Realtek 8111e vs. Precise

[Colin Law]

On 10 March 2013 07:49, Basil Chupin <blchupin at iinet.net.au> wrote:
> ...
> I have rethinking about what occurred at my end to zap the onboard LAN.
>
> I always use an anti-static wrist-strap (but you prefer to shove your elbows
> into the sides of the casing, or something :-) ) so even if I accidentally
> shoved my finger (or even the stamped out piece of tin plate) into the LAN
> port nothing would have happened.
>
> But what DID happen, now that I think about it, is that the manual for the
> motherboard warns that the computer should not be "live" when you plug in
> the LAN cable from the modem/router.
>
> I ignored that warning because there were uncountable times I unplugged and
> replugged the cable at the modem/router's end - BUT this was *always* when
> having a NIC card installed and never using the onboard LAN - the Gigabyte
> mobo I was working on was the first ever mobo with an onboard LAN. It seems
> that the NIC card is more robust and is less affected by the sudden
> application of + and - current.

I have been using ethernet pretty much since its invention and have
never (as far as I know) damaged a controller by plugging the cable in
with it live.  It would have to be a very poor design for that to
happen.  One does not, for example, have to power down a router every
time one plugs in a cable, and the interface in the PC is basically
the same as in the router.

One thing one /should/ do, however is to disconnect a PC from the
mains (or remove the battery on a laptop) before, for example, adding
or removing controller cards or disks.  Also, as you say, it is a good
idea to wear a wrist strap (though it can be difficult to find
something to clip onto on a laptop).  If you have not got a strap then
touch the chassis immediately before touching anything else or
inserting a card or connector.

Colin