Optiplex 990 & Intel 82579LM NIC issues

GregW,

2. I performed a secure erase of the drive and fresh install of the OS and drivers off the recovery media, no change.

Did you install the desktop/notebook system utility and the chipset drivers first? If not, the rest of the drivers will fail to install. How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct Order

I don't have QuickTime installed, so I could not view the video.

Is the network adapter enabled in the BIOS?

What do you see in the device manager?

Try running Finding System Information remove your product Id and post the rest of the information back here.

Are you getting any error messages? If so, the exact error message.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your reply!

1. I did not see that file about correct install order but I will perform another erase and follow that.

2. I posted another version of the video (m4v format) so I hope you can view that one. I apologize as I cannot figure out how to rotate the video so you'll have to turn your head to view. Sorry.  :)

3. I did not verify BIOS settings but that is something I will look into. But I'd imagine it would be if I can install drivers for it and it's recognized once I do.

4. If I remember correctly it is not in device manager until I install drivers. I will verify.

Thanks!

GregW

GregW,

My suspicions are you didn't install the desktop/notebook system utility and the chipset drivers, first.

Start installing the desktop/notebook system utility and the chipset drivers, then follow the order. Everything should start working. The desktop/notebook system utility and the chipset drivers have some drivers for the devices that are connected to your computer, like USB ports, wireless adapters, webcams, etc. It doesn't contain the complete drivers for some on the items but enough to connect the devices to install the drivers. Hope that made sense.

Rick

Hi Rick,

The drive is getting brainwashed at this time so I need to wait for that to complete before I can start over. I printed the install order sheet and will follow that religiously. starting with the chipset drivers. But what I find very strange is the 990 performed the same way out of the box. Which means, if you are correct in your theory, Dell imaged the 990's drive incorrectly, too, and any other 990s for that matter. At least the ones I've received, anyway.

Brainwash should be complete in 1.5 hrs or so then I can resume software installation.

Thanks!

GregW

Rick,

I think the last time I used something like that I ended up with an OS selection menu that showed up after POST. I guess I feel better performing a secure erase so I won't get that menu for sure. I know it takes a while but I just like the assurance. Usually it doesn't take that long, I'm just going by what the device is telling me. It could say 150 min now but in ten minutes it might be 100 or so. I just start that and do other things and I check on it periodically until it's done.

GregW

GregW,

That's long.

Restoring Your Computer´s Software to the Factory Settings might be quicker and it puts everything back to the way it was when you got the computer, unless it is corrupt or removed. A new Hard drive doe not have it.

How To Restore or Reinstall Microsoft® Windows® on a Dell™ Computer

Rick

Rick,

I reinstalled the OS and followed the install order sheet with a few exceptions for items that do not apply such as items for notebooks. I did not see the Intel Matrix Storage installer on the CD or on Dell's support site. I performed the following steps: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7

Here is the system info you requested:

In Device Manager, it says this: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection

Even after following the steps I still have the same problem. Not sure if you've been able to view the other video but nothing has changed.

PS: I forgot to mention that the integrated NIC is enabled in the BIOS.

 MrAkamai,

These look like Vista 64-bit drivers, so I would install these in the Vista Compatibility mode. Please read How to by-pass the Dell Download Manager Most of these will install and there may be a few that don't. Install these in the order posted and see if you can connect.

You installed theses in the Vista Compatibility mode ...

Dell System Software <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell> and the Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility followed by the

Intel Unified AMT 7 Management Interface Driver <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>and Intel Identity Protection Technology (IPT) <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell> and NEC USB 3.0 <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>

Broadcom 57XX Gigabit Controller 

Intel 825xx Gigabit Platform LAN Network Device

Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n PCIe WLAN for Desktops <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell> 

Foxconn Serial / Parallel port PCIE add-in card<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>

Rick

Rick,

I did not install Vista 64-bit drivers in Vista compatibility mode unless Dell's recovery media for Windows 7 64-bit does that automatically (which I doubt). Additionally, why would I need to install NEC USB 3.0, Broadcom and wireless drivers when my 990 doesn't have that hardware? Doesn't make sense to me. A friend of mine did some research on his own and told me that there seems to be an overwhelming number of issues regarding this particular NIC (and not just with Dell) and maybe that's the underlying cause especially with such a new OS such as Win 7. I think I will just wait for my Intel NIC to arrive and try that instead. I'm also getting tired of waiting for "ProSupport" from Dell to give me a straight answer, as well. They just leave me hanging.

Thanks,

GregW

GregW,

Form what I thought I read, I thought you didn't want to use the recovery partition and you were installing everything manually.

If the recovery partition is used, then everything should be installed. If you need, the drivers are listed above and they are Vista drivers that I gave links to. Some of Dell drivers were Vista and they stated they were Windows 7. Some drivers seem to install better in the compatibility mode.

Rick

Hi GregW,

I just registered on the Dell community to state I've been having exactly the same problem unfortunately (or at least, a very similar problem). We purchased 5 Dell Optiplex 990's with Windows 7 Pro x64 edition pre-installed. It seems each of these have problems connecting to our Gb network. Exactly the same issue, the network adapter switches between 'cable unplugged' to 'identifiying' and never seems to actually connect to the network.
I booted the same computer with a Ubuntu 10.10 Live CD and it worked perfectly - no network issues.

I've already tried changing network drivers (removing the old ones in the process) with no success. Dell support recommended a repair install (didn't work) and a complete wipe (which I can't do since it's a production system now).
While troubleshooting I have found two workarounds:

1. Connecting the adapter to our PoE switch (100Mb) seems to remove the problem completely. The computer connects to the network within seconds.
2. Disabling the power saving options in the network driver interface (Energy Efficient Ethernet to be exact). This allows the computer to connect to the network, but it takes about 20 seconds (far too long).

I'm still looking at solutions to this problem, have you had any luck?

Hi John,

I was able to get connectivity when I manually configured the speed of the Intel NIC to 10Mb at the suggestion of a friend of mine. At that speed, I get almost instantaneous connection to my network albeit a very slow one. If I remember correctly, I can get connection at both full and half duplex. Anything faster and I get the same problem. I finally got a new switch to test out (Netgear ProSafe GS105) as the same friend of mine above said he had a similar issue and he swapped out an old switch. The current switch in place is an older Linksys 10/100/1000 switch in those old blue and black cases. It's not next to me so I don't have a model # but can get it if needed. Will post performance with new switch soon.

Based on what you've said, it's probably a combination of issues but I think it really boils down to junky Win 7 x64 drivers since it works perfectly in Ubuntu.

I never changed any of the power saving options for the NIC so they should be all default settings. I'm not using PoE so I'm not sure if that's really solving your issues but who knows. Weirder things have happened.

I don't think anything I've said will help but hopefully they'll help someone out there with this same problem. I almost forgot, I also have a new PCIe Intel NIC that I have yet to test. I want to try the new switch first then go from there.

GregW

It would be nice to hear a resolution. I think there is a serious problem with the Intel NIC/Drivers on thes 980s.  I have around 40 of them in my office as a result of an upgrade project and migration to win7.. stable network and now the 980's are exhibiting a problem with obtaining an IP from DHCP.  none of the laptops or other non 980's are having the problem.

I've been having a very similar issue.  Both were with Dell Optiplex 790's that had the intel 82579LM NIC.  Fresh out of the box with no additional software installed to them I'm unable to hit the internet.  I can see our LAN just fine and can connect to other computers so the NIC is working I'm just unable to reach the internet.  We have a cable modem in the office that is separate from our business network.  I can plug into the cable modem directly and reach the internet without a problem.  

I was able to get the first Opti 790 working by downloading the newest INTEL drivers from the Intel website and then I used an option in the Intel driver to spoof the MAC address.  I changed it to 00ee00ee00ee00ee and it worked on our network I was able to reach the Internet and didn't have the yellow triangle with the exclamation point down in my system tray for my wired connection.  The problem is I need a real solution, spoofing MAC addresses on every new Dell that comes in and is unable to connect to the internet is going to lead to a host of problems down the road.

I talked with a rep on Dell Chat last Friday about this problem and after 2 hours on the phone trying different things they said they'd send me a new motherboard.  After talking with my boss about the problem he wanted me to get Dell to send a new MoBo.  So that's taken care of and I'll have a new MoBo in another day or two, but I don't think it's going to fix this issue since the NIC seemed to be fully functional when plugged into our cable modem and I was able to get it working on our network when I spoof the mac address.

Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated as right now I'm stuck with a brand new machine that can't connect to the internet 

I talked to a friend of mine about this and he suggested changing the switch. I bought a new Netgear switch and the problem went away. I also bought a new Intel NIC ( I do not recall the model #) but I haven't had to use it yet. My friend said that at his old job sometimes older switches just refuse to play nicely with newer NICs. I guess this was one of those cases. Good luck!