Onboard Network Adapter isn't working

[OmecronBlazor]

So today my Nvidia GeForce 970 SSC came in and I replaced my old Nvidia GeForce 580 SC with it. I made sure to be careful with replacing the GPU as every owner should. After turning on my PC, I noticed my Network Connection switched to my Wifi adaptor (separate PCI card from the mobo) with my Ethernet cable already plugged into the Onboard Ethernet port. I further noticed that the Onboard Network adapter couldn't detect a ethernet cable plugged in. I looked into this discovering that my Ethernet port lights weren't blinking at all.

I checked my device manager to see the Onboard Network Adapter (Intel 82579V Gigabit Network Connection) being detected and no issues were found. I even checked the BIOS to see the Network adapter enabled. I also uninstalled the adapter from Device Manager, restarted my computer and saw Windows pick it up and install it again. I have the latest updates installed for the adapter. So I'm not sure if my Onboard adapter is fried from installing a new GPU? But wouldn't that mean that Windows wouldn't be able to detect the network adapter?

My Ethernet port was working fine before I installed the new GPU.

My mobo is ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 (I've had it since 2012) and I tested my ethernet cable working on the laptop I'm typing on right now.

I will appreciate any responses.


UPDATE: So I installed my 580 again to check if it helps by any means. I saw the orange LEDs blink from the Ethernet port for a couple of seconds before it stopped completely.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

It's possible for a network card to be faulty (not exactly dead) yet Windows will still detect it and report it as working even though it isn't.

Fit a new network card in to a spare PCI slot and disable the on board one in the BIOS settings.

 

[OmecronBlazor]

It's possible for a network card to be faulty (not exactly dead) yet Windows will still detect it and report it as working even though it isn't.

Fit a new network card in to a spare PCI slot and disable the on board one in the BIOS settings.

I could get a Ethernet Network Adapter but I want to exhaust all my options before coming to that conclusion. But can it really get faulty after merely changing GPUs?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Changing GPU would not normally cause it to fail. It was probably just a coincidence, or it may not be faulty, could be something else.

But why mess about when network cards only a cost a few pounds?
If the component cost a small fortune I could understand your wanting to avoid buying a new one, but not when it only costs pocket money. That's the quickest way to find out if existing one is faulty.
If you don't want to buy one, well there's no point posting on here for advice if you're not going to take it.