Ok, I’ve been hit once again by the dreaded “Power outage while the computer is running” which for some reason always wipes out any internet capabilities I might have had. I left the computer on while I was asleep, and woke up to find there had been a power outage during the night, I powered up my computer and was told that new hardware had been detected. It was the ethernet card I had been using for months. I told it no I didn’t want to install software since I already did that months ago, I tried going online and…nothing. I’m on the schools network and there’s not normally any procedure to go through to get connected. I did a system restore to one day earlier and then reinstalled the ethernet card software, but still got nothing.
Now I know this might be an awful vague sounding problem, but I know we’ve got a lot of CS majors here, so maybe this sounds familiar to someone.
A CS major wouldn’t be able to do much, a CE on the other hand. I think that you should have just reinstalled the ethernet card since that part of the memory could have been corrupted in the power outage and therefore the computer no longer recognizes or can use the previous install. Parts could have gotten fried, most likely just the ethernet card since that isn’t working anymore you say.
Originally posted by ClothHat
and then reinstalled the ethernet card software
Originally posted by Infonick
Parts could have gotten fried, most likely just the ethernet card since that isn’t working anymore you say.
So if I open it up and everything looks normal (No massive burnt areas or sparking wires), what do I do? Just pull it out and hook it back up? I dont know if I have an additional port to move it into.
Originally posted by Infonick
A CS major wouldn’t be able to do much, a CE on the other hand.
You could try switching the port that it’s in. It could be a problem with your network settings as well.
pssst Reinstall the hardware. >.>
There are a few things you might want to try. If you’re using a router or DSL modem the problem might be there, I had a power spike a few weeks ago that took out my entire network and my router and DSL modem caused the problem.
If this might be your case then what you want to do is unplug both devices and wait about 5 minutes, that’ll guarantee that the ram on the device has been cleared, then you want to plug them back in. First the router, then the modem, doing it in this order should avoid any problems. You can also try hitting the reset button on your router. If that’s what you want to do then look for a small round hole on the router, there’s a button in it, you’ll need something small and long to press it like a paper clip.
If your problem is in fact with your router/DSL then the above step should fix it, if it doesn’t or you don’t have one then move on to the next step.
Unless there’s substantial electrical damage to the Ethernet card, which is unlikely since there are other more easily damaged components, then there won’t be any obvious signs of damage on the card. There is however an easy way to check to see if it’s at least working if you have a router or hub, when the PC is running check the back of the case where the network cable is plugged into the card, if you see a green light then it means the PC and the router are in fact talking to each other, even if they can’t communicate. If you don’t see a light then it means something is probably wrong with the card.
The easiest solution is to remove the card entirely, reboot and PC and make sure that the device and its associated drivers no longer show up in your system configuration, that’ll basically give you a clean slate to work with. Next what you want to do is plug the card back into a different PCI slot, if you don’t have a spare on put it back where it was in the first place, but changing the slot will guarantee that the problem isn’t with that particular slot. Once the card is back in then reboot and reinstall the drivers for it. Check in your system configuration to see if the device reads as functioning properly, if it does then you should be able to connect, if it isn’t then chances are your card is in fact damaged and will have to be replaced.
Remember that if you do have a router and decided to reset the memory on it you’ll need to reconfigure it and input your connection information for your ISP again before you can connect.
Thanks Info. I removed the ethernet card (which appeared undamaged), plugged it into another port and went through the normal installation steps which fixed my connection. I have no frikken idea why this would fix anything. Could a power surge have disabled the port my card was originally in?
And I don’t have a router DS (Although I used to, and I remember using that method you were talking about :P), but thanks anyway.
Believe me, computers aren’t the exact science some people would have you believe they are, while I was working last summer I had to do a little work on the company’s network to try and fix a recurring printer problem and I came across a computer that shouldn’t have had any network access but did. When I checked the light on the back of the card to see if it was connected it was dark, the same goes for the one on the router, but since the PC had internet and network access I figured the light was just burned out, except when I swapped those cable with another one connected to another port that light went off and the first one came on proving that the light was in fact working. I swear to you that PC shouldn’t have been able to connect to the network at all, but it did, it could do everything except print…
The point I’m trying to make is that PC hardware doesn’t always behave logically, just because something should or shouldn’t work doesn’t mean it does or doesn’t. Chances are there’s nothing wrong with the port itself and I’m almost sure that if you put another piece of hardware into that port it’ll work perfectly. I say smile, nod and be happy, and the next time this happens just do the same thing. 