[SOLVED] Strange network issues affecting most of PC

Apr 14, 2020
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This issue has been going on for about 4 months now and no matter what I do I can't seem to fix it. Basically I am connected through ethernet and have internet but can barely do anything with it. I can't keep google chrome open for more than 30 seconds without the web page crashing and asking me to reload nor can I download anything on it without it saying failed and me clicking resume 50 times to download it (issue persist on other browsers too). I can't open up the epic games launcher because it says there was a network issue. I also can't download certain games like league of legends or Minecraft. If I eventually get their installers downloaded the installers will give me an error. Steam works for the most part (can download and play games) but I can't update it. It's just been random issues like this and it seems to keep getting worse as time goes on.

The weird thing is that I have been on this network setup for about a year. There used to be no issues and then it just popped up out of nowhere. I ran a full scan with Kaspersky to see if it was some kind of virus but nothing pops up. I have another PC hooked up to the same switch and that PC is perfectly fine. I tried using the ethernet cable from the working PC on my non-working PC and it didn't change anything. I tried a different port after that and still nothing. I also tried an NIC card and that didn't change anything either. After that, I let my dad's IT guy remote in and check it out. He's good and even he didn't find anything after several hours of going at it. I was then thinking it was something hardware related so I took it to repair shop for diagnosis. My issue was still occurring on their network. They narrowed it down to the motherboard and said it was defective so I RMA'd the motherboard. I thought I finally solved the issue until I got word from the manufacturer that they found no issues testing it with multiple configurations. I didn't believe them nor did I want to wait another 3 weeks to get it back so I got a motherboard from a different brand and rebuilt it to still find the same issue waiting for me.

I'm at a loss now. I still don't even know if it's somehow still my hardware or my network even though all other devices are working fine on it. I'm somewhat knowledgeable about computers but know very little about networks so I was hoping I'm just missing something obvious and someone could help point it out. Anything would be greatly appreciated.

As far as the network setup we have a Spectrum E31T2V1 Modem. Our internet is first connected to an Ubiquiti Unifi switch 8 which is where our Ubiquiti Unifi UAP-AC Pro Wifi router is connected to as well as my dad's PC and my TP-Link 5 port gigabit ethernet switch. Then coming from my switch I have 2 consoles hooked up through ethernet as well as the 2 PCs I mentioned. Every device besides my PC is working perfectly fine.

My PC Specs are as follows:
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra Motherboard (Former)
MSI MPG Z390 Gaming PRO Carbon Motherboard (Current)
Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU
Windows 10 Education (Version 1909)

-Spectrum is my ISP and I am hooked up through my internal LAN connection on the motherboard
-No NAS is connected to the network
 
Solution
Yeah I don't have a wireless nic. I did try a usb wifi adapter but that didn't change anything. The network card being the issue makes sense but I don't see how the issue could occur across 2 brand new motherboards from different brands
The usb wifi adapter is a wireless nic. :) Strange that it didn't solve the issue since a usb nic would not even use the same physical bus as the motherboard's nic. Did you try the usb wifi with the linux live cd?

Yes, strange it is happening to two different motherboards, but there could be something common like a short happening in the case in the same area near the nic, or just really bad luck.
Apr 14, 2020
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I booted a Linux live instance and the issue was still prevalent. That also reminds me that I forgot to mention something. One of the first things I did to try and fix the problem was I wiped my drives and did a clean install of windows. naturally that didn't fix it but I figured I should mention that.
 
If you also have the problem with the linux live boot, then it's definitely some sort of hardware issue.

It's definitely not a larger network issue as no other systems are having an issue.

I know this test would be harder to do, but is there a way you can connect your system directly to spectrum unit? This will let us know definitively if anything in the network is the issue as there can be oddball incompatibilities sometimes (I've seen it about 2 times in the decades in networking, so very rare, but does happen).
 
Apr 14, 2020
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I connected directly to the spectrum unit and the issue is still there so I guess that narrows it down to hardware. Any ideas as to what it could be if the motherboard's been ruled out? The only things that have stayed constant in this PC during this issue is the CPU, RAM, and drives but I wiped the drives when reinstalling windows and I don't see how they could relate to networking issues at all. When replacing the motherboard I also upgraded the Graphics card so I don't see that relating either. Also thank you all for helping me narrow it down. I was running out of ideas on how to troubleshoot.
 
Apr 14, 2020
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I connected directly to the spectrum unit and the issue is still there so I guess that narrows it down to hardware. Any ideas as to what it could be if the motherboard's been ruled out? The only things that have stayed constant in this PC during this issue is the CPU, RAM, and drives but I wiped the drives when reinstalling windows and I don't see how they could relate to networking issues at all. When replacing the motherboard I also upgraded the Graphics card so I don't see that relating either. Also thank you all for helping me narrow it down. I was running out of ideas on how to troubleshoot.
 
Apr 14, 2020
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I'm assuming it's somehow the CPU. unfortunately I can't swap it with my other PC to test it because my other PC has an older gen CPU in it. I can put in a new motherboard in my other PC and put the possibly defective CPU in it though so maybe I'll try that soon to see if the issue carries over.
 
I connected directly to the spectrum unit and the issue is still there so I guess that narrows it down to hardware. Any ideas as to what it could be if the motherboard's been ruled out? The only things that have stayed constant in this PC during this issue is the CPU, RAM, and drives but I wiped the drives when reinstalling windows and I don't see how they could relate to networking issues at all. When replacing the motherboard I also upgraded the Graphics card so I don't see that relating either. Also thank you all for helping me narrow it down. I was running out of ideas on how to troubleshoot.
Okay, so this tells us it's the nic or the motherboard somehow. I would say it's just the NIC, but you already tried one. Do you have another one you could try? Do you have a wireless nic you could try?
 
I'm assuming it's somehow the CPU. unfortunately I can't swap it with my other PC to test it because my other PC has an older gen CPU in it. I can put in a new motherboard in my other PC and put the possibly defective CPU in it though so maybe I'll try that soon to see if the issue carries over.
A network card isn't part of the cpu, so it really can't be the cpu. Motherboard would be the only culprit since it's built-in (and this is why I hate built-in stuff like this versus discrete cards for everything like back in the day).
 
Apr 14, 2020
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Yeah I don't have a wireless nic. I did try a usb wifi adapter but that didn't change anything. The network card being the issue makes sense but I don't see how the issue could occur across 2 brand new motherboards from different brands
 
Yeah I don't have a wireless nic. I did try a usb wifi adapter but that didn't change anything. The network card being the issue makes sense but I don't see how the issue could occur across 2 brand new motherboards from different brands
The usb wifi adapter is a wireless nic. :) Strange that it didn't solve the issue since a usb nic would not even use the same physical bus as the motherboard's nic. Did you try the usb wifi with the linux live cd?

Yes, strange it is happening to two different motherboards, but there could be something common like a short happening in the case in the same area near the nic, or just really bad luck.
 
Solution
Apr 14, 2020
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Oh gotcha lol. I thought nic's were only internal. I didn't try it on Linux. I actually haven't tried it on this motherboard either so I'll try both of those next.
 
Apr 14, 2020
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So I tried it on windows and the Linux live boot but the results were the same again. I did solve the issue though! It was the CPU. I don't know how. It makes zero sense to me. I ended up throwing my CPU in my second pc and the issue carried over. I put in a brand new 9700K into my main PC (which is what the other was) and all issues vanished. It's only been in my pc for 5 months so it's kind of weird it just flipped a switch and created this issue but luckily it seems to be under warranty. Thank you all for your help. I appreciate it :)