to the Internet from my computer. I used my children's computer for some emergencies.
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>>When doing a ping, from my computer, to the default gateway (the ADSL router), about half of the tries were successful.
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>>The other computer worked perfectly, so the problem didn't seem to be the ADSL router or switch.
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>>I contacted the person who does tech support at our local Cisco Academy, and he said, more or less: Well, you might try buying a new network card. After all, they are not that expensive. Or perhaps demagnetize the network card.
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>>Following his instructions, I unplugged the computer power cable, and touched the metal contacts with a metal tool that had an insulated handle. (He said "screwdriver", bud I didn't find one at that moment.) That was the connection for the power source, I didn't do anything with the network card.
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>>The whole idea is preposterous, except for one detail: it actually worked. I had seen it work before, on one of the computers at the local Cisco Academy (but I hadn't remembered the details).
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>>Important note: Careful with this - I understand the power supply can have dangerous voltages, even with the power cord unplugged.
>
>Hilmar:
>
>let me try to guess a few things, you tell me if I am right or wrong:
>
>- The computer has integrated lan in the motherboard.
>- When you say you switched off the computer, you did not actually unplugged it from the power outlet.
>- Where you live, there are sometimes problems with the electric supply, like spikes and sometimes the power goes out for a split second, when this happens, sometimes your computer reboots itself, sometimes it´s so fast the computer stays on.
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>If all of the above it true, the problem is that sometimes the integrated lan in those motherboars just "freezes" or starts to act up, usually due to a power surge, and to fix it you have to actually unplug the computer for a few seconds. I have even had cases where Windows reports no network cable connected, the little icon with the red cross, you power off, unplug, plug back in, power on, fixed.
>
>Carlos

True, all of it (I am not sure about the integrated network card right now, but I think it is).

But still, assuming that unplugging the computer is enough, why would this work?