PC Network Adapter(s) Appears to Fail After Some Time

Question

I have a client with a relatively new (few months old) Dell Precision 3460 running Win 11 PRO which is experiencing very odd network issues.

The computer has worked fine (connectivity wise) until a couple of weeks back. Now after reboot, the network connection dies after 10 to 90 minutes.

I updated the device to the latest Intel\Dell driver and then to the latest Intel driver. No impact. I added an ASUS AC-53 USB Wireless adapter, for testing, which also fails, but takes substantially more time (12-18 hrs)

I have run DISM Scannow, reset the Network via Windows Settings, and run a number of CMD line network reset commands. (netsh winhttp reset proxy, netsh winsock reset catalog, netsh int ip reset all, ipconfig /flushdns)

Dell was unable to run diagnostics with the failing LAN and now has replaced the board, so at this point it appears that there is some OS\Network corruption.

I have verified the router by switching ports between 2 computers and the problem stays on the problem machine, however, last night I took the machine from the client site to my LAN and can no longer replicate the issue, so...

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Some other related odd behavior.

When I first looked at this, I was unable to Uninstall the Device from Device Manager. DNR exactly what the system responses were. Yesterday after replacing the board we were able to uninstall the device and the system re-installed it with a 2021 vintage (v.32 1219-LM) driver which also eventually failed.

Once the device fails, attempting to make a change hangs the dialog box (not the system) and it needs to be closed with Task Manager. Once this has happened, it can take 15 minutes for the computer to shut down, but after reboot the change (Disable\Enable or driver config setting) appears to have been performed.

I also notice that if I look at the device in Network Settings (from Control Panel) the device shows disconnected, but if I at the same time look at this from Device Manager it shows it's enabled and functioning.

The PC has a static IP set: 10.1.10.100, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0, gateway 10.1.10.1 and DNS of 10.1.10.1. The USB device is similarly set at 10.1.10.101. The router is a Netgear R7800 and I have also set a reservation for the device at the same IP.

We have an older (backup) Precision 3420 (Win 10 Pro) with same Ethernet adapter and nearly identical config running with no issues.

Dell has suggested reinstalling the OS, which may be where we go, but hoping that someone may have some other ideas about resetting the network stack.

I am generally technically competent and have no issues editing the registry etc.

Answer 1

Hello,

 

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

Since the issue doesn't replicate at your LAN, it could be related to the setting in customer's environment.

1.Check if there's any other device causing the interference.

2.Before reinstalling the OS, please chek for windows updates which sometimes can fix the issue.

3.Boo the machine in clean boot model and check if issue persists.

 

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

 

Best regards，

Jill Zhou

 

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Answer 2

Once the device fails, attempting to make a change hangs the dialog box (not the system) and it needs to be closed with Task Manager. Once this has happened, it can take 15 minutes for the computer to shut down, but after reboot the change (Disable\Enable or driver config setting) appears to have been performed. I also notice that if I look at the device in Network Settings (from Control Panel) the device shows disconnected, but if I at the same time look at this from Device Manager it shows it's enabled and functioning.

What I am trying to wrap my head around is the PCs behavior after loosing it's connection. I have never seen one that behaved like this.