I got a brandy new Dell 2200 computer about 3 months ago to replace my older, beginning to lag Dell. From the get go, the computer didn’t seem to be performing to its promises (ie it’s about as slow as my older computer, lots of error messages, etc.) But I really started to get angry when my peripherals started having problems. My printer restarts itself when I try to print, I have been through four web cams and all of them start out clear then begin to get fuzzy (all difft brands, mind you), and on occasion my cable modem goes out for no reason.
Mr. Micknlu is a systems admin, and he says that it’s not a problem with the ports. I have called Dell and they have said it’s not a problem with the ports. Please tell me I’m not crazy, that this sounds like a problem with the ports, and if so, is my computer a lemon!?
Thanks!
How are your peripherals connected? I assume the web cam is through USB and cable modem is to a network card, what about the printer? USB or parallel?
The printer is thru a parallel. And the twice posting is another example of what this computer does to me!! LOL sorry about that! 
No wonder your computer is acting strange. It’s drunk! 
Seriously, I think Mr. Micknlu is correct. Hardware ports generally do not degrade over time. They’ll usually just stop working if anything. A more likely suspect would be shoddy RAM. Or poorly installed/tested OS, corrupt swap file, drivers, etc. If I were you and this pc is still under warranty I would request an exchange. Seeing as how Dell is constantly upgrading their models you might get a slightly snazzier machine for your exchanged model.
Re: your cable modem going out. Mine does this on occasion and it’s not the ethernet port, modem, or CAT5 cable. Just crappy equipment on the ISP end. To test this, when your connectivity is lost, run winipcfg for Win9x (ipconfig for Win2K/XP). Note the Default Gateway and DNS servers IP addresses. Try to ping the gateway IP. If you get no response or “Destination net unreachable” then your ISP’s DHCP server or router is probably to blame. If you can ping the gateway, try pinging the DNS servers in order. If you cannot ping them then your ISP’s DNS servers are down. Either outage will cause you to be unable to access the Internet due to no fault of your own equipment. Another thing to try is shut down your computer, unplug power to your cable modem and wait 30-60 minutes. Power the modem on and start your computer and try to browse. If you’ve got nothing, call your ISP tech support.
Another thing that can affect performance or cause weird behavior is heat. If you’re not shy about looking at the innards of your computer, remove the case cover from your computer and turn the pc on. Note all the fans and make sure they are spinning. A fan power lead could have come unplugged during shipment or you could just have a crapped out fan if one is not spinning.
It’s probably best to tackle the problems as if they were unrelated.
Now, the printer. First, you say it’s using the parallel port. If you have a spare printer cable lying around, try swapping it with the one you’re using now and see if that has any effect. Could be a bad printer cable. Check with your friends and see if they have a spare if you don’t… a lot of people have upgraded to USB printers and do have old parallel printer cables lying around.
Second, does the printer error occur when you’re using one program in particular, or does it do the same thing in any program you try? Rule out a software problem by trying to print in other programs, or try the good old Windows Printer Test Page. If the problem is limited to one program, uninstall that program and uninstall the printer drivers and software. Check the web for updated versions or patches for both the software and the printer drivers and try those if they’re available. If not, just reinstall the printer drivers and then the software… it’s worth a shot.
Third… parallel ports can operate in different modes, and some of them can make printers choke. You can check the mode in the BIOS. IIRC, they come in bi-directional, ECP, EPP and ECP+EPP modes. If your printer’s manual doesn’t specify which one to use, it’s time to put the process of elimination to work… you gotta try them all.
I have some other ideas, but I don’t know what OS you’re using. All of this troubleshooting can take a really long time, especially if your problems are intermittent. But since you’re past the 30-day point, Dell isn’t going to exchange your system for a new one, so there’s no hurry.
I agree with Horseflesh about the cable modem… mine goes out all the time, and it’s not my computer or the cable modem that is the problem… it’s the ISP having problems.
What has Dell support suggested so far?
-fh