Could you try giving this a go on your PC?

Go into the properties of the network card, either through the network interface in network and sharing centre, or device manager. On the advanced tab you'll see a list of settings, look down the list until you find one that's called something like "speed & duplex" or "link speed" (depends on the driver).

In the list of values for that setting you'll probably see it's set to the default of "Auto" or "Auto negotiate", set it to "100mb full duplex" - use 100Mb first, even if the PC is connected to the 1Gb port on your switch/router. Try that and see if it improves things. If it does, you can try setting it to "1Gb full duplex" if it's connected to the 1Gb port.

It's worth a go, I've seen a lot of cards which have issues autonegotiating with switches/routers, especially ones designed for home use.

Ray Von

Thanks Duivels, thanks Ray

Here's what I've done:
I have a spare Gigabit Switch at home (a gift from KPN netherlands who I have to thank for that by the way), that I took.
I plugged the networkcable from my PC into the 1ste port
plugged my POHD into the second port
turned on the PC and the POHD. (so the network only had PC - Switch - POHD, no router or any other hardware)
placed my cursor on the network icon in the taskbar. It told me it was connected to WORKGROUP at a speed of 100Mbps.
Then opend the properties of the NIC. the link speed & duplex was on AUTO DETECT and I placed it on AUTONEGOTIATE 1000Mbps (the only Gigabit setting possible).
After that the connection was lost and the PC told me: one of the networkcables is not connected. now I am confused.

I think time is catching up on my PC (a DELL Dimension 9150 bought in 2006) and it's time for a new one (but that will be a whole different negotiation )
Anyway thanks for all your help guys.
The POHD works fine with my 2.5" drive connected to it so it's not a major problem. It would have been nice if it worked.
I need Windows 7 (read post about DLNA in HOW TO) to push content using mediaplayer anyway

Ah well, sorry I couldn't help.

Might still be worth upgrading your drivers on the Intel network card, or trying yet another network cable. It looks like it only connected at 100Mb/s even though you plugged it into a 1Gb/s switch, and forcing it to 1Gb/s didn't work at all, so there must be something wrong. There's no chance you've got a crossed network cable is there? Or that distance is a factor - 1Gb/s networks can be flaky even over just 20-30m if all the cabling isn't CAT6.

Ray Von

Inserting a new link into the chain is not a very good idea, because you may introduce a new problem as well.
Did you check the connection between your desktop and your laptop using the "free" switch?

Meanwhile I looked at the Dutch installation manual of your router, which unfortunately does not provide enough information to solve your problem. The specification struck me as odd, however:
Gigabit LAN with an integrated 10/100 Mbit switch

The fact that your Dell is 5 to 6 years old, does not mean very much. My server is a ten years old PC, which is still merrily going round. Updating your NIC's drivers is a good idea, though.

All settings on your modem/router may be locked, because KPN does not like their clients to make custom settings.