[Windows 7] Ethernet port not recognised by OS

[rexo12]

So, i'm trying to link up an old Dell system running Opensuse 13.1 to a Windows 7 machine via an ethernet cable, and sharing the connection from a USB dongle on the Windows machine (not an ideal situation, i know.) The problem is, the Ethernet port on the Windows 7 machine isnt showing up in the OS. There is an orange light on both machines, and the Ethernet port is working on the Opensuse system, but i cant find the Ethernet port in "ipconfig" or in "view network connections" on the Windows machine.

W7 machine specs:
- Windows 7 Home Premium.
- Asus H81M-E Mobo (Realtek® 8111G, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s))
- D-Link DWA-160 Xtreme N Dual Band USB Adapter(rev.B2)
- i3 4150 CPU
- Radeon 280x
- EVGA 850 G2 PSU
All drivers should be up to date.

Opensuse Machine specs:
- Opensuse 13.1
- Dell Optiplex 755 (Small Form Factor)
- Intel 82566DM Gigabit ethernet controller
- Core 2 Duo 2.6Ghz
- integrated GPU.
- generic Dell PSU (200W or something)
All drivers should be up to date.

I did fiddle around with the Ethernet card on the Windows machine when i was trying to run a headless Raspberry Pi, but i don't think that worked at all. That may contribute to this issue im having now?

The Windows machine also has ICS running on the USB adapter, but at the moment all i want is to have the Windows 7 Machine and Opensuse machine to at least recognise each other through the Ethernet port. I'll deal with connecting it to the wider LAN later.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Update: I booted the Windows 7 machine to a Linux disk (Ubuntu 15.10) and it recognised the Ethernet port fine. So it's definitely an issue with the OS. I'll reinstall the RealTek drivers and come back with an update.

 

[rexo12]

Alright, The issue seems to be mostly resolved. It boiled down to a simple driver issue (i feel a bit silly now.) I went ahead and got the updated LAN drivers for my Motherboard. Hope this helps anyone with this issue.