Ethernet Products
Determine ramifications of Intel® Ethernet products and technologies
4810 Discussions

Intel(R) Ethernet Contoller I226-V connection drop (Z790 Board)

Anonymous
Not applicable
22,584 Views

Hello all,

I currently have a problem with my onboard network card (I226-V). The card is installed on a MSI MPG Z790 EDGE WIFI DDR5 (the board is new). It sporadically has no uplink at system startup. The problem can be solved by deactivating and reactivating the network adapter under Windows.

The error occurs sporadically and cannot be reproduced directly. The error 27 is displayed in the Windows Event Viewer (source: e2fnexpress).

I use the current driver from the MSI homepage in version 2.1.1.14. The problem also occurs under a freshly installed Windows. Once the uplink is established, the network card does not lose it anymore.

The problem therefore only occurs occasionally when rebooting. I have connected the network card directly to the cable modem. Even an interconnected switch or the exchange of the cable did not solve the problem.

Here is a link to the used driver:
https://de.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z790-EDGE-WIFI/support#driver

I would be grateful for possible solutions.

many thanks

0 Kudos
26 Replies
Mike_Intel
Moderator
19,654 Views

Hello drzoidberg80,


Thank you for posting in Intel Ethernet Communities. 


For us to further check the issue, please provide the following details.


  1. Is it working fine before?
  2. When did you start having this issue?
  3. Was there any changes made on the system like driver update or OS update?
  4. Did you try to check if there is an application triggering this behavior?


If you have questions, please let us know. In case we do not hear from you, we will make a follow up after 3 workings days. Thank you.


Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel® Customer Support


0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
19,627 Views
Hello Michael,

thank you for your answer.

Is it working fine before?
no

When did you start having this issue?
after changing the motherboard - before Gigabyte Aorus Master Z370 with a I9900K

Was there any changes made on the system like driver update or OS update?
No, I even tested it on a freshly installed Windows.

Did you try to check if there is an application triggering this behavior?
Occasionally on system restart of Windows 11, I suspect the driver. I came across a few more threads on the Internet where similar problems were reported.

Many greetings
Patrick
0 Kudos
Flamefaker
Beginner
19,610 Views

If I may join this discussion, the same issue arises with the MSI Tomahawk Z790 WIFI Motherboard with the Intel I226-V Network Chip too. I wanted to achieve an always active Network Connection without any S-States activated or any other form of Energy Efficiency in place, hence why under the advanced properties for the I226-V Chip, I tinkered with the following configurations, hoping to potentially resolve the issue:

  • Enable PME: Enabled -> Disabled
  • Energy Efficient Ethernet: Enabled -> Disabled
  • Flow Control: Auto Negotiation -> Rx & Tx Enabled
  • Interrupt Moderation: Enabled -> Disabled
  • Interrupt Moderation Rate: Low -> Off
  • Selective Suspend: Enabled -> Disabled
  • Speed & Duplex: Auto Negotiation -> 2.5 Gbps Full Duplex
  • Wake from S0ix on Magic Packet: Enabled -> Disabled
  • Wake on Link Settings: Forced -> Disabled
  • Wake on Magic Packet: Enabled -> Disabled

and after that I checked the Events for the I226-V Network Chip and it has some issues with the e2fexpress function/file(?). As far as I could see, the Device gets started but it doesn't take long for it to encounter some kind of error along the way. I attached some pictures for the issues that I mentioned to get a better understanding of this problem. 

I was able to recreate the issue with the following setup: I randomly picked a huge game from Steam and started downloading. This initially works great . However, after I start Spotify, the Bandwidth immediately drops from around 1Gbps to around 200Mbps for the Steam download(see Peak Speed and momentary speed in attachment). So as far as I could conclude, it has to be an issue in the Network Management, but I can't pinpoint the Issue itself.

I also tried every possible step with the default configuration of the network Chip. The installed driver version is 1.1.3.28.

Any help is appreciated.  

0 Kudos
Mike_Intel
Moderator
19,588 Views

Hello drzoidberg80,


Thank you for the quick reply. We have a documented recommendation for this issue. Please refer to the link below:


https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057261/ethernet-products/gigabit-ethernet-controllers-up-to-2-5gbe.html


As per the link, it is also best to coordinate the issue with the board manufacturer MSI since the network card is embedded on the board. Onboard network card are considered OEM unit and we have limited support for OEM unit since the OEM manufacturer may have altered the the unit.


If you have questions, please let us know. In case we do not hear from you, we will make a follow up after 3 workings days. Thank you.


Hello Flamefaker,


Please post a new question for your inquiry so that you will have a dedicated thread and we can gather more details about the issue.


Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel® Customer Support


0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
19,556 Views

Hello Michael,

also many thanks for the quick reply. I was already in contact with MSI. There one seemed somehow helpless. I have remained with them so that I said that I will contact Intel Support once. If I have an answer, I should report.

But before that I will work through your instructions. Maybe it helps. The problem did not occur for a few days. I have not been able to trigger it yet. I still suspect that it is a driver problem. Once the card has an uplink at system startup, it runs. Doesn't sound like a defect to me.

As you can also see in this post, there seem to be several people who have the problem (regardless of the board manufacturer).

I hope I don't have to RMA the board. Everything is just so nice and neatly installed

Many greetings and thanks
Patrick

0 Kudos
Mike_Intel
Moderator
19,536 Views

Hello drzoidberg80,


Thank you for understanding. And yes, please try the steps specially the NVM firmware update. Just to remind you, the NVM update should come from your board manufacturer. Intel's NVM update will not work for OEM cards and vice versa, it may damage the card. And OEM manufacturer may have different procedure in updating the firmware.


If you have questions, please let us know. In case we do not hear from you, we will make a follow up after 3 workings days. Thank you.


Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel® Customer Support


0 Kudos
Mike_Intel
Moderator
19,286 Views

Hello drzoidberg80,


I hope you're having a wonderful day. I am just sending a soft follow up hoping that you are now talking with the OEM manufacturer for further assistance. We will wait for your reply. 


If you have questions, please let us know. In case we do not hear from you, we will make a follow up after 3 workings days. Thank you.


Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel® Customer Support


0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
19,263 Views

Hello Michael,

I have received an answer from MSI support in the meantime. Unfortunately, this is quite standardized, so that I do not hope for an improvement.

They pointed me to the official driver on the Intel homepage. They were not able to give me an NVM update. I have therefore taken the driver from the Intel homepage, which is somewhat more current. However, I have already tested the driver in the past "without" success. But now I try it again.

In addition, a new BIOS for my mainboard was available, which I installed. According to the changelog, this update does not address the problem with the network adapter.

Unfortunately, the problem occurs irregularly, so I have to test further. In the meantime, however, one reads more and more in the press about the error pattern I described and that Intel is already analyzing the problem.

I hope that the problem can be solved. Here is the official text from MSI support:

 

Here is the official text from MSI support:

Thanks for contacting MSI technical support.

Regarding your concern, please download and flash the latest BIOS in the link below, then download and reinstall the driver in the second link. We will also try to check your current issue. Thank you !

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z790-EDGE-WIFI/support#bios

http://https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/15084/intel-ethernet-adapter-complete-driver-pack.html

Thanks for your cooperation in advance!

 

 

0 Kudos
IntelSupport
Community Manager
19,200 Views

Hello drzoidberg80,

 

I hope you're having a wonderful day.

 

If you need anything else, please let us know. We will follow up with you again within 3 business day. Looking forward to receiving your reply. Thanks.

 

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel


0 Kudos
IntelSupport
Community Manager
19,078 Views

Hello drzoidberg80,


I'm working directly with our engineering team to help debug this issue. If you are willing, we could use your help.

 

Can you please share with us the following:

  1. Memory dump after the issue reproduced (see instruction below)
  2. Collect event viewer log (see instruction below)
  3. What is the link partner (switch/mode,/router) being used (company and model), it might be that the issue related to interoperability with specific devices.

 

After the above information is collected, our next step will be to collect a driver log during the failure. Instructions on how to do this will be forthcoming.

 

Memory dump:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/performance/generate-a-kernel-or-complete-crash-dump

  1. Follow the manually generate memory dump file 
  2. After restart MEMORY.DMP will be found in C:\Windows\memory.dmp

 

Event viewer: In event viewer choose Windows Logs > System > Save All Event As and save the file

 

Thank you very much for your help.

 

Best Regards,

Fariz_Intel


0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
19,026 Views

Hello Fariz_Intel,

thank you very much for your message. I am happy to help if I can. Currently, however, the error has not reappeared yet (after bios update and driver replacement). I can try to trigger it (occurs mostly on cold start). In the past I was also able to force it by unplugging and re-plugging the LAN cable.

Do you need a complete memory dump or is a kernel memory dump enough when the error occurs? I have 64 GB of RAM installed. A complete dump would be quite large at 64GB (I think I can upload a maximum of 70MB here).

I can't promise how fast I can deliver results. As soon as the error occurs again I will get to work. Should I downgrade back to the "old" driver if necessary? There the problem was present more often.

Data about modem, switch etc. I deliver then also.

Many greetings

Cam__Intel
Employee
18,925 Views

Hello drzoidberg80, 

 

Thanks for your willingness to help us debug this issue.  I've sent you a private message as well with a request for different information and some instructions on the Memory Dump.

 

Also, if you can provide us with the following information it would be very helpful:

 

  1. What is the link partner (switch/mode,/router) being used (company and model)?
  2. Request for further information:
    • Old BIOS version (if the user knows)
    • New BIOS version (the user can just check in BIOS now)
    • Old LAN driver version (the one that reproduced the issue)
    • New Driver version (the one that cannot reproduce the issue)

 

Thanks for your help on this.

 

Best Regards,

Cameron

 

 

0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
18,842 Views

Hello,

 

I was able to reproduce the error (with the more recent driver) and sent you all the information (trace tool, complete memory dump and the information from the event viewer) in a private message (with a download link- the data is on a friend of mine's web server). I don't want to publish the memory dump here in the forum (may contain personal data).

 

Therefore as a direct message I hope the data will help with the analysis. Several people seem to have this problem.

 

Many greetings

AY1
Employee
18,765 Views

Thank you, we will review all files and investigate it. In the meantime, would you please share further information for us to better understand how to reproduce the issue? Intel is trying to reproduce the issue.

  1. when you say cold start - do you mean system reboot or do you mean to power on system from AC power off?
  2. Is it a good reproduction flow when we leave the system to wait for 10 minutes at idle mode (network connected) after the system boot to Windows and the device establish the link then repeat the same flow if we don't see the link drop or if we don't reproduce the issue? 
  3. What is the link partner (switch/mode,/router) being used (company and model)?
  4. Would you please share the information below?
    • Old BIOS version (if the user knows)
    • New BIOS version (the user can just check in BIOS now)
    • Old LAN driver version (the one that reproduced the issue)
    • New Driver version (the one that cannot reproduce the issue)

Best Regards,

Aiman

0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
18,754 Views

Hello,

exactly, the computer must be shut down completely. I think 10-15 minutes is a good waiting time. On the power supply, I have not completely de-energized the PC. The network cable is permanently connected to the computer.

Used switch: ProCurve HP 1400-8G (J9077A)

Old bios version: 7D91vH1
New Bios Version: 7D91vH2
Old LAN driver (error reproducible): Intel Network Drivers 2.1.1.14 2022-09-27
New LAN driver (error currently not reproducible): 2.1.1.7, 2022-02-02

With a different switch the problem occurred much less:
Netgear ProSAFE GS105v5 (Gigabit Switch). Possibly there is a connection there.

I will install the 2.1.1.7 driver again later and see if the error disappears again or occurs less frequently. I will continue to use the HP switch for now.

0 Kudos
Anonymous
Not applicable
18,753 Views

if the error does not occur immediately after a cold start (with the above-mentioned waiting time) immediately restart the system and check the connection again.

This morning the error was present directly after a cold start (the computer was off overnight - but the power supply was not de-energized). The network cables were plugged in.

0 Kudos
Cam__Intel
Employee
18,260 Views

Hello,

 

Thank you for sharing your information about this issue, we welcome your input. 

 

We have posted a communication on this topic at this LINK Future updates from Intel about this issue will be posted on this thread.  The issue has been reproduced, and we are working diligently on a root cause and fix.

 

Important Note:  For any of our customers experiencing this problem, a mitigation option to explore is to disable the “Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)” mode in the Advanced Windows/ Linux driver setting.  We believe this should help.

 

Also, for customers that are experiencing this issue and willing to share some information, please see below what would be of most help to us.

 

Information to share with Intel:

Did you experience Random connection drops at random times? If yes, can you please provide more information about your hardware setup like BIOS version, CPU, RAM, Cable Modem, and Switch?

  • Motherboard:
  • BIOS:
  • CPU:
  • Cable Modem:
  • Network Switch:
  • I226 LAN driver version:
  • Issue Reproduction Steps

 

Best Regards,

Intel

0 Kudos
ivn
Beginner
17,250 Views

I am experiencing the same issue, periodic disconnects that last a couple of seconds. Here is my info:

 

Motherboard: MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI

BIOS: AMI 3.5 (11/15/22)

CPU: i9-13900KF

Cable Modem:  

Network Switch: Mikrotik RB750GL

I226 LAN driver version:  2.1.1.14

Repro steps: Not clear, it usually occurs when I open a web page or when on a voice call.

 

Thanks

0 Kudos
AY1
Employee
17,090 Views

Hello.

 

I have send you a private message for further investigations, kindly check your inbox and let me know if you have any concerns.

 

Best Regards,

Aiman

0 Kudos
SergejKiller
Beginner
16,699 Views

MB: ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI

BIOS: Version 0814 (2023/01/18)

Intel I225/I226 LAN driver V1.1.3.34

EEE is disabled

 

My  issue is that Ethernet speed is reset to 100Mbit/s after S3 sleep. Although it seems that EEE option has improved the situation to some extent, the NIC still occasionally establishes 100Mbit/s connection instead of 1GBit/s.

 

0 Kudos
Reply