DSL, NIC, and WinMX problem

[nickcwj]

Hi everyone out there,

Before I ask any questions, I have listed out the specs for the PCs and networks I have for both at home and in the office

@Home
---------
* WinXP Pro
* P3-450
* 384MB PC133 SDRAM
* Realtek RTL8029AS PCI network adapter (10Mbps max) ~ full duplex enabled
* Aztech DSL Turbo 900 modem (for broadband connectivity) ~ firewall disabled
* Copper backbone

@Office
---------
* WinXP Pro
* Celeron 900
* 128MB PC133 SDRAM
* 3Com 3C920 PCI network adapter (100Mbps max) ~ full duplex enabled
* Company's intranet/internet connection (behind company's firewall)
* Fibre backbone

Okay... I have been using this WinMX p2p program to download AVI files via both my home and my office broadband connections. But while I'm at home, I usually get disconnected for no apparent reason while downloading my files. But I have no problems in the office. I only encounter this frequent disconnection problems while I am using WinMX over my home's DSL connection. Does not happen when I casually surf the Internet.

Bottomline >> WinMX connectivity problem at home, but NO problem in office.

What is actually the cause of the problem? I was suspecting the network card since my Realtek is a cheap and old model which, in my opinion, does not sport advanced features to maintain network connectivity like the more expensive 3Com card in my office...

Please help. Thnx =)

Regards,
Nick

[Jimi_l]

According to this site you may be right. I just read a article claiming that older NIC's will often perform poorly or just "drop out" from time to time.

I would try another one as they are cheap enough an easy to change.

Jimi_l