Ethernet stopped working

For the last couple of days, XP says Network cable unplugged.

I tried 3 different Ethernet cables from the AOA-150 to the Linksys router, nothing worked.
And today I tried Puppy Linux; it too couldn't connect .

I wondered whether this has to do with my accidentally putting a USB plug into the Ethernet jack a few days ago.

Can anything be done?
Tiny screwdriver? Twezers? Bent needle?

I don't think I can take the netbook apart and replace the jack.

USB-to-Ethernet adapter?

Thanks,
Sheldon

 

Have you actually inspected the ethernet port to confirm if there actually is any damage to the port itself?

I'd also try connecting to the USB port in the router, or at least try another computer attached to the router thru the ethernet port to make sure it's not the router with the issue.

 

Thanks a lot for your response.

The old Win98 desktop computer still works perfectly with the Linksys WRT54GL router, which doesn't have a USB port.

Today I felt the 8 little pins (in the Acer's NIC port) with a paper clip, and they all seemed to be
springy.

I wiped with rubbing alcohol and then with dry tissue, and tried again.
Still no connection to the router.

In Windows XP, I set the on-board NIC , which Windows said was a
"Realtek RTL8102E Family PCI-E Fast Internet" ,
to 10Mbps Full Duplex

and it connects.

It had been at the default Auto Negotiation since I got the Acer Aspire
One AOA-150 (aka ZG5?) in about June of 2009, and worked OK until a
couple of days ago; again, the problem _seems_ to have begun after I
mistakenly tried to put a USB plug into the Ethernet jack.

So what do you think happened?

What can I do do get it working at 100Mbps again?

Thanks again,

Sheldon

 

Usually if this was to happen, I'd turn the router off, wait about a minute and retry. I've had a few routers in my time, and best way to say it is they're "easily confused". Nearly all problems I've ever had with a modem / router were fixed by rebooting them.