I opened this case on 2/5. Went back and forth via email several times. Supplied the final requested information in two email messages on 2/15. I tickled my correspondent with another message on 2/21.
Anybody home?
Hi Jon,
We have responded several times since our initial contact, I believe there may be a spam filter catching my replies on your end. I sent an email directly from my corporate account yesterday and was going to send one from my personal account today.
Here are the replies I sent previously and their dates:
Email sent on Friday, 2/6:
"Hi Jon,
Thanks for getting back to us and providing the PlugDebug file.
Looking at the contents, it seems like Windows is failing to get an IP address from the DHCP server or router (as evidenced by the 169.254.69.203 address the network adapter is set to ). This could be caused by a failure in the network infrastructure (usually unlikely) or a problem with Windows Network Location Awareness (NLA). NLA is a function that is designed to identify the type of network you are connected to and reconfigure the security settings on the system accordingly. This is a built-in function of Windows that can be difficult to troubleshoot.
One way to test this theory would be to set a static IP address (as opposed to the dynamic setting presently) temporarily for the Ethernet connection on the dock to see if it behaves differently. Are you using the dock on a home network or corporate network? Making such a change is usually pretty easy in a home network but may be more difficult in a corporate network.
Let me know if you would like to try the test and I can provide the necessary instructions, and we can go from there.
Thank you,
Bob
Plugable Technologies
www.plugable.com/support"
Email sent on Thursday 2/12:
"Hi John,
Thanks for getting back. I received your PlugDebug file on Friday and sent a response about an hour after I received it. I have repeated the message I sent below in case it did not come through. I did get the serial number you sent for the other dock, but we actually need the Amazon Order ID for the unit to get a replacement sent out. If you let me know the Amazon Order ID number and the preferred shipping address I can get the replacement process started on the other unit with a failed Ethernet port. Let me know the results/additional information I requested in my email from 2/6 in regard to the current unit and we can go from there.
Thanks,
Bob
Email sent on Friday, 2/6:
"Hi Jon,
Thanks for getting back to us and providing the PlugDebug file.
Looking at the contents, it seems like Windows is failing to get an IP address from the DHCP server or router (as evidenced by the 169.254.69.203 address the network adapter is set to ). This could be caused by a failure in the network infrastructure (usually unlikely) or a problem with Windows Network Location Awareness (NLA). NLA is a function that is designed to identify the type of network you are connected to and reconfigure the security settings on the system accordingly. This is a built-in function of Windows that can be difficult to troubleshoot.
One way to test this theory would be to set a static IP address (as opposed to the dynamic setting presently) temporarily for the Ethernet connection on the dock to see if it behaves differently. Are you using the dock on a home network or corporate network? Making such a change is usually pretty easy in a home network but may be more difficult in a corporate network.
Let me know if you would like to try the test and I can provide the necessary instructions, and we can go from there.
Thank you,
Bob
Plugable Technologies
www.plugable.com/support"
Email sent on Monday 2/16:
"Hi Jon,
Thanks for getting back with the additional information.
In regard to the older failed unit, looking at the Amazon Order information you are correct and it is a unit we replaced for you back in August of 2014. I am going to send you a pre-tested replacement for that one (even though we have replaced it once already). Just let me know your preferred shipping address and I will get the replacement process started.
In regard to the original unit with the network issue…would it be possible to connect the dock to another system (with the dock and network connection the same if possible) to see if the behavior is different? Usually if the Ethernet port fails they fail completely, not in the manner you are seeing on the affected system where everything appears to be working as expected but Windows shows an ‘Unidentified Network’. That behavior still indicates something may be amiss with the Network Location Awareness mechanism on the system. Having tried to troubleshoot these types of issues in a large enterprise I know these can be very difficult to pin down as Windows does not allow much flexibility in how the mechanism works, especially in Windows Domain environments. I know you said the other docks you have in the office are all in use and unavailable to swap in, but is there any chance to try the swap for a few minutes?
I can certainly send you a second, pre-tested replacement dock for the original case as well, but if the issue is software related on the affected machine the behavior will be the same.
There is one potential software fix to try if you are comfortable working with the Windows Registry, but ideally you would have completed the earlier test of trying a different system or swapping the dock first. *** I have to re-iterate, this is a potential fix as I have not been able to reproduce the symptom you are seeing in-house. Whenever you work with or make changes to the Windows registry is important to have a full backup of the entire system as well as the relevant registry keys themselves (and know the proper procedure for restoring) in case something goes wrong. ***
If you wish to proceed (while acknowledging the caveats I laid out earlier), please follow these steps on the affected system:
- First, open the Windows Registry Editor.
- Navigate to the key –> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network
- ** IMPORTANT Right-click and select Export on the key so you have a backup in case something goes wrong **.
- Delete or rename the binary value called -> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\Config (screenshot attached of actual value)
- Reboot the PC.
Let us know the results of testing with another system and/or the results after you made the registry change and we can go from there. Once I have your preferred shipping address I can get the other replacement(s) started.
Sure seem unlikely that suddenly the spam filter should be blocking you. I’ll try those things on the original case. Do you still have the address to which you have shipped before? that still works.
(Note, I also sent this via our internal ticket system so you should be receiving an email from us as well)
Hi Jon,
The replacement is on its way to you through USPS Tracking: 9405511899562833802875
It should reach you within the next few days. Please let us know when you receive it and update us once you have had a chance to try it out. You do not have to return the original unit, please recycle it according to your local regulations. If you would rather we recycle it for you, just let me know and I will send you a pre-paid shipping label to send the unit back to us.
Thanks!
Bob