Help! Network Adapter Not Detected

[CHpatent]

Hi- I can't get either of my Ethernet adapters to appear in the Device Manager (one is onboard and the other a new PCI card).

Everything was working more or less fine and yesterday my computer froze a few times (once with a BAD_POOL_HEADER blue screen) and then after rebooting the last time all internet connectivity vanished. I rolled back to an earlier restore point, rebooted the router a few times, replaced the ethernet cable, checked to make sure the LAN controller wasn't disabled in the BIOS, even flashed the BIOS and nothing helped. Fearing hardware, I bought a new Ethernet card today but that won't appear either in the Device Manager. Now I'm including to think it's software again.

My Fatal1ty Z77 Professional motherboard has a built in Broadcom (BCM57781). I have uninstalled and re-installed the latest drivers.

Today I bought Startech ST100SLP 10/100 Mbps Low Profile PCI Ethernet Network Adapter Card from J&R (only one they had in stock). Latest Realtek drivers have also been installed and nothing appears in the Device Manager.

Help!

Many thanks!

 

[smartguy90]

If your computer froze, and gave you a BAD_POOL_HEADER blue screen error, which is related to hardware most of the time, I'd suspect a bad motherboard at this point.

Reading your post you said you purchased a new Ethernet card, I assume you mean a Network Interface Card, that doesn't work in the PCI slot. You installed drivers and everything, it's not recognized. Do you have another computer you can try to install the card in and see if it works then? If it works then, then the first computer is screwed, which we already know to be true. Let me think.

You flashed BIOS, this is big, every setting is back to normal.

Yeah bud, I'd say you need a new motherboard. Answer these questions for me :


Is your computer in a well ventilated area? How often do do maintenance on it? Maintenance meaning cleaning it with compressed air.

One shot transistor could mean the end of internet as you know it, that easy man.

 

[CHpatent]

Appreciate the response. I think you got to the right answer faster than the other tech support I've asked from MS & ASRock. Board is on its way back to get replaced.

Didn't have another computer to test the NIC on, but also did a clean install of Win7 on a separate HD and had same problems (yes, all latest drivers). Still feels random to loose the onboard NA and a PCI slot. Graphics card still worked fine. It was a new build less than 90 days old in a Corsair 650D, so I don't think it was ventilation.

 

[CHpatent]

Best answer selected by chpatent.