Ethernet Network Interface Card problem HELP!

Bklyn Gal,

Did you ever re-install the operating system at any point?

Do you see any yellow exclaimination marks or red x's in the device manager?  (right click my computer, left click properties, left click hardware, left click device manager)

Rick

hi Rick, no, never re-installed the OS. in the Device Mgr, it says the NIC is working properly, and there are no yellow or red marks of any sort.  about an hour or so ago, I went to the Driver & Dowload link under Support on Dell.com, and under category, chose Network, and 2 optional downloads came up for my system: a Driver, and a Diagnostic Utility. I downloaded both, and for a second I had some hope, but that was not to be. I shut down the pc, unplugged the USB cable, put in the ethernet cable, but it still didn't work. On theback of the tower, by the ethernet port, it glowed orange and there was also a blinking yellow light. In the bottom taskbar (?) by the clock, it said I had limited or no connectivity. In the Device Mgr, under Network Adapters, the NIC was listed but NOT my cable modem which is always listed when I'm hooked up thru the USB port. I shut down again and put the USB cable back in.

did I do any harm by downloading the driver & diag utility?    

I don't think it's right that:

1. I can't speak with a Dell rep in the USA, not India
2. I should have to buy a new card, when I'm under warranty until the end of 2010
3. Dell tells me that only if it's a HARDware problem, will I be covered by warranty

any ideas of what I should do now?  thanks for the assistance!

Bklyn Gal,

Let's try something simple first.

Go to Drivers & Downloads enter your service tag number(Do NOT post your service tag number here or your post wil;l be deleted). Download and install the Desktop/Notebook Utility, might be under applications. Also download and install the Chipset drivers. These two need to be installed first or the rest of the drivers will not install.

Install these drivers, if needed.

Processor Driver (if applicable)
Video
Audio (sound)
Input Drivers (keyboard/mouse)
Modem
Network Card

QuickSet(Laptop only)

If it still doesn't work, then I have something else we can try.

Rick

Rick, you say "Install these (additional) drivers if needed". how in the world will I know if they are needed?  do you mean if the NIC still doesn't work after installing the Desktop Utility and the Chipset drivers?  I'm really sorry, but consider me stupid with these things!  ;-)  I do thank you very much for all of the help.

Bklyn Gal,

If you installed the operating system from a clean install, then you need to install all these drivers.

The Desktop/Notebook Utility needs to be installed first, then the chipset drivers. If they are NOT installed first, then the rest of the drivers will fail to install.

Since the operating system was re-installed did you remember to go to drivers and downloads, enter your service tag(DO NOT POST SERVICE TAG here or your post will get deleted, since it contains your personal information), and install these drivers in this order.

:emotion-55: Hint :emotion-55: When downloading the drivers, make a folder for each drivers and name it with the device it belongs with to make it easier to install them in the proper order.

Desktop System Software or Notebook System Software
Chipset or SMBus driver
Processor Driver (if applicable)
Video
Audio (sound)
Input Drivers (keyboard/mouse)
Modem
Network Card

QuickSet(Laptop only)

Rick

Rick, I'm really sorry, I'm confused...  I haven't yet tried to do it because I was waiting for you to answer my question-  I asked how will I know if I need to install the other things you mentioned (after Desktop Utility & Chipset Drivers)? Are you saying I'll have to do all of those if Desktop U & Chipset D's don't make it work?

Please advise!  and I'm not kidding, I dont understand this stuff, I need it spelled out as though you're talking to a 90 year old! (no offense...)  THANK YOU!!  

hi Rick, my pc came with XP, I never did any thing with the OS, before, or now. The only changes I've made recently, as I mentioned in my first post, was to download a Driver and Diagnotic Utility from the support area after putting in my service tag number. Did I do any damage by downloading those ? The puter has been running pretty fine, in so far as no major problems have erupted due to those actions.

I still have NOT performed any of the actions you told me about because I don't understand. So should I first download/install the Desktop Utility and Chipset Drivers, then get to the list you mention above (and are these absolutely necessary? how do I know?), then get to uninstalling the ethernet card and connecting the ethernet cable?

please Rick, I'm very sorry to sound like a broken record. I think I messed up my first pc a few years ago by doing things I didn't understand, and I'm not any better at understanding today. I appreciate your help to no end!  Lori

Lori,

Did you, by chance, install Internet Expolorer 8?

Open Internet Explorer, click on tool, manage add-ons, enable or disable add=ons and disable them all. Close Internet Explorwer and wait 30 seconds. Now open Internet Explorer. Do you see anything?

Can you surf using Mozilla Firefox?

Rick

hi Rick, no, I don't think I have IE8 installed, I think it's 6 or 7.  There were only 4 things that had to be disabled, Java Plug-In, JQSIEStart Detector, Messenger Checker Class, and Shockwave Flash Object. I did that, shut down IE, waited 30 sec, started up again. I didn't see anything.  I don't have Mozilla installed, I took a quick look at it, looks cool.

now what?  what did you think I might see after disabling the add-ons?   what about the drivers-- should I get to installing them, should I uninstall the ethernet card?

PC was running pretty slowly this morning, but maybe because it had just woken up!  (?)  thanks Rick

Lori,

Disabling the add-ons, sometimes brings back Internet Explorer. I would now try running IEFix and see if it comes back.

Like I said, if you try using Mozilla Firefox and it works, then we have this narrowed down to an Internet Explorer problem.

Rick

Rick, really what you were asking me is if I saw IE after I did the disabling of add-ons and then re-opened the internet, and the answer is a definite yes.  I'm speaking to ya thru IE.

so this means it ISN'T an IE problem, correct?  now what?   thank you for your patience!!  Lori

Lori,

Since you got IE back, then the issue is with the ad-ons. I would leave them disabled, until you need one. You will most likely need to Download Latest Java, and you'll need Flash Player, Adobe Test Shockwave and Flash Players. I rarely use IE at all. I use Mozilla Firefox and I have certain add-on that help control ad blocking and many other things. You can also make it look pretty with different themes.

I would download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware update it and do a quick scan. Have it remove anything it finds. If you find anything, then I would suggest that you go to DELL Malware Removal Forum read the top post by bugbatter and follow the instructions. They are very well equipped to remove malware from your computer.

Rick

Rick, don't take this the wrong way, please!, but how did I go from having a NIC problem to an IE/add-ons problem?

I went to the Malwarebytes site and was very confused. I ended up downloading the Quad Registry and Spydoctor, and they both wanted to be paid for any fixes, so I uninstalled them.  I went to the Dell Support site, clicked on drivers & downloads and D/L a number of things, 2 of which pertained to the network device.   also, I don't remember where I found this- Driverscanner, which told me I needed to update the drivers for my Plug & Play Monitor, and my Intel Network Adapter!  maybe this was found on Dell?  I dunno...

anyway, before turning on this morning, I switched cables, and lo & behold, my ethernet STILL didn't work- limited or no connectivity, network didn't assign a network addy to the pc, attempted to authenticate...  under Activity, it said it could SEND packets but not receive. In Network Connection Properties, said device IS working properly. I clicked on Repair in Local Area Conn. Status and it couldn't finish the job, told me to contact the person who manages my network!  Diagnostic conneciton test- connection test passed but said adapter configured to obtain IP addy automatically/ No DHCP Server present on network/Windows selected an IP Addy using Alternate Private IP Addressing...  said it was using another connection, and was able to ping my IP addy, said No DNS Server available for this connection, No WINS server available for this connection, and Ping Network xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx failed.  Network cable, Hardware tests all passed.

I mentioned that I D/L a network driver from Dell's site yesterday, but I noticed today that the driver version that I have was dated from June'06... is that possible if I D/L an "updated" one?

now what, Rick?  I'm sorry to keep apologizing to you, and thanking you, but you know I appreciate the help, and I'm just a big dummy about this stuff. I'm just afraid that I'm going to do too many things that I have no idea about, and end up hurting the pc...  duh!

Lori  

Lori,

I thought you said it worked when you disabled the add-ons.

Did your Desktop come with the ethernet card or did you have to put one in. If so, the proper procedure is to install the drivers from the cd, then shutdown the computer. Unplug it from the wall. Doing this tells the computer that you're adding new hardware. Install the card. Plug the computer back in and power it on. When you log in to an unrestricted account, then Windows should find the card.

Do you see anything in the device manager?

I am a little busy working and painting, so my responses may seem a little slower than normal.

Rick