Switch to Switch connection problem

[dc41]

I have a LAN with one branch set up as follows:

Router -> Switch -> Switch -> GoogleTV, sat DVR, and XBox

All was was working fine... and then it stopped working. Nobody had touched it. While troubleshooting I discovered that if I bypass the second switch and plug the cable into any one the three devices, that device connected just fine. So I think "bad switch".

The new switch arrived today, but it didn't fix the problem. If I plug the cable leading from the first switch into the second, new switch, it doesn't even display the connection light. But if I plug it directly into one of the devices it works just fine. I tried different cables, but no success.

These switches don't have cross-over ports, so I don't think that's the problem. I've tried plugging the cables into different ports on the switches. That didn't help.

I'm out of ideas. Anyone have some suggestions that can lead me in the right direction?

Thanks!

 

[RaDiKaL_]

"If I plug the cable leading from the first switch into the second, new switch, it doesn't even display the connection light. But if I plug it directly into one of the devices it works just fine."

That leads me to think you are trying to connect both switches with a straight cable, since your switches don't have crossover ports (MDIX) you have to use a crossover cable to connect your switches. If you were using a crossover cable then your xbox wouldn't have worked connected to the 1st switch (same layer devices need crossover cable, different layer devices need straight cable).