Question Network Adapter (LAN) has disappeared from Device Manager ?

[united-12]

Hello,

I'm facing an issue with my Network Adapter. I can't connect my PC to the internet via the LAN Cable because the drivers and the network adapter are missing. The light on the LAN port isn't lit up. I can't find it in either the Device Manager or the network connections. I've tried installing the drivers, but it hasn't worked. Currently, I'm using the internet on my PC through a USB WiFi. What could be the reason for this problem?

Motherboard: Asrock A520M-HVS
CPU: 5600x
PSU: 600w

 

[Ralston18]

Just as a matter of elimination have you tried another known working Ethernet cable?

= = = =

In Device Manager > View ensure that "Show hidden devices" is selected.

On the PC run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

Copy and paste the full results here.

 

[bill001g]

If it does not appear in the device manager even when you display hidden devices you start to suspect a bad chip.

It is not as common as say a laptop but check in the bios that the ethernet did not somehow get disabled.

Sometimes the bios can also see/use the ethernet because it has features like wake on lan. If your bios has that try to turn it on...this will not likely make any difference for your actual issue. This is more to see if you get a light on the port when the machine is shutdown. When WOL is enabled you can in theory boot the machine remotely. I would suspect if the chip is bad you would get some kind of error even in the bios.

You could also use a linux boot image off a USB stick. These are fairly limited when they run on only the USB stick but they have basic browser support and should have the common ethernet drivers. You would know pretty quickly if linux could also not see the ethernet port.

Luckily PCIE ethernet cards are pretty cheap and easy to install if you have a extra slot. You could also consider USB ethernet but you will need USB 3 if you want to get actual gigabit speeds. I would use a internal card over USB if it is a option there is a bit more cpu overhead using USB.

 

[united-12]

Just as a matter of elimination have you tried another known working Ethernet cable?

= = = =

In Device Manager > View ensure that "Show hidden devices" is selected.

On the PC run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

Copy and paste the full results here.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.4355]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-2C8AO0S
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Check Point Virtual Network Adapter For Endpoint VPN Client
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 54-0B-EC-33-CB-0D
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2b00:554:f77f:41a8%19(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.9.73(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.252.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, May 8, 2024 8:35:51 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, June 14, 2160 3:47:17 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.9.72
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 223611884
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-2D-83-3E-31-1C-BF-CE-61-E1-1B
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #3
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : D2-37-45-44-D2-E9
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 16:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #8
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : D0-37-45-44-D2-E9
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : TP-Link Wireless USB Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : D0-37-45-44-D2-E9
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::6278:241c:ff02:637d%4(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.46(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, May 7, 2024 1:50:33 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, May 15, 2024 9:17:11 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 80754501
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-2D-83-3E-31-1C-BF-CE-61-E1-1B
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 80.80.160.8
80.80.160.9
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1A-7D-DA-71-10
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

[united-12]

The problem arose after I formatted the Windows 10 operating system. Before the format, the internet worked without any issues, but after formatting the computer, the connection to the internet via LAN cable no longer works.

 

[Ralston18]

From "ipconfig /all" the wired network adapter may not be correctly configured.

How is the network connected?

Connection path being the following line diagram where ----> represents an Ethernet cable:

ISP === (coax, DSL, fiber) ===> Modem ---->[WAN Port] Router [LAN Ports] ----> Wired network devices (PC)

and

~~~> Wireless network devices

Feel free to edit and correct my line diagram as necessary.

= = = =

Make and model modem, router, or modem/router if combined?

As I understand the posted "ipconfig /all" there are two network adapters (wired and wireless) enabled at the same time . Only one adapter should be enabled unless there are specific reasons for having two network adapters. Not likely for most home networks.

Plus wired (Ethernet adapter #2) is using a DHCP Server at 172.16.9.72 and is being provided a DHCP IP address of 197.16.9.73 via a subnet mask of 255.255.252.0 . Not a configuration that I would expect as a home network configuration.

Wireless, on the other hand, is using a Default Gateway/DHCP Server at 192.168.0.1 and is being provided a DHCP IP address of 192.168.0.46 via a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. That is certainly a viable and expected home network configuration.

If the requirement or desire is to use wireless then the wired network adapter should simply be disabled.

If the requirement or desire is to use wired then the wireless network adapter should be disabled and the wired network adapter reconfigured to match the network Default Gateway (modem, router, or modem/router if combined). Likely 192.168.0.1 (Subnet mask 255.255.255.0) but that depends on the modem, router, or modem/router serving the network.

That is the configuration that is working via the wireless connection. Wired devices should be using the same configuration with each network adapter being assigned different DHCP IP addresses (which can and do change).

To begin with, we need to understand what network devices exist and how they are connected. You may have two routers in use: E.g., the modem is may also be a router.... Two routers is a problem.

Then configure or reconfigure as necessary so the PC can join the network.

Other things that may help:

1) Disable IPv6

2) Change the DNS Servers to Google at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Hopefully, the wired network adapter can be correctly configured and will remain so. If not, then that is a good indication that it may have failed in some manner and is thus no longer visible.