With each flash of the link light the network connects, when the light goes off again, XP says network cable unplugged. The device manager has since stopped refreshing. However the network keeps connecting and disconnecting.
The link light flashes in the same way when the pc is off. I have tried different ports on the switch, the link light on the switch flashes in the same manner. The network cable plugged into a different computer doesnt flash and works fine. I have also put a new network card in the pc which flashes in the same manner.
There is onboard lan and a PCI card, both flash the link light and connect and disconnect in the same way.