Question MSI B450 tomahawk max not detecting Ethernet

[WoXuS]

Oh my, where do I start...
I think I looked through every single post on this problem and still didn't find any solutions so here I am.
Just upgraded my mobo, cpu and ram (prev. mobo - msi Z77A-G43) all went well, I posted and wanted to update bios and all the drivers, but there was no Ethernet connected, it seems as if it wasn't detecting the cable - no green or orange light at the Ethernet port.
I tried:

• different Ethernet cables
• noticed in device manager that there was an excalmation point in the Network controller which said "Windows is still setting up the class configuration for this device. (Code 56)", so I googled that and they said to restart the network, which I did and the problem remains and I suspect that it's the cause of my demise, but I have no idea what else to do to fix it.
• I downloaded a bios update and LAN update on another pc with working ethernet and installed it via a USB stick, didn't work, but I noticed that the cable is being detected when the PC is booting - theres green and orange LED, but when it gets to Windows they shut off.
• I tried reinstalling Realtek drivers multiple times, which resulted in them updating, but throwing an error at the end which said "The Realtek Network Controller Was Not Found If Deep Sleep Mode Is Enabled", but it finished installation and updated, tried googling the error, saw one video in which the guy had an Ethernet Controller in "Other devices" in device manager, but that's not present in mine.
• tried disabling and enabling LAN in bios, also no effect.

The problem wasn't present on the previous motherboard and I have no more ideas what to do. Last thing I want to try is reinstalling Windows using the Windows tool, but that's the last resort as I don't want to lose data on my system drive.

 

[drea.drechsler]

... Last thing I want to try is reinstalling Windows using the Windows tool, but that's the last resort as I don't want to lose data on my system drive.

Sounds like you didn't do a clean Windows install after a new motherboard/processor. Even if you manage to somehow get your LAN to work there will just be more problems than you can imagine. Just do a clean Windows install. Just do it.

Find your files and backup everything you can first. Also be sure and make a list of all passwords and accounts. Hopefully you were using cloud game saves.

 

[WoXuS]

Yeahh I think imma do just that. If I disconnect my drive without windows on it and then clean just the SSD with the system will that suffice?

 

[drea.drechsler]

Yeahh I think imma do just that. If I disconnect my drive without windows on it and then clean just the SSD with the system will that suffice?

Should work fine, the data drive can remain unchanged. Install just the system drive, do a clean install (let Windows delete all old partitions, create and format new ones) with JUST the system drive installed. Once Windows is up and running, then install the data drive and assign it the same drive letter it had in the old system. Then it's just reinstall your apps.

If you kept everything in your documents folder (on the system drive) you can copy contents from from there to to the data drive. Then recover what you can from it after setting up the new Windows install. It's really not that hard and goes pretty fast.

 

[WoXuS]

For anyone wondering, the complete Windows reinstall fixed the issue

 

[drea.drechsler]

For anyone wondering, the complete Windows reinstall fixed the issue

Good to hear you're back up now