Visat upgraded to sp2 now no nic light etc

Hi,

Recently, 11th of Novemeber, I posted about issue with not being able to upgrade from original install Vista 32bit which had Sp1 already to Sp2.

After trying many many things and seemingly logical advice i got no-where, many thanks to those that tried to help - unfortunately the end result led to doing a quick format. :cry

So I have had to go through the tedious complete reinstall of 'clean' Vista which already had Sp1 32bit already as part of the install disc.

Well success, I now have installed the Vista 32bit Sp2 install file via a usb flash drive - i didnt need the Sp readines tool kit which had been advised to try previously.

However i now found that i have no network activity..
I tried the 127.0.0.1 loopback and got no loss of data.
But unfortunately now i cant see the netgear modem / 4 port router or anything else on the network.. the router requires an ethernet in this instance connection to install the modem / router software, but this reports a no connection issue.
Further investigation revealed there wasnt even network traffic - normally indicated by at least one of 2 lights on the nic itself above where the ethernet cable plugs in. infact neither of these indicator lights are active.

I tried a suggestion of using the sfc /scannow that i read and this said no problems.

I tired an ipconfig /release so i could try to /renew but the adapter wasnt found to release...hur

I have installed the ethernet and chipset drivers from the Disc that came with the motherboard.

I have also removed the device and deleted the device drivers and reinstalled but no good

In the network connections I can only see an icon 'Local area Connection' with the notification saying that Network cable is unplugged. Which is not the case i have even tried a new ethernet cable.

I have disabled and re-enabled the adapter - in network connections no good.
In this same area by pressing ALT i accessed 'Advanced' went to adapters and bindings and disabled the IPV6 as i had read this was a potential fix and that vista didnt support this..which sounds a little bizare why put something in if this not supported..but this is vista..and heard a lot of bad things about this O/S. S oi gave it a shot..still no good. I even tried re-enabling to no avail.

Do i need to create a workgroup connection first or somethng i cant just join an exisiting one ?..grr vista...pista me offa..

As this is a fresh install, this Vista now SP2 32bit hasnt been activated is this potentially part of the problem..did MS go all 'rambo' with this and disable network access until the O/S is registered ??

System is
A dual core Cpu E5300
Galaxy 8400GS
2GB RAM
Vista SP2 ( currently un-registered )
The NIC is reporting to be a 'Atheros L2 Fast Ethernet 10/100 Base-T Controller' and Everest excellent hardware Id program confirms this.


Thanks so much for any helpful advice :wave

 

No.

No, you can activate by phone if all else fails. MS wants you to activate over the internet as it is easier and cheaper for them as an automatic operation rather than a call-in.

You can try going here - http://www.official-drivers.com/downloadcenter/atheros-drivers/ - and getting the most recent drivers or alternatively go to the motherboard support site and look for updated drivers.
Also, if you have an NIC add-in card you could try installing that to see if there is some underlying problem. If an add-in card works, there could be a hardware/mobo problem that has caused your on-board NIC to fail.
You have done everything I would do to try to get a NIC to work except my above suggestions.

 

Unless I missed it you haven't said what Device Manager says about the NIC. Is it disabled there?

Also, you shouldn't need to do anything with the router itself as it will not have been affected by the Vista reinstall. Once your NIC becomes active your network connections should revert to normal operation.

 

Hi.

Earthling, Yes sorry I failed to mention the device manager, disabled and re-enabled, I also uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers via the options available there.

Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned this part of the equation, as I am aware that once the nic becomes active it should 'see' the router many thanks for trying to help.


Ibmest -
I shall try the latest drivers and see if this is the solution.
Failing this, i think as you have suggested, my only practical option is to install a secondary nic and see if this is a solution.

I still find this task rather bizare, in that just because I clean install the O/S that the nic wouldnt even have the orange light..but loopback 127.0.0.1 reports ok...no loss of data. So hopefully its just requiring some new driver or is it whql driver or something lame like that.

Thanks again for your help folks, will let you know how i get on. :wave

 

Re: Vista upgraded to sp2 now no nic light etc

Hi,

This issue seemingly has been resolved, I now also have network activity / traffic light on the nic port.


Solution: If you are reading this with a similar or same issue.

Delete existing driver ( again ) incase windows has installed its own default variant - ( incase after you had deleted the original drivers and done a restart and then Vista had installed its own default driver)
Install latest driver for the ethernet from Asus.com --> if using the motheboards built in ethernet, then this is the onboard ethernets make / model for your brands particular motherboard <--
Restart - and test / check for connectivity.
All things going well connectivity should be fine.

The loop back confirmation, added a little info into the equation, verifying that the nic was ok.
Although I am still somewhat flumexed, as to why the original driver from motherboards install disc was not even being recognized.

Apparently this is the issue, as suggested by Ibmest - its just an old outdated driver...

Lame Vista..with my old XP Pro, if i recall correctly, one could just install any compatible driver and hello easy..

Thanks for your help guys Case closed :cool :wave