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Sounds like it may be a routing problem with the switch, a little extra info about the network may help...

Have you assigned IP address and subnet masks to clients?
What operating system are you running on the server?
Do the clients logon to the server?
What make/model are the network cards?
What network protocol are you using? Is it the only one installed?
Can other stations see the dropped stations?

Were all network cables tested after being installed?
How many terminals/clients?
What brand are the computers? (There are some systems and components that have questionable quality)

Are all the patch cables certified Cat-5? If they're home-made, make sure that pins 1 & 2, and 3 & 6 are each a color pair and consistently assigned at both ends.

Presumably, you've assigned private static IP addresses to each client and the server, making sure to use the correct subnet mask. Use a standard Class C address like 192.168.0.x with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 Make the server 192.168.0.2 and number the clients from 192.168.0.3 up to whatever the last one is.

As Scott said, if it's a managed switch it would be helpful to check out the error statistics etc. on each port. Is the switch brand new, or is it used? If it's used it could be something weird with the way it was previously configured.

Since the clients are all running XP I'd still assume that it is an IP network since the protocols have been pretty much merged.

So far it's been my experience that most box office software is not protocol dependent and uses either mapped network drive (possible with most any protocol) or full UNC paths (also possible with most any protocol).

Cabling shouldn't be a problem given that clients are randomly dropping off the network yet being immediately reconnected on restart. This would suggest a software/hardware problem. If restarts didn't always work or work immediately I would then look into the cabling.

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You old folks up in Canada still running on old 16 bit systems don't know what you're missing in the new 32 bit OS's, but then you are still using 1930's oiling techniques too so what more could one expect??
Mark @ GTS

I think the finger is pointing at the patch cables, especially if they were terminated on-site, which is probably the case. Check those wire pairs very closely, and make sure pins 1 & 2, and 3 & 6 are color pairs and identically assigned at both ends of each patch cable (i.e. if pin 1 is solid orange at one end, make sure pin 1 is solid orange at the opposite end, etc.). I've seen supposedly knowledgeable low-voltage licensed technicians incorrectly terminate network cables by wiring them in progressive pairs straight through (1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8 - WRONG). You want 1 & 2, 3 & 6, 4 & 5, 7 & 8 (although you can leave out 4 & 5 and 7 & 8).

I'm looking at a Black Box factory-made Cat-5-certified patch cable and the pin assignments are:

1 - Orange/White
2 - Orange
3 - Green/White
4 - Blue
5 - Blue/White
6 - Green
7 - Brown/White
8 - Brown

Ethernet networks require category 3 (or higher) UTP (unshielded twisted pair) for 10Mbs and category 5 (or higher) UTP for 100Mbs. If you're unsure about the rating of the wire that was already there, replace it, and the problems should disappear. If by chance it is cat 3 or 4 - you should be able to just change the network settings to use 10Mbs (not 100Mbs), and the problems should go away.

David did give one of the correct wiring standards (EIA/TIA 568B) for ethernet. I'm listing the other (EIA/TIA 568A) below for completeness.

1 - white w/ green
2 - green w/ white
3 - white w/ orange
4 - blue w/ white
5 - white w/ blue
6 - orange w/ white
7 - white w/ brown
8 - brown w/ white

Steven Gorsky

Auto-assigning of IP Addresses is preferable, as it allows more flexability, and avoids IP conflicts. However there will be a delay on boot up, Unless you have a DHCP server on the network. What happens otherise is Windows listens for a DHCP server, times out, and then uses the Microsoft Private IP range 169.254.x.x

Annother thing to check is overall network traffic, see if there is a broadcast storm, you may have a computer that keeps forcing a bowser master election in there somewhere.

As far as multiple protocols, I would recommend either using IPX/SPX OR TCP/IP.