Solved Windows 7 - Unidentified Network on Ethernet - Wifi works fine

[Konacq]

I have a Win 7 system. Everything was working, until a few days ago, and then the Ethernet connection stopped. The activity LEDs work, but the Ethernet will not connect. The Wifi works fine through the same router as the Ethernet is plugged into.

Here is what I did so far.

1. Rebooted PC (full power cycle)
2. Rebooted router
3. MSCONFIG to disable all unknown services and apps
4. Replaced Ethernet cable
5. Tried a different port
6. Confirmed Ethernet driver is latest version
7. Deleted Ethernet driver anyway and reinstalled
8. Reset IP Stack
9. Set TCP/IPv4 to static IP and defined the DNS server
10. Confirmed the adapter's advanced settings were correct
11. Connected to a USB Ethernet adapter that I know works (and has worked before on this PC)

Nothing I did in the above list worked - Ethernet does not connect. The activity LEDs are working. The Network Connections shows a plugged-in Ethernet as an Unidentified Network.

Here is the IPCONFIG/ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : London
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 2C-27-D7-B2-89-E5
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::60dc:a290:6ea:c2d6%24(Preferred)
Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.194.214(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 220997591
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-18-87-1D-E8-2C-27-D7-B2-89-E5

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : ASIX AX88772A USB2.0 to Fast Ethernet Ada
pter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-05-1B-00-76-91
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1030
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : BC-77-37-CE-CA-7A
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.18(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : December-09-15 11:28:58 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : December-16-15 11:28:58 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 381450039
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-18-87-1D-E8-2C-27-D7-B2-89-E5

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 108.171.182.159
108.171.177.124
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : BC-77-37-CE-CA-7E
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{53F05BE3-BD60-49D9-9E83-311E4F873101}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{0E9F12A3-3C90-445C-87DE-1A40DDA9FFD7}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #4
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

I am a total loss. I thought it was a hardware problem at first, but the fact that it does not work on a USB Ethernet adapter tells me the problem lies somewhere in Windows.

Any help is appreciated.

Konacq

 

[rvcjew]

What router is it and have you tried plugging your modem into the pc it self to after rebooting both devices sans router? Could your router have like enabled mac filtering perhaps?

 

[Konacq]

I found the problem (untested)

It is a Hitron CDA3. Service Filtering, Device Filtering, and Keyword Filtering are all disabled.

My laptop does not appear as one of the connected Ethernet devices on the router.

When I set a static IP address (192.168.0.115) and set the default gateway to 192.168.0.1 (the router), I cannot Ping 192.168.0.1 – I receive Destination host unreachable

Your comment about the modem/router got me thinking. I tried connecting another PC to the router, same problem. So I phoned my ISP tech support, and they concluded there is a fault in the modem/router. I will take it back tomorrow for a replacement.

Thanks very much for your help rvcjew – you steered me in the right direction. I will let you know if the new router works.

 

[rvcjew]

Those combo things can be a pain sometimes it may even be filtering and just not saying it is, those things are buggy in my experience. Hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Konacq]

Fixed - And it is not what I thought.

Alex's Axiom number 1 - nothing is as easy as you expect. I replaced the modem/router, and I still had the same problem. So I started to isolate where the problem lies. I unplugged all the Ethernet cables, and plugged in only the computer, and it worked. Doing this process in sequence, I eventually discovered that a cable running from the modem/router to a downstream Ethernet switch had developed a fault, and that cable was corrupting all traffic, even traffic that was not going through that switch. When I replaced the cable between the router and the switch, everything worked.

Thanks again for your help, rvcjew.

 

[rvcjew]

Oh yeah you never said you had a switch in the mix I would have said check that device and cables first. At least you learned something.