[SOLVED] Gigabyte B360 HD3 onboard LAN not working

[Mattjaccino]

I just upgraded my PC with an i5-9600K and an RX 5700 XT, but my ethernet port doesn't doing anything now.

This motherboard was my brothers, so I know it works as we were both wired in to our router. I installed all the drivers, but when I try to install the RTL8111 driver, it says "the network controller was not found" and quits.

What do I do?

Edit: I see in the peripherals menu on the BIOS screen that the controller is not listed, so it must be broken.

 

[Darkbreeze]

This sounds to me like you may have bent some pins on the motherboard while installing the CPU. I'd pull the CPU and check the motherboard for bent pins. If it didn't have this problem before but it does now, that is the most likely reason unless there is more to the story that we don't know.

 

[Mattjaccino]

This sounds to me like you may have bent some pins on the motherboard while installing the CPU. I'd pull the CPU and check the motherboard for bent pins. If it didn't have this problem before but it does now, that is the most likely reason unless there is more to the story that we don't know.

Damn. Can I unbend them enough to fix the issue or is it shot?

 

[Darkbreeze]

That's putting the cart before the horse.

You need to find out FIRST if there even ARE bent pins. And the only way you can determine that is by removing the CPU cooler and the CPU. Which of course is going to result in needing to clean and re-paste the CPU before reinstalling the cooler when and if you are ready to do that in case there aren't any bent pins OR there are and you are able to fix them. Sometimes you can fix bent pins on Intel LGA socket motherboards, but it really depends on how badly and how many are bent.

 

[Mattjaccino]

That's putting the cart before the horse.

You need to find out FIRST if there even ARE bent pins. And the only way you can determine that is by removing the CPU cooler and the CPU. Which of course is going to result in needing to clean and re-paste the CPU before reinstalling the cooler when and if you are ready to do that in case there aren't any bent pins OR there are and you are able to fix them. Sometimes you can fix bent pins on Intel LGA socket motherboards, but it really depends on how badly and how many are bent.

just making sure, you saw the edit I made in the post right? it not being there is most likely because pins are bent?

 

[Darkbreeze]

What about in device manager in Windows? Do you show anything under Network adapters OR are there any unknown devices or devices marked with a ? or !

 

[Mattjaccino]

What about in device manager in Windows? Do you show anything under Network adapters OR are there any unknown devices or devices marked with a ? or !

Absolutely nothing at OS level. I even found it missing in BIOS, so the OS wouidn't know about it, I'd assume

 

[Karadjgne]

What do you mean 'missing' in bios? I've had to go 4 or 5 levels deep into my bios to find things like that sometimes, it doesn't always show up where you think it should. But it definitely should be there, either enabled or disabled, it's hard-coded into the bios menu as an on/off option, it's not like a gpu or hdd which are add-in options.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'll find it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Section 2-6 Peripherals (Nested under the BIOS tab)

On-board LAN controller

Enable or disable

That option can't not be there, as it's part of the BIOS and does not change.

Also, further down the page, Realtek PCIe GBE family controller. There will be further network adapter options listed under that if the device is enabled. Also on the BIOS tab at the bottom.

 

[Mattjaccino]

Section 2-6 Peripherals (Nested under the BIOS tab)

Also, further down the page, Realtek PCIe GBE family controller. There will be further network adapter options listed under that if the device is enabled. Also on the BIOS tab at the bottom.

Exactly. I see in the manual's screenshots it should be there, but on my screen it's not.

 

[Mattjaccino]

That's putting the cart before the horse.

You need to find out FIRST if there even ARE bent pins. And the only way you can determine that is by removing the CPU cooler and the CPU. Which of course is going to result in needing to clean and re-paste the CPU before reinstalling the cooler when and if you are ready to do that in case there aren't any bent pins OR there are and you are able to fix them. Sometimes you can fix bent pins on Intel LGA socket motherboards, but it really depends on how badly and how many are bent.

I can confirm no pins are bent on the board

 

[Mattjaccino]

What about in device manager in Windows? Do you show anything under Network adapters OR are there any unknown devices or devices marked with a ? or !

I found the controller under hidden devices, and its status is "Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer (Code 45)"

 

[Karadjgne]

In Windows start-run, type CMD then CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER to open CMD as an administrator.
Type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and then ENTER. This will take a while to finish.
After type SFC /SCANNOW then ENTER.

After all that, I'd run ccleaner, and it's registry tool (default, say YES to backup)

Hopefully, that'll remove the hidden status and re-enable the port.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If the options aren't there in the BIOS, which itself is unusual, then there must be a problem with the board or something related. I'd recommend you take the board out of the case, and bench test it to see if there is a difference.

If not, I'd contact the manufacturer for an RMA because there isn't going to be anything you can do to "get it back" if it's not showing up in the BIOS where the option is supposed to be. "Not connected to the computer" means it was there at some point, and now it's not, but it's not related to anything in Windows or being enabled/disabled. It would not show under hidden items if that were the case. It would show under network adapters and either be enable or disabled based on settings.

Could be that a standoff is in the wrong place under the motherboard, or a screw got trapped between the board and the motherboard tray portion of the case, or something else is shorted or connected incorrectly. Bench testing should tell you that.

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Mattjaccino]

If the options aren't there in the BIOS, which itself is unusual, then there must be a problem with the board or something related. I'd recommend you take the board out of the case, and bench test it to see if there is a difference.

If not, I'd contact the manufacturer for an RMA because there isn't going to be anything you can do to "get it back" if it's not showing up in the BIOS where the option is supposed to be. "Not connected to the computer" means it was there at some point, and now it's not, but it's not related to anything in Windows or being enabled/disabled. It would not show under hidden items if that were the case. It would show under network adapters and either be enable or disabled based on settings.

Could be that a standoff is in the wrong place under the motherboard, or a screw got trapped between the board and the motherboard tray portion of the case, or something else is shorted or connected incorrectly. Bench testing should tell you that.

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

I think this is what it is. The board was my brother's, so it's too late to try the warranty. While I was building the PC, this didn't even occur to me yesterday, a screw fell from somewhere and landed on the board. I couldn't see it to grab it after looking, so I tilted the board to slide it to see it. It slide down past the side with all of the inputs, so I'm assuming it must touched two things together and caused some issue physically.

I ordered a network card that will be here Tuesday. Thank you guys for trying to help me.

 

[Mattjaccino]

In Windows start-run, type CMD then CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER to open CMD as an administrator.
Type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and then ENTER. This will take a while to finish.
After type SFC /SCANNOW then ENTER.

After all that, I'd run ccleaner, and it's registry tool (default, say YES to backup)

Hopefully, that'll remove the hidden status and re-enable the port.

Did this.

Still nothing. Thanks though

 

[Karadjgne]

Well if that didn't fix it, then it's not a software or driver communication error, because those commands basically reboot and reset that in bios/windows, like a hard reset. Which leaves a physical hardware issue, maybe that screw shorted between 2 points and messed up a physical component like a cap or diode. It's even possible to break the traces, especially on older boards, they seperate from the solder joint or crack.

Your solution of an adding card is usually the best fix, as it's also quite often an upgrade in bandwidth capacity.

 

[Mattjaccino]

Well if that didn't fix it, then it's not a software or driver communication error, because those commands basically reboot and reset that in bios/windows, like a hard reset. Which leaves a physical hardware issue, maybe that screw shorted between 2 points and messed up a physical component like a cap or diode. It's even possible to break the traces, especially on older boards, they seperate from the solder joint or crack.

Your solution of an adding card is usually the best fix, as it's also quite often an upgrade in bandwidth capacity.

that's what i keep telling myself lmao

thanks again for the help

 

[Darkbreeze]

STOP. A new network card is not the fix if that means you are leaving the screw where it is at under the board. A problem that is only a minor issue today may be a toasted motherboard tomorrow. You NEED to take the board back out of the case and get that screw out of there. It is not worth saving an hour's worth of time to avoid having to do this, if it means (And it will, most likely) that you leave the screw there to continue shorting out whatever it is touching. Take the board out, get the screw out of there and put the board back.

THEN if the problem is not fixed, then get a network card if you must. I still think that you would be better off getting the board replaced RIGHT NOW if getting the screw out of there doesn't fix the problem because when one thing on a motherboard fails prematurely it usually means other things are going to fail as well and it usually happens right after the warranty runs out. With a two year warranty on most their motherboards, yours might still be under warranty depending on when it was purchased.

 

[Mattjaccino]

STOP. A new network card is not the fix if that means you are leaving the screw where it is at under the board. A problem that is only a minor issue today may be a toasted motherboard tomorrow. You NEED to take the board back out of the case and get that screw out of there. It is not worth saving an hour's worth of time to avoid having to do this, if it means (And it will, most likely) that you leave the screw there to continue shorting out whatever it is touching. Take the board out, get the screw out of there and put the board back.

THEN if the problem is not fixed, then get a network card if you must. I still think that you would be better off getting the board replaced RIGHT NOW if getting the screw out of there doesn't fix the problem because when one thing on a motherboard fails prematurely it usually means other things are going to fail as well and it usually happens right after the warranty runs out. With a two year warranty on most their motherboards, yours might still be under warranty depending on when it was purchased.

it's all good man, i got the screw out right after I found it. The sliding across the board is what did the damage I believe.

The board is past the refund period on Newegg, so I don't know how to get it replaced. It was bought august 2019.

 

[Darkbreeze]

It is still under warranty. I would RMA it because it's pretty doubtful that unless that screw slid across it after being fired out of a slingshot or small caliber fire arm, it could have done any damage unless it contacted two different circuits while powered on.

You can begin an RMA at the following link but you WILL need some form of proof of purchase such as a purchase receipt or invoice.

https://ggcs.gigabyte.com/GIGABYTE-RMA-Login-User.aspx

It will mean being without a system for a couple of weeks though, so it's up to you whether you want to take the chance on the board completely failing later and just get an add in card now, or not.

 

[Mattjaccino]

It is still under warranty. I would RMA it because it's pretty doubtful that unless that screw slid across it after being fired out of a slingshot or small caliber fire arm, it could have done any damage unless it contacted two different circuits while powered on.

You can begin an RMA at the following link but you WILL need some form of proof of purchase such as a purchase receipt or invoice.

https://ggcs.gigabyte.com/GIGABYTE-RMA-Login-User.aspx

It will mean being without a system for a couple of weeks though, so it's up to you whether you want to take the chance on the board completely failing later and just get an add in card now, or not.

Thank you for the link. I filled it out and I'll see if they can send a new one. If they need an exchange, I'd just wait for this one to die or until the last day of warranty. If not, I'll replace it but use this one until it comes

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, they will "need an exchange". No hardware manufacturers, for ANY kind of hardware, will ever just send you new hardware without first receiving the faulty hardware and testing it to determine that it is actually faulty. The exception to that is occasionally one of them will offer you to pay with your credit card for the new hardware and then once they ship it to you, and you send them the old hardware, IF they find it to be defective, they will issue you a refund. Most people are cheap and won't go that route. Some do, and that is fine. In any case, nobody will send a replacement without first either getting paid or receiving the faulty part first.

If you wait until the last day of warranty, you will not get it replaced. They would need to receive the motherboard at least a week prior to the warranty expiration and they are VERY strict about exact dates of purchase, and having the purchase information.

So at this point you are probably just looking at biting the bullet and getting an add in network card, and then hoping it doesn't have other failures later. Sometimes you get lucky.