My computer won't recognize there is an Ethernet cable plugged in

[Erice1996]

I have a an Ethernet cable (that I have tested on my laptop so I know it works) plugged into my computer and the light blinks green in the back but it won't let me connect to the internet or even recognize a cable is plugged in. Any ideas on how to fix this?

 

[nukemaster]

Does the switch or router port also light up?

Some cards have green mode that causes the port to now work if nothing is on the other end. I have seen some times when this feature back fires if the router/switch has the same feature(they are both expecting a signal from each other).

You should also ensure you have the latest drivers from the card or motherboard makers web site.

 

[Erice1996]

P.S. : I've had this problem before and apparently the port was turned off and I was able to turn it back on by doing a diagnose and repair. But this time the repair doesn't fix it. Is there a way to manually check? If so how?

 

[Erice1996]

It lights up where I plug the cable in and the router does too. I don't know much about computers :/ but I have a general idea of how they work

 

[nukemaster]

Normally the Green Ethernet thing would cause no light, it looks like a dead cable(Green Ethernet, not your issue.)

Has this computers network card worked in the past? Has anything been changed on the system like an OS reinstall.

If it is older, maybe you have a crossover cable or something(some older hardware does not work right with crossover cables, while most new hardware will auto adapt to it).

 

[Erice1996]

I haven't installed any new hardware or software.

 

[nukemaster]

And it just stopped working one day or was not used in the past?

Can you check to ensure the drivers are installed and maybe grab the latest from the board/card/system makers website and bring them over on a flash drive to install and see if it helps.

 

[Erice1996]

Yeah it just stopped working one day and I fixed it like I had said earlier, but this time I can't fix it. I'll try to check if the drivers are up to date and I'll post my findings.

 

[Erice1996]

Feel like a moron but how do I check the drivers are installed? I tried the downloading the latest from the makers but that didn't help

 

[nukemaster]

You can check under device manager
Start + R and type devmgmt.msc

It will be under Network adapters.

If the latest did not help, it may be something else.

You may need to go into basics. I hate to recommend changing what seems to be a good cable, but we are running low on options.

 

[Erice1996]

You can check under device manager
Start + R and type devmgmt.msc

It will be under Network adapters.

If the latest did not help, it may be something else.

You may need to go into basics. I hate to recommend changing what seems to be a good cable, but we are running low on options.

There's no tab for network adapters. Maybe that's the problem?

 

[nukemaster]

Not under Monitors and above Portable Devices.

That could be an issue for sure.

Do you see any devices with a ? or ! on them?

 

[Erice1996]

Nope no ? Or !

 

[nukemaster]

And Windows can still tell you a cable is not connected?

Should have looked something like this(guess I have no portable devices on this system )

 

[Erice1996]

Well it just doesn't recognize there is a wired connection and yeah it looks just like that but no network adapter tab. I should also note that it won't connect to the internet when I use my iPhones portable hotspot connected via USB

 

[nukemaster]

I have never seen a lack of Network tab yet windows still seeing no cable(normally you do not even see that until the card is installed.).

Can I get more system specs.

What board are you running? I want to see what settings it has.

 

[Erice1996]

Yeah I can get them if you explain how I don't know how to get the specs or know what board lol computer noob here.

 

[nukemaster]

Well if it is a pre-built system(HP/DELL/Compaq/Acer/ect) the model number off the case should be all that is needed.

If it is a custom built system you can use the Mainboard tab in cpu-z
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

 

[Erice1996]

So the product #? That's kq495aa-aba otherwise it's the HP Pavilion a6500f PC I'm working on getting the mode now

 

[nukemaster]

I have not seem HP system used any kind of green networking or anything. I know Nvidia had a strange setup in the past for networking(nforce firewall/ect).

I will see how the network card shows up on an old Compaq since it was an older HP system as well(HP owns Compaq after all).

 

[Erice1996]

Yeah it's a nvidia. Btw thanks for the help.

 

[nukemaster]

I do not have good news. The older(XP system, but it has an Nforce based chipset and realtek based network card) system I checked DOES show network cards in the same spot as my newer systems.

I almost have to wonder if some kind of hardware failure has happened with the onboard network card.

What do you see

If you felt adventurous, I would recommend trying a live CD/DVD of Linux. Live CD's do not install as long as you run them in live mode(they are not fast because they run off the cd/dvd, but they to work). They tend to have drivers for almost everything and at least if the network card worked on it, you would know it is a Windows issue and not a hardware failure issue.

 

[Erice1996]

Well no internet seems to be the least of my problems. Now when I turn it on it just has a black screen. Yes the monitor is plugged in.. Guess the motherboard is going on it. Time for a new computer.

 

[nukemaster]

Damn that is just bad luck.

 

[Erice1996]

Damn that is just bad luck.

Lol that it is. Thanks for the help anyways