I haven't used my PC for Ethernet in a couple of months since I was traveling and relied on Wi-Fi. Now that I'm back home, the same Ethernet cable and router aren't working; my PC shows "Ethernet cable not plugged in." I've tried updating and reinstalling the network adapter drivers, flushing DNS, resetting the winsock, changing DNS settings, and even resetting my network configuration, but nothing seems to help. I plugged the cable into another computer, and it works fine, so I know the cable's not the issue. I'm starting to think my Ethernet port might be damaged. Here are my specs: MSI X870 Tomahawk, 9800X3D, 5080, Windows 11. Any suggestions before I consider buying a new motherboard?
2 Answers
Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling your network adapter drivers from Device Manager instead of just updating them? Sometimes a fresh install can help fix such issues.
It sounds like your Ethernet port might be faulty. I keep a USB to Ethernet adapter around just for situations like this—it could be a quick fix until you figure out what's going wrong with your motherboard.
I tried that a few times, but it didn't work.