10h of troubleshooting and Network Adapter still won't show up on brand new Windows 10 install.

[JCUDOS]

INTRO

1. No "Network Adapter" or network functionality will show up after installing Windows 10, from "Installation Media" usb stick created a while ago, on the NVMe SSD in my new system

(MOBO: ASRock B550M Pro4, GPU: Gigabyte 4070 Ti, CPU: 5800X, RAM: 2x16Gb Partiot Viper 3600 Mghz, STORAGE: 512GB SEKC SM250 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD PCIe Gen 3x4, 1TB Samgsung 870 Evo)

• In BIOS > Advanced > Onboard LAN (was already enabled)

 

2. Network "Troubleshooter" gives this error: "Install a driver for your network adapter

Windows did not detect a properly installed network adapter. If you have a network adapter, you will need to re-install the driver."

 

3. Installed "Realtek Lan driver ver:10039_03232020" for "Windows 10 64 bit" from ASRock's site leads to this error: 
"The Realtek Network Controller was not found. If Deep Sleep Mode is enabled Please Plug the Cable."

• In BIOS > Advanced > ACPI Configuration > Deep Sleep (was already disabled)

 

4. Tried removing NVMe SSD and reinstalling windows fresh on regular SSD (solved the issue according to a user on Tom's Hardware.)

 

5. Installing "AMD chipset driver ver:2.11.26.106" resolved a few issues icons (exclamation marks) in Device Manager.
But then, installing "Realtek LAN driver" leads to same error. "The Realtek Network Controller was not found. If Deep Sleep Mode is enabled Please Plug the Cable."

 

6. Cleared the CMOS by shorting the Pins. The clear CMOS seems to have worked since the RAM clocks were back to defaults but the Realtek Network Adapter is still nowhere to be found.

 

OPTIONS LEFT

1. Clear CMOS again but removing the battery this time just in case it only partially cleared last time, if that's even possible. 

2. A friend suggested flashing the BiOS.

 

INCENTIVE

I've been up for over 18h and I will have a ridiculously hard time to sleep before I get some progress. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Help me and I'll offer you quasi-immortality if I ever get to build my dream Matrioshka Brain / Dyson Sphere!!!  

[Radium_Angel]

Go to Device Manager.

Find the Network adapter in question (probably has a "!" mark next to it)

Right click on it and go to "Properties"

Choose the "Details" tab and on the drop down box choose "Device IDs"

The first line will be something like "PCI\VEN_(spmething)"

 

Post that full line (or a screenshot) here please

[JCUDOS]

9 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Go to Device Manager.

Find the Network adapter in question (probably has a "!" mark next to it)

Right click on it and go to "Properties"

Choose the "Details" tab and on the drop down box choose "Device IDs"

The first line will be something like "PCI\VEN_(spmething)"

 

Post that full line (or a screenshot) here please

Thanks for replying!

The Network Adapter is nowhere to be found in Device Manager.

Under "Device Manager > Network Adapters" there only are the "WAN Miniport (...)".
I checked in other sections of Device Manager in case it was misidentified but didn't find it. 

After installing "AMD chipset driver ver:2.11.26.106" there are no icons left with an exclamation mark in Device Manager.

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, JCUDOS said:

Thanks for replying!

The Network Adapter is nowhere to be found in Device Manager.

Under "Device Manager > Network Adapters" there only are the "WAN Miniport (...)".
I checked in other sections of Device Manager in case it was misidentified but didn't find it. 

After installing "AMD chipset driver ver:2.11.26.106" there are no icons left with an exclamation mark in Device Manager.

You are welcome.

 

If it isn't showing up under anything (I assume you expanded all the device options) then it's disabled in BIOS...or damaged on the mobo and not showing up there.

 

A slightly more complex way to determine what is going on:

 

Download to a USB stick, a LiveUSB install of Linux Mint (it's very windows like) and run from said USB stick.

If you get networking under Linux, then there is something massively wrong with your Windows install (in other words...it's a software issue)

If you don't get networking under Mint...then you have a hardware issue

[JCUDOS]

39 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

You are welcome.

 

If it isn't showing up under anything (I assume you expanded all the device options) then it's disabled in BIOS...or damaged on the mobo and not showing up there.

 

A slightly more complex way to determine what is going on:

 

Download to a USB stick, a LiveUSB install of Linux Mint (it's very windows like) and run from said USB stick.

If you get networking under Linux, then there is something massively wrong with your Windows install (in other words...it's a software issue)

If you don't get networking under Mint...then you have a hardware issue

Thanks!

Great idea to isolate variables! (Though the prospect is a bit scary since I'm past the month to return the product and Newegg doesn't have the best reputation with RMAs. Worst case scenario, I have a free PCIe slot for a network expansion. But it'd be a pretty sad way to start my relationship with this new system. Lol)

Anyway, one step at a time. I might use Tails, instead of Mint, since it's made to boot without installation from something like a USB stick (unless there's a reason not to use Tails for this).

 

Edit*: I should have guessed the meaning but googled it and found out what "LiveUSB install" means, so no need for Tails! Haha

[Radium_Angel]

24 minutes ago, JCUDOS said:

Thanks!

Great idea to isolate variables! (Though the prospect is a bit scary since I'm past the month to return the product and Newegg doesn't have the best reputation with RMAs. Worst case scenario, I have a free PCIe slot for a network expansion. But it'd be a pretty sad way to start my relationship with this new system. Lol)

Anyway, one step at a time. I might use Tails, instead of Mint, since it's made to boot without installation from something like a USB stick (unless there's a reason not to use Tails for this).

 

Edit*: I should have guessed the meaning but google it and found out what "LiveUSB install" means, so no need for Tails!

No worries, I suggest Linux Mint simply because it's n00b friendly, and has a wide driver base already pre-installed.

Good luck, keep us up to date on what's happening.

[Harmsway1283]

I had a problem like this recently. My itx motherboard’s wifi card wouldn’t show up or work after I installed windows. I had to use a USB 3.0 to ethernet dongle to get on the network and after I updated windows the wifi card showed up. 
 

I had previously tried to download standalone drivers from my other pc, but when installing them I kept getting a “this version of windows doesn’t support this device” error.

[JCUDOS]

2 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

No worries, I suggest Linux Mint simply because it's n00b friendly, and has a wide driver base already pre-installed.

Good luck, keep us up to date on what's happening.

Will do!
Now that i see how much I still have to test and how much attention I'll still have to supply, fatigue is proving a more powerful force than expected haha... So my answer might come more in the next 48h than in the next hours. Haha

Ideas that are easier to test are still welcome from anyone in the meantime.

 

Have a nice day!

[JCUDOS]

4 minutes ago, Harmsway1283 said:

I had a problem like this recently. My itx motherboard’s wifi card wouldn’t show up or work after I installed windows. I had to use a USB 3.0 to ethernet dongle to get on the network and after I updated windows the wifi card showed up. 
 

I had previously tried to download standalone drivers from my other pc, but when installing them I kept getting a “this version of windows doesn’t support this device” error.

Chances seem thinner that it would resolve the issue, in my case, since it's the Network Adapter that is present by default rather than an addition like a wifi card (at least I think).

But it still seems worth the try. I already ordered a dongle to try updating my drivers online, if all else fails, before I give up.
Thanks for the input!

[Harmsway1283]

52 minutes ago, JCUDOS said:

since it's the Network Adapter that is present by default rather than an addition like a wifi card

Same on mine. When I said wifi card I meant the integrated m.2 wifi card that came with the motherboard. I should have been more clear about that.

[JCUDOS]

On 2/28/2023 at 10:40 AM, Harmsway1283 said:

Same on mine. When I said wifi card I meant the integrated m.2 wifi card that came with the motherboard. I should have been more clear about that.

Oh haha, hadn't even thought of it because I never shopped for MOBOs with integrated Wifi. 

 

Anyway, thanks! Gives me a bit of hope.

[JCUDOS]

On 2/28/2023 at 9:29 AM, Radium_Angel said:

No worries, I suggest Linux Mint simply because it's n00b friendly, and has a wide driver base already pre-installed.

Good luck, keep us up to date on what's happening.

I did go with Mint (cinnamon) after all. I:

1. Booted Cinnamon from USB.

2. Tried to plug in two different wires that work on my other computer once in Linux and nothing showed up in Network or Network Connections. 

 

Question:

Are there other things I should have tried while in Linux?

 

Things left to try:

Now I'm waiting for the USB-Ethernet adapter I ordered but I do not have high hopes that updating Windows will change anything since network doesn't even show in Linux.

I'll write to Newegg just in case they can help.

I might also try the idea to flash the BIOS I got from my friend.

If nothing else works I might just get a PCIe-Ethernet card.

 

 

[Radium_Angel]

21 minutes ago, JCUDOS said:

Are there other things I should have tried while in Linux?

Not really, if it doesn't show up then the NIC is either defective or turned off in the BIOS. If the BIOS has been set to default, the default for a NIC is never "off" so I'd say it's bad/defective.

[JCUDOS]

1 hour ago, Radium_Angel said:

Not really, if it doesn't show up then the NIC is either defective or turned off in the BIOS. If the BIOS has been set to default, the default for a NIC is never "off" so I'd say it's bad/defective.

Oh well, at least after updating windows with the adapter I'll get to play games with ray tracing for the first time while I wait to hear back from Newegg and ASRock. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i'll post an update if something works.

 

Thanks for helping, have a nice day!