Frustrating problem with i225-V controller

[JeffL]

(This post was originally in the "Ethernet Products" forum.  After supplying the system information that the forum moderator requested, he told me to post it here.)

I have been having an ultra-frustrating problem with the i225-V network card in my Beelink SER6 computer for more than a year now.

I need wake-on-lan capability with the computer.  The original Intel driver didn’t work for this at all, and I spent an inordinate amount of time troubleshooting it with Beelink and computer forums. 

Eventually, Beelink provided me with a driver -- 1.1.3.28 – that DID work.  But a new problem emerged:  The card periodically encounters an error while in sleep mode that knocks it out completely – it disappears from IPCONFIG, device manager and the network connections page.  I must reboot the computer to get it functional again,

I tried the most recent Intel driver update when it was announced by Norton drive update (I don’t have the version anymore, but it was more recent than the one I have and came out in December). The wake-on-lan reverted to not working so I restored the one that I got from Beelink.

If I could JUST get rid of that persistent error (I’ve gone as long as a week without encountering it, but it ALWAYS comes back), I’d be all set.  The error is:

Miniport Intel(R) Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V #2, {099d7624-6c69-4c1f-87fd-ced96fcbc890}, had event Fatal error: The miniport has failed a power transition to operational power

I’ve tried everything suggested by forums and CoPilot regarding the power settings and advanced network card settings.  Nothing can eradicate the problem.  I see that Intel is no longer supporting the card (the most recent drivers download doesn’t contain one for it, just I226-V), so there’s no reason to hope for a more updated version that might solve things.

Compounding my frustration is that I have another Beelink with a Realtek card (that includes power management under properties which the Intel card lacks) where everything works perfectly.  Is there no hope of ever getting this performance out of the one with an Intel card?  Is it possible that the Intel card is simply defective?

The system information is attached.  You can see the unit and its features here:

Beelink Mini PC SER6 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (8C/16T Up to 4.9GHz), 32GB DDR5 RAM 1TB NVME SSD, AMD Radeon Graphics, Windows 11 Pro, WiFi 6/BT 5.2 - Newegg.com

[Diego_INTEL]

Hello @JeffL,

Thank you for contacting Intel Embedded Community.

I was investigating this but it could be some driver issue, not much information internally, maybe you can try the following:

"In your BIOS:

Advanced -> Admin -> Chipset->System Agent(SA) configuration->PCI Express Configuration

Set Multi-VC to Disabled on both of PCIE Root Port 1 & PCIE Root Port 2."

Trying to change some power settings of the PCIe in the BIOS as the issue seems to happen from recovering from a low power state.

There is a possibility that the card may be faulty, maybe you can reach Beelink again to try to testing the board with another ethernet card.

Another idea I have is to test in Linux like Ubuntu to verify if you can replicate the issue, so the driver may be the culprit.

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL 

[JeffL]

Thanks for getting back to me.  It looks like I may have chanced upon the solution:  disabling the wake timers under advanced power settings.  It will take some time before I can be sure that it's fixed, but I'll definitely try your suggestion and re-engage if it isn't.

[JeffL]

Are you still there?  Weren't you notified of my continuation with additional data?  I think that I'm on the brink of FINALLY eradicating this maddening error, but only Intel can help me with the solution.  It definitely has something to do with a hardware issue -- e2fexpress.

[JeffL]

I've been waiting for more than a week for you to respond to my latest post.  If you're preoccupied with your processor specialty, could I suggest that you pass this issue on to someone who specializes in NICs?  I need to know if the bug I can't get rid of is an acknowledged defect in the Intel(R) Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V #2 that it's useless to try and fix.  From the web searches I've done in the course of troubleshooting this card, it would seem that I'm not the only one experiencing dropped network connections.

[JeffL]

Sure enough, the NDIS error returned.  But it’s not as bad this time. The card doesn’t completely disappear, leaving me with no network connection and no wake-on-lan functionality.  Instead, the network connection switches over to WI-FI, sleep mode continues, and wake-on-lan functionality continues.  When the machine wakes up, the network card connection resumes in a few seconds.

I’ve noticed something interesting. When the NDIS error occurs, there are always two events happening immediately (the same second) afterwards. 

Both contain the same message:

The description for Event ID 56 from source e2fexpress cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

Intel(R) Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V #2

The message resource is present, but the message was not found in the message table

Since these messages are related to the network card and indicate that something is missing from it, doesn’t this strongly suggest that a driver or firmware update is in order?  Are any such updates available?  There isn’t any driver for I225-V in the current download bundle.

[Diego_INTEL]

Hello @JeffL,

You can check the following:

- For "e2fexpress" warning issue, please try Clean Driver Installation. Guide Link.
- Please try below driver on Win11 (21H2):
Document #686541 - Intel® Ethernet Controller I225/ I226 Windows 11 NetAdapterCx Driver Production Version

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL 

[JeffL]

Sorry for the delay.  It takes some time to run tests.  It can take a couple of days for the Intel (3) i225-v card #2 to become completely disabled while the computer is sleeping, but it ALWAYS happens. 

I was all set to try that driver you mentioned, but I couldn’t get to the address.  I could log into the website, but I immediately ran into a dead end:

Request Id: 1688f7ab-812f-42b6-b2c3-7baab5549800

Correlation Id: c8131222-6184-45db-8f7b-355bd36484ff

Timestamp: 2025-07-06T19:16:16Z

Message: AADSTS90072: User account 'jeffl@wkmclaughlin.com' from identity provider 'https://sts.windows.net/9d5dcf43-801f-4a0d-aa4f-4d8bbab8f472/' does not exist in tenant 'Intel Corporation' and cannot access the application 'GRDCCDRV2PRODATEAM'(Secure Content Integration Services - Content Delivery Redesign v2) in that tenant. The account needs to be added as an external user in the tenant first. Sign out and sign in again with a different Azure Active Directory user account

It was the holiday, so I decided to try what Norton Utilities says is the latest driver for the card, version 2.1.43 from 2/20/24.  I didn’t get the NDIS error that hammered the card when using the previous driver, but the card STILL gets shut down by the repeated occurrence of NEW error.

Specifically, there’s a span of 21 event ID 163’s from the source e2nfexpress at the exact same instant whenever the card goes down.  The message is this:

The description for Event ID 163 from source e2fnexpress cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

The following information was included with the event:

Intel(R) Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V

If you check my original message, you’ll see that e2fnexpress was involved with those shutdowns also.  All roads lead to e2fnexpress.  It’s either corrupt or nonexistent.  Are you sure that there’s a solid chance that the dated driver you suggested will work with my Windows 11 24H2 machine and correct the e2fnexpress issues?  I’ll certainly try it if you can help me get a copy, but I have a suspicion that only a firmware update can fix this problem.   Is there really any sense pursuing my goal -- suitability for WOL -- if nothing can be done about e2fnexpress?

[Diego_INTEL]

Hello @JeffL,

It may be best if you contact Beelink as this is a third party design, they can try to update the device with the document provided but I'm not able to send it to you as it requires a CNDA.

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL 

[JeffL]

I may be out of the woods.  I got this reply from Beelink:

• Our engineering team has integrated all validated firmware/driver updates into BIOS releases. The latest BIOS (v30 for your SER6 MAX 7735) already includes optimized firmware for the I225-V.

Before even trying this, I have a tentative solution.  When I couldn't access the driver file you steered me to, I tried the latest one from PC HelpSoft -- version 1.1.4.43 from February.  It's been working flawlessly for five days with no NDIS or e2fnExpress errors in the system log.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but even if there's a recurrence, the BIOS update should finalize the solution.