Realtek network card not working with external sound card installed

Hi all,

I recently bought a relatively expensive sound card on Amazon and after the second boot of my PC with the card installed and working my on board LAN card decided to not work throwing error: "This device cannot start. (Code 10)"
The card IS enabled in the BIOS and I HAVE disabled the on-board sound card.

LAN Adapter Details:
-Make and Model: Realtek RTL8137/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
-Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
-Driver Version: 6.112.123.2014
-Driver Date: 23/01/2014

This sounds like an IRQ problem, which is strange because modern PCs can usually resolve these conflicts automatically. But seeing that your system is a Pentium 4, maybe the motherboard is old enough to still be dealing with the issue.

One thing you could try is to perform a Clear CMOS procedure. This will force the motherboard to re-enumerate all the devices and will often solve IRQ conflicts.

• Note all your current BIOS settings
• Shut down the computer > remove the power cord.
• Remove the 3v motherboard battery.
• Move the CLRTC jumper from pins 1-2 to 2-3.
• Touch a metal part of the case and Press and Hold the reset button for approx. 30 seconds to discharge all power from the board.
• Put the CLRTC jumper back on pins 1-2.
• Replace the 3v battery > replace the power cord > boot.
• Immediately go back into BIOS and reset all your preferred settings. If the CLRTC worked you will need to reset the date and time in BIOS.

If that does not work then you could try to get the 2 cards to play nice together by installing them in different locations, if you have the extra slots.

Keep in mind that when removing any card it is important to remove it from Device Manager first. Remove it from Device Manager > shut down > then physically remove the card > then restart into Windows > then you can shut down perform the next procedure.

Sometimes you can simply install the newer card in another PCI/PCIe slot and that will resolve the conflict. (You must remove the device from Device Manager in order to change the slot)

Other times you might need to remove both cards, then install the newer card first and the older card second.

Let's see if any of that helps.