DSL connection dropping

I have AT&T DSL. My new Athlon 1200 has a Realtek ethernet adapter, my old P3 450 has a 3Com ethernet adapter.
Of late, on my new computer, my DSL connection just drops every few minutes, sometimes every few seconds (the tray icon shows connected, however I cannot open any pages). Doing a "Release All" and "Renew All" on WINIPCFG gets it working again, for the next few minutes or so. I thought it was a problem at the AT&T end, so I badgered them no end, but they could not help me solve the problem. I then got the idea to switch back to my old computer (same software, same settings, same external modem), and the DSL connection runs flawlessly! Can the Realtek ethernet card (a cheapie) be the culprit? I mean, do these things have the 'ability' to drop connections?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Imtiaz

1. RE: DSL connection dropping
lbyard Sep-21-01 03:32 PM
In response to message 0

Yes… That could be determined by swapping network adapters. If winipcfg, More Info >> shows all F’s for the Adapter Address (MAC address), there is something wrong with the hardware. It could be a bad adapter or a resource conflict. You may want to try moving the Realtek board to another PCI slot first. Look for multiple instances of the network adapter driver. Most network adapters are inexpensive now that they have become mass market products. Many use Realtek chips. Larry