I have a Netgear Prosafe GS108 8-port gigabit switch which I've been using at home for a couple of years without problems. It's uplinked to my main switch in another room, and has 5 devices connected to it (Tivo, Media Centre PC, IP Camera, Wireless Router, Slingbox).

A few days ago, while I was on holiday, all of the devices connected to the Netgear dropped off the LAN. When I returned I checked the cable connections and they were all fine. I then swapped in an old DG834 switch and everything was fine, so it looks as if the Netgear may be faulty.

The green power LED on the switch is lit, but the other lights are flashing in a strange 3-stage pattern:
1. All 8 green port LEDs illuminated for about a quarter of a second, then
2. LED for port 8 ONLY illuminated for about a quarter of a second, then
3. LED for port 7 ONLY illuminated for about a quarter of a second, then back to the start of this pattern.
This pattern repeats ad infinitum.

I've tried powering down a few times but it hasn't made any difference. I can't find a way of doing a factory reset either - there's no switch on the box, and I can't locate a user manual anywhere on the web.

Can anyone suggest any further measures, before I stump up £50 for a new switch?

The user manual for this switch (which is pretty fancy I might add) states there is a reset button on the front panel (somewhere). It's probably nothing more than a small hole with a button in the middle. Push and hold this button for about 30 seconds while powering it up then release.

The user manual for this switch (which is pretty fancy I might add) states there is a reset button on the front panel (somewhere). It's probably nothing more than a small hole with a button in the middle. Push and hold this button for about 30 seconds while powering it up then release.

It looks as if there is more than one variation of this model number. I believe the version you are referring to has a reset button to the right of the power LED, and to the left of port 1. On my hardware, which is not as wide, the power LED is right next to port 1, and there is no reset pinhole or button anywhere on the box.
There is a hole at the rear of the unit, about 8mm wide x 3mm high and with a padlock symbol next to it. The padlock symbol has a "K" written on it. This doesn't appear to be a switch however - only a hole in the case (you can see the switch internals through the hole). Sticking a paper clip into it has absolutely no effect.

Thanks for the links (although the link to the user manual was broken for me).

From the comments at NewEgg this product could be a turkey. In any case it seems that Netgear offer a lifetime warranty on Prosafe products, so I'll try and get a replacement.

Thanks for the links (although the link to the user manual was broken for me).

From the comments at NewEgg this product could be a turkey. In any case it seems that Netgear offer a lifetime warranty on Prosafe products, so I'll try and get a replacement.

the link won't do anything in the browser. It should download a PDF straight away. Anyway, it should now be attached to this post.

It looks to me that power supply is a problem - cooking capacitors in one section of the switch. So yes - a turkey.

Thanks - that's really helpful.

I think my download manager (GetRight) got confused by the link/file and wasn't able to download it.

The model in the user guide is different to mine - it seems that there is more than one flavour of GS108. Very confusing!

The model in the user guide is different to mine - it seems that there is more than one flavour of GS108. Very confusing!

Precisely which model do you have? Maybe I can get the right manual. Is it the 108T?

The top of the casing says "Netgear Prosafe 8 Port Gigabit Switch Model GS108". The label on the back says GS108 v2

???

This is the model without the lights on the left. They're on the ports, right? If there was a manual, it would have come with the device. I suspect Netgear have been sloppy on this. Anyway, it seems shot to me.

Yes that's right the lights are on the ports. Unfortunately I've mislaid the original packaging.
I'll see if Netgear can oblige with a warranty replacement.

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