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jumprun3

1 Rookie

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44 Posts

10229

November 22nd, 2012 19:00

Basic Question: LAN Card

I've been connecting my Dell Inspiron 580 to the Internet exclusively via an ALfa USB wireless adapter.  Works great.

Today I switched to a new wireless router and ran into problems with the flashing power light.  I called Netgear Tech Support for help and one of the many things they had me do to try and solve the problem was run an Ethernet cable from one of my DSL modem's LAN ports to the Ethernet connector on the back of my computer.  A small green LED in the computer's Ethernet jack came on when I did so but I couldn't connect to the Internet.  Tech Support had me go to Control Panel Network and Sharing Center and check the LAN status.  There was nothing showing. 

I don't have a LAN card but the Ethernet connector looks to be part of my motherboard.  Do I need a separate LAN card in order to hardwire the Internet into my computer, or is the motherboard supposed to handle that?  If I need a card, which one should I get for general email and YouTube?

DELL-Chinmay S

6 Operator

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1.8K Posts

November 22nd, 2012 20:00

Hi,

LAN is integrated on the motherboard of your computer and you can use the Ethernet port to use the wired connection. If you are not able to do that you can check the Device Manager to see if there is any yellow exclamation under Network adapters/ Other devices. You can also reinstall drivers for the Ethernet card by following the steps below and see if it works:

  • Click on the below link: http://dell.to/10DxuDJ  
  • Enter the Service Tag of your system and select the operating system. 
  • You will find the Ethernet driver under “Network”. 
  • Click on the Ethernet driver depending on the Ethernet card your system has. (Install the same driver which you uninstalled from “Device Manager”). 
  • Click on “Download File”. 
  • Select “For Single File Download via Browser”. 
  • Click on “Download Now”. 
  • Save the driver on your desktop. 
  • Once the driver is saved on desktop, right click on it and select “Run as administrator”. 
  • Install the driver by following the on screen instructions.  

 Please reply with the findings. 

jumprun3

1 Rookie

 • 

44 Posts

November 23rd, 2012 00:00

Thanks....there were indeed a couple of yellow exclamations under adapters/other devices.  I used the link you provided and downloaded something called Broadcom in the Network section.  It got rid of the yellow and now I can go online via the Ethernet cable to my modem.  

You fixed my problem!

DELL-Chinmay S

6 Operator

 • 

1.8K Posts

November 23rd, 2012 03:00

Hi,

Glad to know that issue is resolved.

Please feel free to get in touch with us in case you have any further questions. I'll be more than happy to help. 

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