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Intel Gigabit CT Desktop Adapters all stop seeing other computers and server

idata
Employee
4,151 Views

I have 3 PC's, each of which is running Windows 7 x64, and each of which had no prior problems connecting to the internet or the network via their PCI-e Intel Gigabit CT Desktop Adapters. Over the course of the last week, each PC started connecting to "Network 2", instead of the usual Network, and while they could connect to the internet, they would not see the other PCs on the network or the Windows Home Server. I tried disabling the adapter, deleting the Network and Network 2 profiles, and then re-enabling the adapters. While this allowed the adapters to connect to the Network Profile, none of the other PCs on the network or the WHS could be accessed, even though I still had full internet connectivity.

When I disconnected the ethernet cables from the Intel CT adapters, and connected them to the embedded adapters on each PC's motherboard, the network was instantly discovered, so I thinking the culprit must be the CT adapters. However, it can't be possible that all three failed at the same time, or in the same manner. There has to be something else going on...

I'm certainly no networking expert, so I would appreciate any help from the community. I paid a decent premium for these adapters, and all are using the most recent drivers. Suggestions?

Thanks,

Demaximis

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20 Replies
vt5
New Contributor I
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hi Demaximis, any changes done on the system like updating windows patch? you mentioned the driver was the most recent, did you installed it from the package 16.5?

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18713&keyword=%2282579LM%22&DownloadType=Drivers&lang=eng http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18713&keyword=%2282579LM%22&DownloadType=Drivers&lang=eng

you can also try re-installing the CT adapters on your machines.

by the way, what is the difference between network vs network 2 profiles on your network?

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idata
Employee
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Sage, thank you for your response. My first thought was the same as yours -- for this to occur across multiple systems in a short time frame -- it might have been caused by windows updates, which occur automatically on my Win 7x64 and WHS. I assumed that the updates were what caused the adapters to suddenly connect to "Network 2." I tried the "usual" fixes -- updated the drivers to the adapters (using 16.5, but just the base drivers -- I've never used the intel management software, preferring to rely on Windows); uninstalled and reinstalled the adapters, and deleted the network profiles. When I deleted the two profiles (Network and Network 2), the adapter again connected to "Network." However, this connection will only connect to the internet, and will not show the other PC's or the server on the network via the gateway and switches. If I transfer the ethernet cable to the motherboard's adapter, it immediately connects to "Network" and the other PC's and home server.

The oddest thing to me is that I never had a problem in the recent past using the intel NICs, and to have three of them go screwy in a week caused me concerns. Is there a setting I have off, or a change to the driver or an update that needs to be reset? I prefer using the intel NICs because the data transfer is higher, but I need access to the network.

Thanks in advance for any other suggestions.

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vt5
New Contributor I
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based from my experience, there's no specific setting on the adapter itself that will affect your network routing, how about trying to disable the onboard NIC from BIOS and re-install your intel adapter? another way is to check if you have existing restore point on your windows system and try to go back to the state wherein your computer is working properly? any clue from your routing table?

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idata
Employee
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I've tried with and without the onboard NIC enabled, and I've tried reinstalling the Intel CT desktop. In each case, I connect to the internet, and not the rest of the network. I do believe that one of the updates is the culprit, but do not want to have to rollback to a restore point, because it will continue to try to reinstall update, and I prefer to have the security patches installed. What I can't figure out is why it affected just the intel CT adapter (I have an intel onboard adapter on one of my motherboards, and that one sees the whole network). Weird. Any other suggestions?

I would not know how to look for the routing table, or what it would tell me if I found it -- while I'm somewhat computer savvy, I'm not hugely networking savvy.

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idata
Employee
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Arrrgh - even worse tonight. On my PC with the Intel Gigabit adapter embedded on the MB (82579V), when I booted it, it connected to "Network 2" and prompted me to select home, work, or public -- same behavior at the CT adapter. Also, would no longer see server, even though it did yesterday. Still connects to internet. Exact same behavior at CT. Confirmed using most up-to-date drivers. What's causing this???? I need to be able to access my server!

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vt5
New Contributor I
1,524 Views

maybe try to re-configure your windows home server, the problem might lie on that machine as your embedded adapter and network adapter gets connection from there...

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idata
Employee
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Tried that too, but to no avail. They are also no longer seeing the readyshare NAS attached to the WNDR3700 router, so it's not the server. Very strange. I will try to contact Intel support today.

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vt5
New Contributor I
1,524 Views

that's also a good idea, intel support will focus on your connection from the NIC to other PC, once connection is good, they may direct your windows specific problem to microsoft support.

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idata
Employee
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I tried chatting with Intel support today, and they were no help. They blamed it on Windows or a virus, even though it's happening across mutliple computers, and is NOT happening when other branded NICs are used.

I expected more from Intel. I may try again tomorrow.

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vt5
New Contributor I
1,524 Views

you've already tried other brand of NIC on your desktop? only with on board adapter and CT adapter are having this problem?

before contacting Intel support, you can run the diagnostic test found in the adapter properties, if everything passed, mostly the problem lies in the configuration or windows-specific, i think Intel support will focus only the adapter functionality, if they blamed it on windows or virus then there should be some justification.

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idata
Employee
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I have the same Problem with my Intel Gigabit CT:

If i only use one, everything works fine. If I add another Card to another PC they can't see eachother.

I tried booting from a Linux Live-CD: Same Problem.

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idata
Employee
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*push*

It is definitely no Windows/Software/Driver problem.

But why are two Gigabit CT blocking themselves?

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idata
Employee
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idata
Employee
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Mark_H_Intel
Employee
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@timsu

I can't think of anything related to the adapters that would cause this, so I think you should look at other network-related issues. Here are some ideas that could be related to what you report.

Are the adapters on both PCs getting valid IP addresses?

Are you connected to a home router that is giving you your IP addresses? Try turning off the router and both PCs so that any network tables are cleared. See if that clears up the problem.

Have you configured any access control lists on your router? Maybe one of the adapters is not getting a valid IP address because of not being on the list.

Make sure the router has the latest firmware. Whenever I bought a new router, a firmware update is usually available from the manufacturer's website. They never seem to ship with the latest firmware and sometimes you can have weird problems without the update.

Try opening a command prompt and using the command ipconfig/all and posting the results from each PC here if you have any questions about what is a valid IP address.

Another thing that makes a difference in seeing another PC is the network services and the firewall. You could try temporarily disabling the firewall on both PCs to see if the computers become visible to each other. By default, even a simple ping is blocked by some firewalls. When you say the two PCs can't see each other, are you talking about visibility using a browser? Can you ping one PC from another with the firewall off?

I hope one of these ideas will help directly or by giving you an idea of something else to check. Let me know what you find.

Mark H

 

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idata
Employee
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Thanks for your answer !

I'm not a Network-Newbie, I think I can exclude many software related issues.

The adapters getting IPs via DHCP from my Router, static IPs changed nothing.

If i plug my cable into the Intel Gigabit CT on my desktop, I can use internet and can connect/ping to all devices in LAN except my Homeserver with also a Gigabit CT. If i plug my cable on my desktop to the Onboard-Ethernet (no Intel) everything works fine.

The exact same result happening when booting my desktop from a Linux-Live-CD.

"can't see each other" meens, that I can not ping, have no access to the services (local webservers, ssh, fileserver etc.) . Also i can't connect to my virtual machines on my homeserver with the Intel Card, when I'm using the Intel Card in my desktop.

Thanks and sorry for my bad englisch

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Mark_H_Intel
Employee
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@timsu

 

I ran some quick tests to make sure there wasn't something weird going on with the drivers and this adapter. My adapters communicated via TCP/IP with each other without any issues.

Here is my setup to help you with troubleshooting:

 

System 1: Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V role installed and one VM, Static IP on the NIC is 192.168.0.100, mask 255.255.255.0. Driver version 12.4.39.0, 2/26/2013. PROSet version 18.2.63.0.

 

System 1:VM1: Windows Server 2008R2, Static IP on the NIC is 192.168.0.101, mask 255.255.255.0. (Adapter is Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus Network Adapter through virtual switch using the Intel(R) Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter.

System 2: Windows Server 2008 (64-bit OS), Static IP on the NIC is 192.168.0.200, mask 255.255.255.0. Driver version 12.4.38.0, PROSet version 18.1.59.0.

Windows firewall is disabled on all 3 systems.

 

TCP/IPv6 is disabled on the NICs being tested.

 

No VLANs are configured.

All adapter advanced settings are default settings.

System 1 connects to System 2 through a Netgear Prosafe GS724AT switch. Connection speed is 1 Gbps.

No router or connection to another network is available.

All 3 systems can ping each other without any issues.

IF the issue is driver related, and you are using an older driver, you could always download the 18.2 software package that has the 12.4.39.0 driver and give that a try: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=22283 http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=22283.

For local network communications, the MAC address is used. The version 4 IP address is resolved by using ARP (Address Resolution Protocol). So if the driver update does not help, you might want to use Wireshark on each end to see what packets are being sent and received for ARP and if ARP is working, then for the pings. For any ping tests, make sure you disable the firewalls. I know the Windows firewalls will block incoming pings by default.

You might have already tried all these steps, but these are the firtst things that I can think of. I have asked a couple of other network experts about possible causes, but nobody can think of anything obvious. If I hear about other possibilities, I will post something here.

By the way, your English is very good. I didn't know that English was a second language for you until you mentioned it.

Mark H

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Mark_H_Intel
Employee
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@timsu

One of the guys I work with remembered having a similar issue years ago. He had one PC where the bonjour service caused Windows to create a second network on the same adapter. The symptom was that he lost his local network connectivity. Do you have two networks showing up in Windows Network and Sharing Center associated with the same adapter? That could cause a problem like you describe.

Mark H

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idata
Employee
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A few more information:

PC 1 (Desktop):

Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium, atm I'm using the 12.4.39 driver.

(DHCP, tried also static IPs)

PC 2 (Homeserver)

ESXi 5.1, standard driver, several VMs (Linux and Solaris)

ESXi host has static 172.27.17.5/255.255.255.0 the VMs DHCP or static

I'm sure, that the ESXi has no firewall that block pings, the VM I used for the tests also not.

Gateway/Router/Switch

TP Linkk TL-WR1043ND (with DD-WRT)

DD-WRT has never made any problems for me.0

I tried deleting all other Networks but that didn't solve the issue.

The difference is also, that I can connect to LAN, except the one that is also using the Gigabit CT.

I have the issues on Linux and Windows too, so I don't think it's an driver issue.

When I have a little bit more time I will look into wireshark and try a direct connection without Router/Switch.

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AAnge8
Beginner
1,428 Views

Dear Guys,

I ran into similar problem too. I just bought a Supermicro server that has 540 family network adapters. I instaled twice Windows 7 Pro 64bit trying to solve this issue. In fact, this server works normally but in the network, it sees only computers with Intel network adapters. This network has a Cisco RV042G Router that gives corectly IP to all computers. The router connects to lan to a Cisco wireless AP and a HP Procurve 1810 switch.

All computers are connected to that switch except a vaio laptop that has a Intel Pro WIFI network adapter and which is connected to the AP. Connected to the HP switch are Supermicro server (Intel 540 10Gbps), ASROCK MB computer (Broadcom Network adapter). A Synology NAS, A Qnap NAS, Another Asrock/Broadcom computer, 3 wireles/wired printers.

But in network I can only see the Vaio laptop that has a Intel adapter. I also can conect the other computers by conecting them in computer \\COMPUTERNAME and connect to their shares.

The only thing is that they are not listed in network except vaio...

It seem that this is definitevly a driver issue.

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