Solved Windows 8.1 loses wired internet connection

bassplayer97

New Member
Messages
3
I recently updated from Windows 8 Pro to Windows 8.1 using Microsoft update. After the update was completed, I've started to have problems connecting to the internet using a wired connection. NOTHING else has changed since the update. If I reboot, it works for less than 30 minutes and then the connection switches to "limited connectivity" with no way to revert it back to the usual status. If I reboot the computer, it works fine again for a little bit. Oddly enough, if I connect the computer to the exact same router using wireless, it does not seem to be dropping the connection.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm using a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with the factory Broadcom Netlink Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

So far, I have:
disabled, reenabled the device (PC seems to hang when I do this as well)
reinstalled the drivers after removing them
verified there is no proxy or weird DNS settings setup on the connection

Thoughts?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I have an XPS8100 with the same symptoms and same Broadcom Ethernet Net Link driver.

I haven't found a solution either.

Have switched to wireless in the mean time, no problem with it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
You might want to try a System Restore , restore it to a point before you've encountered the issue.

If System Restore didn't work, try disabling the Power Management of your Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager, see attached image.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Intel i5
I am also having the same issue, but with totally different hardware. I'm on a desktop machine I built using the Realtek ethernet adapter on my ASRock motherboard. This happened after I updated from 8 to 8.1

So far I've updated the drivers, used the netsh commands to reset winsock and the tcp/ip stack but no luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I recently updated from Windows 8 Pro to Windows 8.1 using Microsoft update. After the update was completed, I've started to have problems connecting to the internet using a wired connection. NOTHING else has changed since the update. If I reboot, it works for less than 30 minutes and then the connection switches to "limited connectivity" with no way to revert it back to the usual status. If I reboot the computer, it works fine again for a little bit. Oddly enough, if I connect the computer to the exact same router using wireless, it does not seem to be dropping the connection.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm using a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with the factory Broadcom Netlink Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

So far, I have:
disabled, reenabled the device (PC seems to hang when I do this as well)
reinstalled the drivers after removing them
verified there is no proxy or weird DNS settings setup on the connection

Thoughts?
Identical equipment here too. I got lots of suggestions on the Microsoft Community forum but none of them made any difference. I have a dual boot system so I went back to Win 7 and ran the Microsoft Win8.1 compatibility program and it said that the Broadcom adapter is compatible. As stated in another posting, I too am running a wi-fi adapter but its too soon to tell if that actually solves the problem. Clearly there is a problem with Win 8.1 as I ran Win 8 since last October with no problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
You might want to try a System Restore , restore it to a point before you've encountered the issue.

If System Restore didn't work, try disabling the Power Management of your Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager, see attached image.
System Restore takes forever, rebooting works for me and is much quicker. I'm using wi-fi as a possible work-around but its too early to say if doesn't have the same problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
Same issue with Realtek but wireless only works for me for 2 minutes before dropping, then i have to disable and reenable to get another 2 minutes
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
I also lost my Ethernet on a Sony Vaio
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Onboard
    Antivirus
    AVG
You might want to try a System Restore , restore it to a point before you've encountered the issue.

If System Restore didn't work, try disabling the Power Management of your Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager, see attached image.

The installation of 8.1 nuked my system restore options. Also, the issue isn't with the wireless going to sleep, but the Ethernet card dropping a wired connection. I did go ahead and verify that neither connection is affected by Power Management as shown in your screenshot.

I also noticed that the wired connection is listed as "unknown connection" and has "limited access". However, once I reboot, it reverts to the correct connection name and has internet access.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I have upgraded my O/S from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Enterprise edition and luckily both my wired and wireless connections from my Samsung laptop are pretty stable. I am using WPA2 with AES encryption and no issues whatsoever. Sorry to hear that most of you are having similar issue. It's just unfortunate that Microsoft would give a free O/S upgrade but ended up causing some issues. Let me do some more research, hopefully that there will be Windows Updates and patches that would fix these issues.

BRB.....:D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Intel i5
I have upgraded my O/S from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Enterprise edition and luckily both my wired and wireless connections from my Samsung laptop are pretty stable. I am using WPA2 with AES encryption and no issues whatsoever. Sorry to hear that most of you are having similar issue. It's just unfortunate that Microsoft would give a free O/S upgrade but ended up causing some issues. Let me do some more research, hopefully that there will be Windows Updates and patches that would fix these issues.

BRB.....:D
Yes, it seems that there may be a module of code (perhaps a couple of hundred lines) that "talks" to the network adapter driver. Perhaps there was no need to revise it but someone did a "clean up" to help keep the OS size and load time down. In that case it might be easy to simply revert back to the Win 8 code. If there is actually an improved feature in the code then it will take a little more work to fix the problem. However some users are having a problem with some Sony laptops that don't connect to the network at all. That could be used to fairly quickly find out where the problem is. Hello!! Microsoft are you listening?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
bassplayer97 - Do you have a spare ethernet cable to try, a Cat5e or Cat6? Also, move the ethernet cable in a different ethernet port of your router.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Intel i5
bassplayer97 - Do you have a spare ethernet cable to try, a Cat5e or Cat6? Also, move the ethernet cable in a different ethernet port of your router.
Oh, You mean one of those cables that will start working when you reboot the computer? Perhaps one of those cables that worked for the last 10 years with Win XP, Win 7 and Win 8 (and still do!) but don't work with Win 8.1?

Sorry, checking cables is always a good thing to do. However, with all the reports of the same problem it seems to be a more difficult situation :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
I've solved this on my machine now, might be worth a try for some of you...

Head to device manager, find your network adapter, right click and select Uninstall. It will give you a check box to also remove the drivers, make sure it's checked. Once this has completed, restart Windows. Your network card will be picked up on reboot and Windows will install drivers automatically. This took me back to an older version of the driver than I had, but it's now working correctly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I've solved this on my machine now, might be worth a try for some of you...

Head to device manager, find your network adapter, right click and select Uninstall. It will give you a check box to also remove the drivers, make sure it's checked. Once this has completed, restart Windows. Your network card will be picked up on reboot and Windows will install drivers automatically. This took me back to an older version of the driver than I had, but it's now working correctly.
Rebooting always "fixes" it for me until the next time it stops :-(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
Have you tried what I suggested though? As mine always worked when I first booted. Might be worth a try...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
I have a Dell Studio XPS (broadcom wired NIC) as well and the upgrade from 8 to 8.1 nuked my internet connectivity. Antivirus updating, HMA VPN, Chrome, Forefox & Opera do not load pages with the exception of Google sites. IE 11 loads most sites but not all. Outlook 2010 email also seems to work. I have posted to various forums without any luck.
The closest resolution I did stumble upon (as posted above) was in a Dell driver forum where they suggested rolling back a 2009 driver and running it in Windows 7 mode. It looks like it worked for some but did not work for me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I have a Dell Studio XPS (broadcom wired NIC) as well and the upgrade from 8 to 8.1 nuked my internet connectivity. Antivirus updating, HMA VPN, Chrome, Forefox & Opera do not load pages with the exception of Google sites. IE 11 loads most sites but not all. Outlook 2010 email also seems to work. I have posted to various forums without any luck.
The closest resolution I did stumble upon (as posted above) was in a Dell driver forum where they suggested rolling back a 2009 driver and running it in Windows 7 mode. It looks like it worked for some but did not work for me.
This is the driver I have installed in my XPS8100. http://dell.to/16nfwMF
So far it is working however my problem was complete disconnect from the network not intermittent access of the web.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
For 3 days I have done everything that I found in internet, I have updated the Wi-Fi and Ethernet drives, disable adds-on, update internet options, use other Browser, etc. Nothing has worked for me in two different Toshiba Quosmio computers. So I decided to reinstall Windows 8 and another nightmare started. There are a Refresh and a Reset feature in Windows, in one computer the Refresh worked, it kept the files but I had to reinstall all the programs. In the other computer it failed due to another big windows 8 issue ("Some files are missing") that you can read about in the internet. I have not solved it that yet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
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