NIC lights not on..is it dead?

Kliffee · 04-25-2005, 06:00 AM

My internet connection suddenly stopped working. The lights do not light up on the back of the NIC. Does that mean it is fried? It's not even 2 months old. Not sure if it's dead or something else is wrong. Appreciate all support.

**JamesO** · 04-25-2005, 06:34 AM

Well in order to get link light, the items on either end of the cable need to be working. What is on the other end and is it powered up? May want to power cycle the end device?

Could be the cable, try another. Make sure it is fully plugged in and be aware there are 2 types of Ethernet cables, "straight" and "roll over" they are wired differently for different purposes. Most likely you need a "straight" cable?
Could be the NIC card, hold here for now.
Could be the NIC was disabled in software? Check under Control Panel, Network Connections, even if it is enabled, toggle the setting or reboot the machine.
Try to connect the computer to a different device that is known to work with a known good cable.
If you are handy you can make a Ethernet loop plug to test the NIC.
Driver problem?
Spyware or a virus?

Hope this gets you started.

JamesO

**Squashman** · 04-25-2005, 08:03 PM

Check Device Manager to make sure there isn't any Red or Yellow signs on your Network Card.

On occassion we have issues with some of our machines at work where the network card drivers become corrupt. If we go into Device manger and either remove the device or update the driver, then reboot, it seems to fix the problem. This basically just reloads the drivers.

But make sure you do the simple stuff first. Try a different cable or test the cable on another machine. If you are connected into a switch or router, try plugging into a different port. I have seen ports go dead on switches.

L1Technician · 03-21-2008, 05:55 PM

If the NIC is not lit it means that the driver is not installed or corrupted. If you have a yellow exclamation mark in the network adapter in device manager it needs to update the driver. If it has a red x it means it is disable.

alpenadiver · 03-26-2008, 02:34 AM

Try to ping your NIC from the command prompt type ping 127.0.0.1
this will let you know if the NIC is working.

johnwill · 03-26-2008, 06:45 AM

Guys, this is a THREE YEAR OLD THREAD! Don't you think they may have solved the issue by now?

04-25-2005, 06:00 AM	#1 (permalink)
Kliffee Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1 OS: XP	NIC lights not on..is it dead? My internet connection suddenly stopped working. The lights do not light up on the back of the NIC. Does that mean it is fried? It's not even 2 months old. Not sure if it's dead or something else is wrong. Appreciate all support.

03-21-2008, 05:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
L1Technician Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 23 OS: Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista, Mac	Re: NIC lights not on..is it dead? If the NIC is not lit it means that the driver is not installed or corrupted. If you have a yellow exclamation mark in the network adapter in device manager it needs to update the driver. If it has a red x it means it is disable.

03-26-2008, 02:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
alpenadiver Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alpena, Michigan Posts: 13 OS: Fedora Core 8 My System	Re: NIC lights not on..is it dead? Try to ping your NIC from the command prompt type ping 127.0.0.1 this will let you know if the NIC is working.

03-26-2008, 06:45 AM	#6 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 28,753 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: NIC lights not on..is it dead? Guys, this is a THREE YEAR OLD THREAD! Don't you think they may have solved the issue by now? __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

04-25-2005, 06:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
JamesO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Posts: 2,163 OS: 98SE, W2k Pro, XP Pro	Well in order to get link light, the items on either end of the cable need to be working. What is on the other end and is it powered up? May want to power cycle the end device? Could be the cable, try another. Make sure it is fully plugged in and be aware there are 2 types of Ethernet cables, "straight" and "roll over" they are wired differently for different purposes. Most likely you need a "straight" cable? Could be the NIC card, hold here for now. Could be the NIC was disabled in software? Check under Control Panel, Network Connections, even if it is enabled, toggle the setting or reboot the machine. Try to connect the computer to a different device that is known to work with a known good cable. If you are handy you can make a Ethernet loop plug to test the NIC. Driver problem? Spyware or a virus? Hope this gets you started. JamesO

04-25-2005, 08:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
Squashman Tech, Networking Forums Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: 1265 Lombardi Ave. Posts: 1,005 OS: All of the above	Check Device Manager to make sure there isn't any Red or Yellow signs on your Network Card. On occassion we have issues with some of our machines at work where the network card drivers become corrupt. If we go into Device manger and either remove the device or update the driver, then reboot, it seems to fix the problem. This basically just reloads the drivers. But make sure you do the simple stuff first. Try a different cable or test the cable on another machine. If you are connected into a switch or router, try plugging into a different port. I have seen ports go dead on switches.