I installed a new TP-Link TX401 network card in my PC, but the Ethernet port LEDs stay off when I connect a cable, and Windows doesn't show the adapter in Device Manager. I tried installing the TP-Link drivers, but the installer says the adapter cannot be found. My motherboard is an ASRock B550M SE WiFi. Could the card be installed in an incompatible PCIe slot, disabled by a BIOS setting, or possibly defective?
4 Answers
Try the card in another PCIe slot if your graphics card leaves one available. You can also test it in a different computer. If the card still isn’t detected there, even after a proper installation, it’s probably dead on arrival and should be returned.
Check Device Manager under Other devices as well as Network adapters, since Windows may list an unrecognized device there. If it appears nowhere and the driver installer cannot find it, that points more toward a seating, slot, BIOS, or hardware problem than a Windows driver issue.
Start with the basics: install the newest TX401 driver from TP-Link, update the AMD B550 chipset drivers, and check for a motherboard BIOS update. Also inspect the PCIe slot and the card’s contacts, then reseat the card firmly. The motherboard manual may show whether another device is sharing or disabling that slot.
Some systems behave better when the PCIe slot is manually set to Gen 3 instead of Auto in the BIOS. Save the change, shut the computer down completely, switch off the power, and then boot it again. This is worth trying if the driver and reseating steps don’t help.
I tried the TP-Link driver, but it reports that no adapter was found, so I’m starting to suspect the card may be defective.