Ethernet problems [Help Meeeeeeee]

[tehhijack]

Ok so i bought a dell inspiron 518 a few months back i used it to surf the web and watch videos do some gaming then it went into storage for 3 months i took it back out hooked it up and it didn't want to connect to the Internet, the cable is fine and the modem. i used the same cable for another pc and it worked i also connected the cable to a different spot on the router and it still worked but when i put my dell inspiron 518 on the Ethernet cable it wouldn't connect, it had a red X where the two little computers are on the task bar im on windows 7 ultimate 64 bit by the way, so i hit troubleshoot and it told me there was no network driver installed so i googled it and came up with a driver but it was only for windows vista i tried installing it with compatibility mode and it installed but i had no luck connecting to the Internet. I have a dell 0k068d motherboard in a dell inspiron 518 the Ethernet port is a Realtek – 10/100Mb/s im just frustrated i haven't been able to fix it for a few days can you guys help? here is the link for the motherboard

http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/specs-dell-0k068d/

 

[RealBeast]

Use the 64 bit LAN driver for Vista from Dell: http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/Product/inspiron-518

 

[tehhijack]

RealBeast the problem is i already tried that dident work also when i go into device manager there is no network adapter there ive searched every inch of dells website for drivers with no luck could my lan port have died? i dont see the green and orange lights flashing on the connector and i have windows 7 64 bit so i need a windows 7 64 bit driver

 

[RealBeast]

It could be dead, but it is an onboard controller so I would check in the bios to insure that it is enabled (F2 at start I think) -- could be just that the bios battery died and the LAN adapter became disabled. (fingers crossed).

 

[tehhijack]

Could the bios battery have anything to do with it?... I just checked battery is dead il switch it out and post an update. I checked the bios and lan is enabled but i dont understand how the bios battery could cause internet to fail i thought that battery was just for the clock haha.

 

[RealBeast]

It shouldn't unless the bios is corrupted. You may also want to update your bios if you are not using 1.0.8.

 

[tehhijack]

I think im on bios 1.0.3. and nope im too scared to update my bios again after i bricked my gaming motherboard =D

 

[RealBeast]

Well if your LAN doesn't work, it's about as good as a brick. My only concern is power loss on desktops, so I put them on a UPS if they aren't already. Out of many hundreds of computer bios updates no problems.

 

[tehhijack]

Well i could always buy a pci ethernet card and not risk bricking my motherboard again haha do you know of any way to do a backup of my bios incase something goes wrong?

 

[RealBeast]

Dell has no bios backup capability like some of the enthusiast boards, like ASUS, so it's your call. I build all my machines so fear is not an option.

 

[tehhijack]

Eh..... il try and buy a cheapo pci ethernet card first if all fails il do a bios update if that fails il finish my gaming rig with a brand new asus board =D

 

[RealBeast]

I've used many of this model and it's cheap, and works well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704060 Your board should have two empty PCIe x1 slots.

 

[tehhijack]

I don't know if it will fit my case i have a PNY GTX 550ti using up 2 of my slots one of the PCIe X1 slot is completely covered by the video card and the other one is extremely close to the fan i think it will not let the GTX 550 ti breathe i might just get a pci card but i dont know i might buy that one il post some pics later 🙁

 

[RealBeast]

I've used a couple of PCI NICs in the last few years on old machines, both were http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166005 and worked fine with Windows 7.

 

[tehhijack]

Well i bought one of these hope it works i can always buy another one i might just buy the one you suggested http://www.ebay.com/itm/Netgear-Gigabit-Ethernet-PCI-Adapter-Card-/160948653113?pt=US_Internal_Network_Cards&hash=item2579498c39

 

[tehhijack]

OK great.... i tried replacing battery, dident work. just flashed my bios from 1.0.3 to 1.0.8 and now i have no sound help anybody?

 

[tehhijack]

Also my original problem still persists 🙁

-[EDIT]- fixed my no audio problem i went into device manager and disabled hd audio device restarted pc and click volume icon in task bar it troubleshooted problems and it fixed it but my no Internet problem is still there [:russk1:9]

 

[RealBeast]

Your new card didn't work or it isn't there yet? Did you check to see that LAN is enabled in the bios and try re-installing the drivers under the new bios?

 

[tehhijack]

No my card is still being delivered it will be here in a few days as for the lan yes it is enabled and i removed all drivers and reinstalled. Still no internet [😛dxalex]

-[EDIT]- When i go into device manager there is no networking icon so i cant try and install it from there and or disable and enable would you happen to have a fix for this? as far as i know when something breaks widows recognizes it as not working or malfunctioning it just wont flat out dissapear.

 

[RealBeast]

It usually only disappear if it is removed (or off in bios) or broken. I'm convinced.

 

[tehhijack]

well we will see when my new card gets here for all we know even that wont work and i need a new mobo =( but i dont know it might fix my problem

 

[RealBeast]

There's no reason that your PCI slot shouldn't work, so I expect that the new card will fix the issue. That's the hard part about troubleshooting without a pile of parts in the closet, it takes longer. It's better now though -- when I started building computers in the 70's if you needed a driver, you had to call the company and have them mail it on a floppy disk. And then a week later find out that wasn't the issue.

 

[tehhijack]

Haha i feel you

 

[tehhijack]

Ok RealBeast it is out for delivery it will be here in the next few hours il get back to you once i install and i confirm it working either way you will hear from me if it works or if it doesent

 

[RealBeast]

Alright!