Killer Network not working! :(

[sophiebeth100]

Hiya,

I turned my PC on last night and was greeted by having no internet connection and there being a red 'X' next to the ethernet symbol.

I know this isn't an issue with my router as my laptop and phone are connected to it just fine, and I have tried two other ethernet cables so the cable isn't the issue either,

I have done a fresh install of the drivers several times and nothing has changed - what is the issue??!! 🙁(

I have an MSI Z87-G45 motherboard also, and have tried both using the software suite for the killer network adapter and downloading just the barebones drivers and using those instead - neither work!

Any help would be great, thank you!!!

Sophie

EDIT: It also isn't an issue with the ethernet port on the motherboard because I have a wireless network adapter and it does the exact same thing. 🙁

 

[rhysiam]

It's almost certainly a software issue if both your wireless and Ethernet adapters have stopped working at the same time. It sounds like you've already tried a bunch of the standard troubleshooting steps.

A few other things to think about/try...

Did you change anything before it stopped working? Any cables? Did you install new software or Windows updates? Anything at all? If so, try rolling back the updates, uninstalling the software, or any way you can of "undoing" whatever you changed to see if it fixes the problem.

When you plug a LAN cable in, do you get any lights on the connection? Most LAN ports have lights when a physical detection is connected. That should work even if drivers or software have failed. If you don't have lights on the PC side, the light on your router's port should turn on, indicating a physical connection is detected.

Have you tried the built-in Windows Troubleshooter? It's not the best, but if it is a software issue there's a chance that process will pick it up. Right click on your network icon (with the cross in it) and choose "Troubleshoot Problems". Follow the wizard.

Just check that the adapters haven't been somehow disabled. You need Device Manager, (assuming Win10) right click on the start menu, choose "Device Manager", expand "Network Adapters" and check you can see both your Killer Ethernet (might be "Qualcomm" something - I believe that's what they're based on) and wireless adapters, and that they're not disabled. If they're not listed, check any "unknown devices", and go into your BIOS and check they haven't been disabled there.

 

[sophiebeth100]

It's almost certainly a software issue if both your wireless and Ethernet adapters have stopped working at the same time. It sounds like you've already tried a bunch of the standard troubleshooting steps.

A few other things to think about/try...

Did you change anything before it stopped working? Any cables? Did you install new software or Windows updates? Anything at all? If so, try rolling back the updates, uninstalling the software, or any way you can of "undoing" whatever you changed to see if it fixes the problem.

When you plug a LAN cable in, do you get any lights on the connection? Most LAN ports have lights when a physical detection is connected. That should work even if drivers or software have failed. If you don't have lights on the PC side, the light on your router's port should turn on, indicating a physical connection is detected.

Have you tried the built-in Windows Troubleshooter? It's not the best, but if it is a software issue there's a chance that process will pick it up. Right click on your network icon (with the cross in it) and choose "Troubleshoot Problems". Follow the wizard.

Just check that the adapters haven't been somehow disabled. You need Device Manager, (assuming Win10) right click on the start menu, choose "Device Manager", expand "Network Adapters" and check you can see both your Killer Ethernet (might be "Qualcomm" something - I believe that's what they're based on) and wireless adapters, and that they're not disabled. If they're not listed, check any "unknown devices", and go into your BIOS and check they haven't been disabled there.

Yes I already tried the windows troubleshooter and it suggests that the cable isn't plugged in - surely this means the issue must be with the LAN port itself? There is no flashing light either when I plug in the LAN cable which there usually is - thanks for pointing this out.

However surely the wireless adapter should work, since this is separate to the motherboard? I'm not sure but that's what I would assume.

Really hope I don't have to replace my motherboard because of this. 🙁 so where do I go from here?

 

[sophiebeth100]

Bump - still broken 🙁

 

[u2desire420]

If you have access to another computer download Linux Mint and boot with it and see if Wireless and Ethernet work in Mint. If it doesn't work in Mint either than its hardware.

 

[rhysiam]

If you have access to another computer download Linux Mint and boot with it and see if Wireless and Ethernet work in Mint. If it doesn't work in Mint either than its hardware.

This is a great suggestion.

I was originally thinking software because both Ethernet & Wireless "stopped" working, but you never know I guess. You weren't in the BIOS were you? It's worth checking they haven't been disabled in the BIOS.

 

[sophiebeth100]

Still haven't found the issue but I purchased a USB to LAN adapter and it's working fine now. A lazy alternative, I know, but saves the hassle of having to buy a new motherboard is that was the issue. After my exams are over and I have some free time I might try the Linux thing, as I would love to know what the issue actually is. Thanks for the help everyone

 

[rhysiam]

Thanks for the update, sorry you didn't get it sorted "properly".

A USB Ethernet adapter is probably fine. And if you have issues with it, just get a cheap PCIe network adapter and it will absolutely be fine. Despite fancy branding like "killer" and "game first", it's all pretty nonsense. It's akin to someone who has to commute across London believing they can reduce the impact of traffic on their drive to work by ensuring that any family members who use the driveway to the house have to give way to them as they leave. Your network card has absolutely no control over packets once they leave your router for the Internet, and the likelihood that any lag-causing congestion is occurring on your gigabit home network is very, very low.

Anyway, sounds like you have a decent work around for now and a good suggestion to follow if you have time to look into it further down the track. Good luck.

 

[u2desire420]

I am wondering if the problem might actually be either the PCIe controller or one of the PCIe drivers. Now that you are online you can try going to Device Manager and under System Devices for each of the PCIe devices check for updates. I would also check Event Viewer for any Hardware Events. You can find that section under Application and Service Logs.