[SOLVED] Computer won't recognize ethernet connection on startup

[jochs20]

As the thread title indicates, my computer does not recognize ethernet on startup. Reinstalling drivers fixes it temporarily until the next time I turn off my pc. If I restart my PC, the drivers still work. Furthermore, I'm getting random disconnects, mainly when I'm playing online games like CoD Warzone. Every 30-40 minutes I'll drop out for about 15-20 seconds. On the desktop the network icon would turn into the globe until I regained connection, which leads me to believe it's part of the issue I'm having with the drivers.

This started happening randomly. There wasn't an update or anything that I downloaded before this. Afterwards, I did download the latest updates for Windows 10 as well as updating my BIOS, but neither fixed this issue.

SPECS:
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z490-A
OS: Windows 10 Pro 20H2
ISP: Verizon
Router: Fios-G1100

EDIT: disabling and re-enabling Intel Ethernet Controller I225-V in device manager gets me connected.

 

[Ralston18]

Look in Reliability History for any error codes or warnings that correspond with the disconnects.

Also look for any events that are network and/or startup related.

Run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt on your computer. Post the results.

The router's logs, if available and enabled, may be capturing some problem.

Who has full admin rights to the router? You will need help from that person.

 

[SamirD]

I would download the nic driver from asus again and re-install it. If that doesn't fix it, I'd boot a linux live cd/usb just to make sure the nic hasn't gone bad.

 

[jochs20]

A total uninstall of the drivers, including stuff in the registry and a reinstall fixed my issue.

 

[jochs20]

Oddly enough, it's happening again. It's strange, I didn't notice any drop outs for several days either until I had one last night, and I now have to disable and re-enable the driver again to get network access on startup. Reliabilty History and event viewer didn't show any kind of specific errors or other information other than the exact time I dropped and when I regained network connection. (Roughly 20 seconds). This isn't happening to any other device on my network.


Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-G21OVLT
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : fios-router.home

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : fios-router.home
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Ethernet Controller I225-V
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : D4-5D-64-B4-10-8B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::dce3:1772:88af:9b13%10(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.245(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, December 21, 2020 4:41:22 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, December 22, 2020 4:41:21 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 181689700
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-26-FB-56-B4-D4-5D-64-B4-10-8B
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
Connection-specific DNS Suffix Search List :
fios-router.home

Unknown adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Private Internet Access Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-FF-B2-9F-F1-B1
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes


I forgot to mention that in my original post that I'm using a 5 port netgear switch in my room that I've had for about 8 years now. Unsure if that would have any relevance to this problem as it honestly seems like its either Windows or motherboard related, but nonetheless I will test it on a single cable, I just need to get an extension connector as the cable won't reach my PC on its own.

Also, I have admin access to the router, but what am I exactly looking for? I can access the security logs, but there does not seem to be anything kind of diagnostic/error logs that I can see for problems like this. If someone can point me in the right direction, it'd be appreciated.

 

[bill001g]

What looks different between the ipconfig command you posted and the one when it is broken. Does it say media disconnected on the main ethernet. Does it still have ip addresses. Can you ping the router IP.

If it is media disconnected that is most times some hardware problem. Most times this is caused by a cable but I would not think just resetting the driver would fix it. I have not looked your motherboard up but asus sometimes bundle some "gamer" qos stuff that causes all kinds of issues. Your motherboard may also have a so called "green" power option for the ethernet. This also causes lots of strange issues because it drops the power output.

 

[jochs20]

What looks different between the ipconfig command you posted and the one when it is broken. Does it say media disconnected on the main ethernet. Does it still have ip addresses. Can you ping the router IP.

If it is media disconnected that is most times some hardware problem. Most times this is caused by a cable but I would not think just resetting the driver would fix it. I have not looked your motherboard up but asus sometimes bundle some "gamer" qos stuff that causes all kinds of issues. Your motherboard may also have a so called "green" power option for the ethernet. This also causes lots of strange issues because it drops the power output.

There's no connection to the network at all, hence the globe icon I mentioned earlier. Also, I do know that there have been similar issues with z490 boards, but most of the solutions recommend just trying older versions of the drivers which does not help.

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-G21OVLT
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Unknown adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Private Internet Access Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-FF-B2-9F-F1-B1
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

[jochs20]

Went ahead and tested it on a fresh install of Windows. Problem still persists. This seems to be an ongoing problem with Z490 boards, despite reports suggesting that Intel has fixed the problem. https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/s...490-Chipset---Network-Connection-Issues-1981/

I even tried the method described in that link but to no avail.

Should I reach out to ASUS for rma at this point? or just get a pcie card?

 

[bill001g]

That is very interesting that intel has that large of a bug in their 2.5g chipset. It pretty much says the only actual fix is to replace the hardware. I guess I didn't follow this stuff because I don't actually need more than 1gbit and if I bought something faster I would go to 10g since 2.5 is not widely supported by network equipment.

If you tried their driver hack I suspect a add in pcie card is the next step. Luckily they are not real expensive.

BUT I don't think you have the same issue. The symptom described is performance related so most people likely do not see it because few people can even use 1gbit. I now need to go read about this in detail but it seems it might cause packet loss because they are not placing the correct delays between packets.

If asus will replace the motherboard that may be your cheapest option but also a lot of effort compared to just inserting a new ethernet card. You could also buy a usb ethernet card. Be sure to use a USB3 card and port to get full gigabit speeds.

 

[jochs20]

That is very interesting that intel has that large of a bug in their 2.5g chipset. It pretty much says the only actual fix is to replace the hardware. I guess I didn't follow this stuff because I don't actually need more than 1gbit and if I bought something faster I would go to 10g since 2.5 is not widely supported by network equipment.

If you tried their driver hack I suspect a add in pcie card is the next step. Luckily they are not real expensive.

BUT I don't think you have the same issue. The symptom described is performance related so most people likely do not see it because few people can even use 1gbit. I now need to go read about this in detail but it seems it might cause packet loss because they are not placing the correct delays between packets.

If asus will replace the motherboard that may be your cheapest option but also a lot of effort compared to just inserting a new ethernet card. You could also buy a usb ethernet card. Be sure to use a USB3 card and port to get full gigabit speeds.

Yeah, not exactly in the mood right now to tear everything apart and deal with waiting for the RMA process. I'll probably go with a pcie card. Could you give any recommendations on what I should buy? Just want to make sure im not getting something that would potentially be a downgrade in performance, and I don't know what exactly to look for.

 

[SamirD]

If it is media disconnected that is most times some hardware problem. Most times this is caused by a cable but I would not think just resetting the driver would fix it. I have not looked your motherboard up but asus sometimes bundle some "gamer" qos stuff that causes all kinds of issues. Your motherboard may also have a so called "green" power option for the ethernet. This also causes lots of strange issues because it drops the power output.

Hence why I usually suggest trying a linux live cd/usb to check out the hardware there. If it does the same thing then it clearly points to a hardware issue.

 

[SamirD]

I'll probably go with a pcie card. Could you give any recommendations on what I should buy?

pcie nics are pretty much a commodity right now that almost anything will work, but I would buy brand new and buy at a local retailer like Best Buy because online there are massive amounts of fake cards out there. Most of these cards (if not all of them) will be using a realtek chipset. Very few companies make legit cards using legit Intel chipsets, and there's a lot of Intel fakes online. (I would hazard a guess as to more than 50% are fakes--I learned this from personal experience. I eventually got genuine Intel cards by getting genuine used HP cards that were made by Intel.)