Intel Gigabit Ethernet adapter won't work with Cat6 (or any) Ethernet cable

[Tommyy]

EDIT: I realize this kind of issue has been posted about numerous times with all of their solutions not working for me. I will delete the post if i can.


I recently bought a 20M (65~ ft) Cat6 grade cable. Before that i was having issues with a Cat5E cable which was only getting link speeds of maximum 100Mbps. I tried forcing the link speed to 1Gig full and half duplex but had no luck, it just resulted in the error "network cable unplugged". So thinking my cable was the problem i changed to a Cat6 cable but now i get the same "network cable unplugged" error no matter what link speed i choose. Trying the old Cat5E cable now results in "network cable unplugged" error as well.

I feel that this points to my Ethernet port (just inbuilt in the motherboard which is an Asrock H97m Pro4 however is does support 10/100/1000Mbps).... So i tried:

* both cables in another computer -> both worked and speed-test results were around 700/700 Mbps (close enough to what we pay for)
* uninstalling and re-installing my Ethernet drivers
* restarting the computer
* changing direction of cables (last ditch effort)


Does anybody have any ideas of fixes i could try before i go and spend money on a new Ethernet card?

 

[accessrandom]

Sounds like the only other variable may be the other side of the cables. Were you plugging into the same port on the switch or router for both computers? Or was each computer going into a different port? It could be a bad port on the device you're plugging into.

 

[smorizio]

make sure there no plastic or io shield in the port or shorting the mb out. also try reinstalling the newest intel chipset drivers to make sure nothing damaged.

 

[antishill]

Test with another ethernet switch. Borrow one from a friend/work etc. and test.

 

[boju]

Win 7 or 10? This an upgrade or fresh install/reset?

If continuing from an os upgrade possibly driver conflict. Try reinstalling as stated.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H97M%20Pro4/#Support

Gigabit link speed relies on all 8 wires to be in good condition, if not then the link speed down is 100 / 4 wires.

Test with another device or another switch port as stated as above also

 

[Tommyy]

Sounds like the only other variable may be the other side of the cables. Were you plugging into the same port on the switch or router for both computers? Or was each computer going into a different port? It could be a bad port on the device you're plugging into.

I tried both ends of the cables in all 3 Gigabit ports in the router and all worked for the laptop but not for the desktop.

 

[Tommyy]

make sure there no plastic or io shield in the port or shorting the mb out. also try reinstalling the newest intel chipset drivers to make sure nothing damaged.

Just checked both the ports in the router and the motherboard and none had any sort of obstructions.

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[Tommyy]

Win 7 or 10? This an upgrade or fresh install/reset?

If continuing from an os upgrade possibly driver conflict. Try reinstalling as stated.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H97M%20Pro4/#Support

Gigabit link speed relies on all 8 wires to be in good condition, if not then the link speed down is 100 / 4 wires.

Test with another device or another switch port as stated as above also

Windows 10, however i definitely think it is a hardware problem now, as i booted into a Ubuntu drive and had no Ethernet in that either. I have also tried using both windows and Intel drivers and neither have not had any luck.

Thanks for the ideas though

 

[Solandri]

Take a peek inside the Ethernet port with a flashlight. There are 8 wires an an angle. These fall onto the 8 contacts on the RJ45 plug. They are spring-loaded and will collapse down as the plug is inserted, The spring mechanism presses then against the contacts, insuring a good and steady contact.

https://www.pcweenie.com/images/hni/s03p002_ethernetPorts.jpg
https://img.digitaltrends.com/image/ethernet-port-625x300-c.jpg

Sometimes one or more of these wires get stuck in the down position. Without the spring pushing it up into the contact on the plug, you get an intermittent or no connection.

Another problem I encountered once was improper installation of the motherboard into the case. The motherboard has a bunch of ports which rise up. The exact arrangement of the ports is different for each motherboard, so it will also ship with a sheet metal cutout which fits over the ports and allows it to fit into a standard case cutout.

https://i.imgur.com/9h4iwpY.jpg

The sheet metal has small metal clips which attach to the ports, locking the two together so it won't bend in if you press it. In this one instance, one of these clips that was supposed to fall on top of the Ethernet port was actually in front of it. It wasn't enough to block insertion of the RJ45 plug, but it did prevent full insertion of the plug, causing intermittent contact.

 

[Tommyy]

Test with another ethernet switch. Borrow one from a friend/work etc. and test.

I will start asking around to see if anyone has one. Could you explain why this could help?

 

[Tommyy]

Take a peek inside the Ethernet port with a flashlight. There are 8 wires an an angle. These fall onto the 8 contacts on the RJ45 plug. They are spring-loaded and will collapse down as the plug is inserted, The spring mechanism presses then against the contacts, insuring a good and steady contact.

https://www.pcweenie.com/images/hni/s03p002_ethernetPorts.jpg
https://img.digitaltrends.com/image/ethernet-port-625x300-c.jpg

Sometimes one or more of these wires get stuck in the down position. Without the spring pushing it up into the contact on the plug, you get an intermittent or no connection.

Another problem I encountered once was improper installation of the motherboard into the case. The motherboard has a bunch of ports which rise up. The exact arrangement of the ports is different for each motherboard, so it will also ship with a sheet metal cutout which fits over the ports and allows it to fit into a standard case cutout.

https://i.imgur.com/9h4iwpY.jpg

The sheet metal has small metal clips which attach to the ports, locking the two together so it won't bend in if you press it. In this one instance, one of these clips that was supposed to fall on top of the Ethernet port was actually in front of it. It wasn't enough to block insertion of the RJ45 plug, but it did prevent full insertion of the plug, causing intermittent contact.

Hi, thank you for the reply. I have checked both the router and the motherboard and none had any obstructions nor bent pins and there are also no clips blocking the full seating of the plug. At this point im thinking a PCI-E NIC would be a quick fix.

Thank you for trying

 

[boju]

Flash light, magnifying glass, did you look inside the rj45 port on the motherboard closely?

 

[Tommyy]

Flash light, magnifying glass, did you look inside the rj45 port on the motherboard closely?

Yep, there are very slight scratches from plugging and unplugging cables but nothing that should cause interference between the pins and all of them are dead straight and still have spring to them. I'm going to try using a Ethernet switch as mentioned earlier and if that doesn't work then maybe a new NIC.

Thank you for the help