Vostro 460 Network card not found Code 31 need to reboot 3 to 4 times

I and one other have purchased four Vostro 460s over a six month span, and as of now, every one of them exhibits this problem. I wrote off the first occurrence as statistically insignificant. Given my subsequent experience, the reports here, and the nature of the problem and it's solution, I'm beginning to suspect that this may be a design defect affecting the entire line. It wouldn't be the first time that we've settled on one manufacturer's model and watched every one suffer the same premature failure over time.

Like others in this thread, I realize that the most cost effective solution is to drop in yet another $30 discrete NIC, but if I do so, I don't see how I can, in good conscience, go back to dell. I may have to get those motherboards replaced on principle.

Following is my experience with this unresolved issue.

2 x Vostro 460 desktops (one purchased in Sept 2011, the other March 2012.  This week both lost their NIC's.  First tech spent 2 hours trying to isolate issue.  Reported to me that he believes it has something to do with devices connected to USB.  Customer had connected 2 new APC 1000XS UPS units and thats when it seems the problems began.  Actually, they began the first time they powered down the PC's after connecting the APC UPS units (USB cable).

I stepped in today (I have 20+ years of experience in IT and there's rarely a problem that I cannot fix or find the cause).  After 2 hours of inspecting, checking drivers, BIOS, trying Linux boot CD's, removing MB and inspecting solder joints with a magnifying glass, trying replacement 650W PSU, checking input voltage, etc..., nothing proved to be a resolution.   I even tried the recommended solution to power off, discharge caps, then power on.  This worked ocassionally, but not reliably.

I then decided to remove the CMOS battery.  Upon reboot and BIOS setup,  the NIC worked.  Hmm.  I rebooted, shutdown many times and it all seemed OK.  After I reconnected the APC UPS the NIC continued to work but after the 4th shutdown the NIC would not start on POST.  Double Hmm!

I also noticed that after connecting the APC UPS USB cable, the NIC would not stay powered after power off (WOL).  No matter how the Device Power management settings were set in Windows, once the APC USB cable was connected the NIC lights were off.  Interesting! I even tried an Ethernet switch at the desktop to be sure it was not an issue with cable run or the office Ethernet switch.  Nope.  I also tried a USB hub for the APC UPS.  Nope!  Disconnecting the APC UPS USB cable did not help either.

I then tried to install APC Powerchute Personal edition (3.0.2) to see if this would help.  Nope.  How many nope's am I up to?

Again, the system seemed mucked up and now it wouldn't detect the NIC even if I did the poweroff, cap discharge procedure (all this with no APC UPS connected).  Weird!!  I decided t remove the CMOS battery again.  Upon BIOS config the NIC worked again!!!  Continued to work after several reboots, power down, etc..

I called it a day and left the APC UPS disconnected from USB.  Only other USB devices are the Dell keyboard/mouse.

Both Vostro 460's reacted very similarly during my troubleshooting.  They both have A06 BIOS.  I FIRMLY BELIEVE THE PROBLEM RESIDES IN DELL'S BIOS FOR THE VOSTRO 460.

So, its been over 6 months since the last BIOS release for this board.  They don't permit downgrading and I haven't done the research yet to see if there's a hack to downgrade Dell's BIOS.  Not sure a downgrade is gong to fix this, but its worth a shot.  Often BIOS updates include some new bugs along with the fixes implemented.

The big questions is when is Dell going to get theit head out of their backside and fix this?  Replacing motherboards is not the solution.  Many have done it, some with many Vostro 460's, and the replacements seems to be questionable at repairing the issue.  PROBABLY NO BETTER THAN MY CMOS RESET!!!!!!

DELL-Chris M

On 1/31 you asked forums posters to stop replacing parts and to wait for a followup from Dell.  How much longer do we have to wait?  Its been 5+ months!!!  Time to call the Dell Executive offices and demand a buyback.

Since one of mine was purchased new directly from Dell in March 2012, I doubt they have a new revision of the PCB to address this.  As I said above, I believe the issue is very likely BIOS.  Dell's Chris M was on top of this a few months back then went quiet.  I suspect the powers that be decided to brush this one under the rug.  Pathetic.

Keep in mind that a CMOS battery reset will help the new PCB work for some days.  The problem will very likely return.  Please let us know how these PCB swaps work for you.

Thanks Claykin.

I will keep you up to date. One machine had the PCB swapped today. Worked immediately after install but only time will tell.

Dell technician is calling me tomorrow to book the others at that site.

I have this horrible feeling i will be revisiting these clients at some stage in the future to install secondary pci-e network cards once these replacement boards fail and there is no warranty left. 

Unless it is a simple BIOS fix, but if that was the case you'd think they would have already addressed this issue.

I feel most sorry for the IT departments supporting hundreds of these, i'd have less than 50 out there that may have the issue.

Can you check the numbering on the "new" PCB and see if there is any revision info?  Sometimes its a decal, other times its part of the etching when raw PCB was made.

Some have said its a soldering issue, but I question that too.  If it was solder, then why do my examples work perfectly for a few days every single time I remove the CMOS battery?  It could be a different hardware issue, but based on experience its likely BIOS.  As for why Dell doesn't fix it, I wish I knew.  Could be BIOS engineering was moved to work on Ivy Bidge product, leaving few resources to work on complex issues in Sandy Bridge.  Just a guess.  Now that th 460 is obsolete, I'm losing hope for a BIOS upgrade to resolve this.  Maybe if people keep calling in PCB replacements Dell will finally get the message.

I just experienced the problem while trying to load up Windows Home Server on the machine.  It says it is missing the network driver; when i try and load the driver, it doesnt solve the issue.

i have never used this machine before so i doubt the problem is with any Windows Updates.

Appears to be a design defect.

Chris M was on top of this,  then he posted we need to contact dell.  That's because Dells fix is to replace the MB. I had 4 out of 10 do this.  I called Dell, replaced MB and that was 4 to 5 months ago.  Those pc's are still doing fine.  I haven't had any problems with this issue on the new MB.  

Today, one of the first Vostros I orders started doing this.  It is now out of warranty.   I called dell.  The automated system took my service code, and transferred me to buy a warranty extension.  I told that person I need to be transferred to a support superviser.  They transferred me to warranty support.  This person asked what my issue was, and took my service code, then told me the system is out of warranty.  

I told this person,  I have 4 others bought at the same time that had this issue.  This is a known issue that dell should have done a recall on, and I need to speak to a superviser.   They put me on hold for a few minutes and she came back on the phone, and told me,  this is a known issue and even though this is out of warranty we will replace the MB.

I just thought I would share that with anyone who may have the issue and its out of warranty, it appears Dell will still fix.  I did not have to fuss or argue with them to get this done either.  

So, claykin, I don't know why you don't just call them.   But you need to forget the bios upgrades or trying to down grade.  You can do one of 2 things to fix this.  1) replace the MB or 2) install a NIC.  Anything else you're wasting your time. IMO

we have the same issue here with 7 Vostro 460 of 93. we decided to buy new pcie network card to get everything working like it is supposed to as we are out of warranty. But we are facing a new problem. Vostro 460 and 470 seems to cut the power on the Pcie slot when Windows 7 x64 make a shutdown. So the wake on lan is not possible at all with added nic.

It is working on vostro 430 without problem. (ST1000SPEX and Intel Gigabit CT adapter with the PME Enabled in advanced configuration).

We had to change 5 470 motherboards and we starting to have a lot of trouble with 460.

I'm really starting to look elsewhere for our next computer upgrades.

I have 5 Vostro 460 computers, purchased late January 2011. They all recently exhibited this crazy network card issue. Multiple reboots & system restores later they seem to be working now, but i am guessing they will probably fail again. I have never updated the BIOS on these machines (& by default i have them all set to never "sleep"- so thats not been the issue).  Should i also be contacting Dell ?  I can barely imagine how i could find the time to swap out 5 motherboards (but also, buying 5 network cards seems like an unfair expense to have to go to). If i swapped out all the motherboards, am i correct in believing that i would not need to reinstall the OS ?

I think its about time you posted your findings as im another customer added to the very long list of people experiencing this issue with the vostro 460. obviously there are issue's with this motherboard and dell need to deal with this asap.

I have the same issue with my Vostro 460.  I bought my computer in Oct 2011.  I didn't have any problem until right after my warranty expired in Oct 2012.  First, I was able to work around the issue by rebooting it only once.  But then it got progressively worse, it needed to reboot at least three times for the network adapter to work.  Eventually, rebooting didn't do anything and I had to do the unplugging power trick.  Even that is not guarantee to work all the times.

After reading this post, I decided to call Dell even though my warranty has expired.  At first, the CSR at Dell told me there is nothing she could do since I'm out of warranty.  I then told her about this post and that many owners of Vostro 460 and XPS 8300 are facing the same issue.  She told me she would need to talk to her manager about swapping the motherboard.  After waiting for 5 minutes, she came back and said that unfortunately, it was not approved.   The reason is that it's not a known issue.  The known issue is the network adapter does not work under 10 degree.  I then complained that Dell has known this issue, but is not informing us.  I told her just google and you can see many posts on this.  After another 5 minutes discussing with her manager, she came back and approved the motherboard swap.  One interesting thing is that the CSR didn't even ask me to reinstall the driver.  She knew right away the solution is to change the motherboard.

Today I got the new motherboard installed and it seems working so far.  You have to give Dell some credit.  They stepped up and fixed the issue.  I will report back in a few weeks whether this issue is really gone.  

Same problem here. Still in warranty. Dell replaced the motherboard and now the problem is happening again. Very frustrating. They are going to replace the motherboard again. If that doesn't fix it, I'm going to fight for them to buy me a new nic. Can't say I will look to dell in the future. Good luck everyone.

I decided recently to take the plunge and turn back on windows updates on just one of my 5 vostro 460 computers. I did that last Friday & it all looked good.  I left the computer alone and came back to it after a week. At that point (15th Feb) i noticed a new bunch of updates available from Windows. So, i installed those successfully. I left the machine alone for a couple of hours and then noticed that it had disappeared from the network. I took a look at it and the screen had gone into a wierd sort of frozen state - it was frozen screen except it was jittering / flickering from left to right in a very unusual way. I powered down the computer & unplugged the AC. Now, if i try to turn it on, all i get is a beep (the kind of beep that signifies "error") and the power button stays an orange colour instead of going the normal white colour. It seems now to be completely dead (so i dare not try & repeat this with the other computers). I tried calling Dell last week and they said i had to talk to tech support first - i did not do that as i was out of time, but i guess there is no choice now.