My younger cousin recently upgraded some parts in his PC but didn't realize that the motherboard he chose only supports Ethernet. He mentioned that the Ethernet connection seems to be working through a power line adapter, but his PC is not detecting any network connection. I've tried a few troubleshooting methods I've found, like checking software settings and watching some tutorials, but I'm still stumped. The Ethernet cable shows solid green and orange lights, and I checked that all connections are hooked up properly. Everything looks enabled on the software side, but he did mention that he had previously fiddled with his network settings due to gaming issues, although he's not sure what changes were made. Any suggestions on what else to try?
5 Answers
Make sure the power line adapter that's connected to the PC has a valid connection to another adapter plugged in at the router. Sometimes just rebooting the adapter at the router end can resolve connectivity issues if it's connecting properly.
It sounds like your cousin may have set a custom DNS server or modified DHCP settings when adjusting his network configs. Go into the connection settings and revert anything that's not set to default.
Power line adapters can be pretty unreliable. Make sure there's another adapter close to the router; you can’t just plug one in without the other. If there are both connected but the signal is weak, it might be worth looking into getting a USB wireless adapter instead for a more stable connection.
First, check if the computer has an IP address by running 'ipconfig' in the command prompt. If it says 'media disconnected,' that might be part of the problem. However, if the auto-configuration IPv4 has numbers, it could indicate a partial connection issue.
Tried that, but all Ethernet cards say 'media disconnected,' even though the settings have some figures in other areas.
Just a heads up, ensure you're using the right kind of Ethernet cable. Sometimes people confuse regular cables with crossover cables. If he’s using a crossover cable, it might not work as expected unless connected directly to another device.
I did a network reset and tested with both default and custom settings, but it didn’t help.