Inspiron N5110 Will Not Detect NIC

Question

The hard drive in my mother's Inspiron 15R (N5110) went bad this past weekend. After installing a new hard drive (a ridiculously complex process on this model), I reloaded Windows 7 and tried to install drivers.

No matter what I do, the ethernet controller drivers will not load. At the end of the install process I get a message that says, "The Realtek Network Controller was not found. If Deep Sleep Mode is enabled Please Plug the Cable."

There are numerous threads about this problem both here on the Dell forums and on other websites. This is clearly a pretty common issue but I haven't found a solution that works yet.

I'm using the NIC driver from the Drivers & Downloads page after entering my service tag. It's the 64-bit driver and a 64-bit version of Windows 7. It's a fresh Windows install on a brand new, blank hard drive. I've reset the BIOS to defaults and connected a cable from the ethernet jack to my router, just in case there really is a "Deep Sleep Mode" involved.

And to answer the first question I've seen asked in many of these threads, I reformatted the hard drive, reinstalled Windows, and installed the drivers in exactly the order listed in this thread about a similar problem with the wireless card: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/network-internet-wireless/f/3324/t/19522822.aspx

I'm at my wits' end. Does anyone have any other ideas?

ieee488 · Answer

http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=&l=en&s=bsd&docid=268873

jwcochran3 · Answer

ieee488, I addressed driver install order in my initial post. It isn't the problem here.

DELL-Ravi Ch · Answer

Hi jwcochran3,

Good work on troubleshooting. I would suggest you to update the BIOS, chipset and then Ethernet card drivers in sequence using the link below by downloading it on a different system and transferring it.

BIOS : http://dell.to/1gD5ue4

Chipset : http://dell.to/IRpPOs

Chipset : http://dell.to/1hYfaAl

Ethernet card : http://dell.to/18wdsmy

Please let me know if this helps.

Anonymous User · Answer

oops... i forgot... my lappy is Dell inspiron 7520 SE....not 5110...so to clarify it....

Anonymous User · Answer

Hello....

This is my first time here........I have the same problem as "jwcochran3"......and i also ditto repeated the steps to resolve it...but to no avail.i have also tried ur method but no solution.....i even removed the battery for 3 hours or more...but nothing.......it just hapened two days agpo...the adapter just vanished...and deep sleep mode error....should i rma the board????any help will be aprreciated...

thnks

Anonymous User · Answer

No HELP............Come on DELL...i really need help

Philip_Yip · Answer

Okay try a few things.

First verify whether or not you have any error messages in the device manager and provide a screenshot of the device manager with Network Controllers expanded. The process of doing this is explained in my Windows Reinstallation Guide/A Clean install of Windows 7 Step 12 (page 52):

http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/

If the NIC device is displayed, you may try updating it via the Device Manger. See page 307 of the guide for details.

If the above doesn't work or the NIC doesn't show in the device manager. Then the next thing to do is access the Dell BIOS and toggle the settings for the NIC on and off. Let Windows load with it "off" and then power down. Turn it back "on" and then load Windows again, retry installation of the driver in the normal manner. See page 350 of the guide for details, it mentions the card reader but in your case you should follow the same instructions just with the onboard LAN controller.

Anonymous User · Answer

Thank You...for noticing.....Here's the screen shot

i tried ur option...but nothing...i have also searched every thread on the net....implemented every possible solution...but no result...solutions i have tried:

1) Updated the bios 2) Reinstall clean win 7/8.1 3) install drivers in correct order(dell's given order) 4) take out battery for more than 5 hours

6) hold the power button to release static charge for 1 min

i have also checked the bios settings and selected the option "Load optimal defaults". i have done these steps multiple times but no solution....then i installed win 8 .1( thnking that it would somehow solve the problem but no.) All the drivers for win 7/8.1 were taken from dell's website.and installed in correct order...but same result on win 8.1....whenever i try to install ethernet driver it gives an error ( realtek ethernet controller not found.if deep sleep mode is enabled plug the cable)....it was working fine till a week ago..then suddenly...so is it a hardware malfunction....?

lappy specs:

dell inspiron 7520 se

core i5-3210m

4gb ram,1tb hard, win 8.1 bios -A10

edit: I live in a hostel so i use wifi there and in doing so i always disable the lan adapter and enabled the wifi one...and vice versa when iam at home. i remember a week ago i was gaming on this lappy..and it overheated and shutdown itself...i again started it after 30 secs...but at time nothing happened..is it the after effect of overheating...it overheated first time....so??? what u thnk integrated nic got fried?

Philip_Yip · Answer

It does seem like a hardware issue. Reinstalling the OS won't help as its just not detecting the device.

Disabling and re-enabling the device also didn't help therefore I'd say the hardware not working correctly.

Run the full F12 preboot diagnostics and any extended tests.

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Inspiron N5110 Will Not Detect NIC

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