Why do ethernet cards on my computer work for a week and then stop?

Question

My PC stopped connecting to the internet via my cable modem, ethernet card. I replaced it, it worked great for a week then stopped. I replaced it a 3rd time with the same exact result. Is there anything that can be done to get the computer to connect to the internet? Give me your advice!

Answer 1

What did you replace? The "modem" or the network card?

Call your ISP and order them to check your connection. If all else fails, there is a chance you have a virus

Answer 2

Wow, that's really strange.  I'd guess it's a cable, not the card.  There's a very very very slight chance that brand had a bad batch of cards or they got damaged in shipment but I doubt it.

The top 3 things I'd guess are:

1. bad network cable from your modem to the computer

2. low signal to the cable modem

3. bad cable modem

Try wiggling the network cable where it plugs into your network card and see if that fixes it for a moment - if so you probably have a bad cable, it's very common and they're really cheap.

Otherwise, call you ISP and have them come out to check the lines - sometimes they can even diagnose it while you're on the phone.  They have much more advanced test equipment and can pinpoint the problem very fast; when I've had to call Cox out for modem problems they don't even charge a service call but not all companies are the same.