Question Liquid spill/Ethernet/UPS

[kol12]

I've unfortunately had a liquid spill in my custom build desktop while the machine was powered on. The machine was also connected to my CyberPower UPS. While the desktop is being replaced I am using my notebook and I have it plugged into the existing UPS. The issue I am facing is the Ethernet cable connection from the UPS to the notebook keeps disconnecting. When waking the machine or on reboot or cold boot the Ethernet connection rapidly connects/disconnects for sometimes 5-10 minutes before stabilizing to a stable connection. An Ethernet cable run directly from the router does not have this issue. Could this be related to the UPS and the liquid spill or could it be an issue with the Dell notebook not liking the UPS ethernet connection?

 

[Ralston18]

Any other components: E.g. surge protectors, power strips, extension cords?

Reference:

https://www.lifewire.com/surge-protectors-4145796

Ethernet connection that does not work being:

Router[LAN] ---- Ethernet ---->[In] UPS [Out] ---- Ethernet ----> Custom Desktop (Now the Dell notebook).

The 5 - 10 minutes of instability while notebook is cold suggests some threshold sensitivity to the incoming ethernet signal via the UPS.

Do you have another computer or notebook to plug into the UPS's ethernet port?

Determine if another PC has the same reboot or cold boot issues. If not, then the Dell notebook itself is certainly suspect.

When the spill occurred what, if anything, happened with respect to the UPS? Any chance that some "spark" or voltage went back to the UPS via the desktop's Ethernet connection? Maybe damaged or degraded the UPS ethernet ports in some manner?

Use a bright flashlight to inspect the UPS ethernet ports. Look to see if there is some goo from the spill or other debris inside the ethernet ports. However, if so, that does not necessarily address the 5 - 10 minutes of instablity.

Interesting.

 

[kol12]

Well I did plug the Ethernet cable via UPS into an Asus laptop and it connected just fine. So it has to be an issue with the Dell G3 but what? What is the difference with the Ethernet cable through the UPS? It's just a surge protector...

 

[Ralston18]

Surge protectors work and will provide protection for multiple instances of surges, spikes, etc..

However damage is cumulative over time and once the limit is reached (joules) the surge protection diminishes or ceases.

So my thinking was that the ethernet surge protector was damaged in some manner and not up to carrying though the signal strengths that the Dell G3 required. The flaw in that reasoning was the 5 - 10 minutes of instability before the Dell G3 worked.

Because the Asus worked without a problem, the surge protector could be normally be eliminated as the culprit.

The Dell G3 network adapter may actually be the problem. When cold, the adapter is either insensitive to or partially insensitive to the incoming network signals possibly independent of any surge protector issues. Once the Dell 3G is warmed up, full connectivity is restored to the RJ45 port.

Yet, " An Ethernet cable run directly from the router does not have this issue." So the signal from the router is strong enough that the the Dell G3 's network adapter is good to go without the warmup being needed.

Double whammy: problem Dell G3 network adapter and a "not as it should be, possibly damaged" UPS network surge protector. RJ45 surge protectors need to be fully grounded to do their job. A spill causing a voltage spike could damage that part of the protections offered.)

(Note: Full disclosure, I really need an EE type person or someone with deeper knowledge of ethernet voltages/sensitivities to help me sort this out..... )

Side bar:

Have you tried the Dell G3's wireless connectivity? Curious if wireless is affected.

Also which Dell G3 do you have? I looked at the service manual(s). E.g.:

https://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/g-series-15-3590-laptop_service-manual_en-us.pdf

The Ethernet adapter seems to be built into the motherboard while the wireless adapter is replaceable. Unfortunately wireless is not the problem per se.

 

[kol12]

Is there anything that could be done in the Dell's network card configuration that could solve the issue or is it purely a hardware thing? I've definitely never heard of a network adapter needing to warm up...

The Dell's WiFi connection seems fine and while the Ethernet is rapidly connecting/disconnecting it appears to use the wireless connection until the Ethernet connection stabilizes. The model I am sure is Dell 3579: https://www.dell.com/support/home/n...pport/product/g-series-15-3579-laptop/drivers

Do you have any more ideas?

 

[Ralston18]

The network adapter "warm up" is odd but electronics are subject to expansion and contraction just a mechanical systems can be. Thus connectivity can be gained or lost with temperature changes.

However, I noted:

"The Dell's WiFi connection seems fine and while the Ethernet is rapidly connecting/disconnecting it appears to use the wireless connection until the Ethernet connection stabilizes."

Do you have both the wired and wireless adapters enabled on the Dell?

Only one or the other should be enabled at a time. Not both.

On the Dell - run "ipconfig /all" via the command prompt and post the results.

 

[kol12]

I have had both enabled yes. I thought that I tested with the Wireless adapter disabled but I may not have so will test again and post result.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>ipconfig /all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-G5JQDHL
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : fritz.box
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : fritz.box
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 54-BF-64-2D-0A-FD
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2406:e006:4447:8701:35b8:ba09:e3d2:bba1(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2406:e006:4447:8701:74a3:59bc:8b18:bfd0(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::35b8:ba09:e3d2:bba1%12(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.178.30(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, 1 November 2019 7:09:00 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, 11 November 2019 7:08:57 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::f2b0:14ff:fe5c:bf8d%12
192.168.178.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.178.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 55885668
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-22-D5-0E-6F-54-BF-64-2D-0A-FD
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fd00::f2b0:14ff:fe5c:bf8d
192.168.178.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection 2:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 20-16-B9-85-C1-62
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

[kol12]

Forgot to mention there are bucket loads of rt640x64 warnings in Event Viewer (Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller is disconnected from network.) But that's not surprising is it?