NIC makes my PC stutter

[Ford Prefect]

hi there!

I have two PC's with 100Mbit NIC's connected simply via a crossed cat5 cable. My first PC has a Realtek based NIC running Linux and Win98, the other one a cheapo (I think Winbond) NIC running Win95. now my first PC is fine, but the scond one gives me headaches. Wnenever the NIC doesn't receive a signal (this happens if either my first PC is off orr the cable isn't plugged in) the PC hangs every 20 secons for a second or so, just as if it's looking for his network counterpart. I've tried every single setting for the NIc, installed every driver I could find, but no go... what's the problem here? anyone knows any solution? Any suggestion welcome (well, except for suggestions like getting another NIC or connecting them by a hub... money's an issue )!

------------------
There is an art, or rather, a knack to flying.
The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

- The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy -

[This message has been edited by Ford Prefect (edited 04-10-2001).]

[TheWizard]

Sounds like your exactly right on the 'looking for the network'. You probably have a 'broadcast' protocol enabled. Try setting your network to use only tcp/ip, and use addresses of 10.0.0.x with a netmask of 255.255.255.0. This should fix the hangs.