Question Windows 10 Machines Cannot Get Internet... Win7 PC's are Fine

[EXCellR8]

I've been having this annoying issue lately that I can't seem to fix... every now and then one or two of my Windows 10 computers can't seem to get online. Sometimes, I can physically disconnect/reconnect LAN and other times simply waiting clears it up but it's rather aggravating.

Windows 10 network troubleshooter (typically less than insightful) cites issues with the modem connectivity but the kicker is that none of my Windows 7 PC's ever seem to be affected; can connect just fine. I don't know if it's the OS, NIC drivers, or simply a bug but when it happens I can't even ping my router--so that kind of tells me it's a local issue. This latest time encountering this problem I could not get either of my NIC's to connect; everything is on the same network and switch.

Has anyone else run into this problem; if so, how did you go about fixing it?

 

[ch33zw1z]

I've run into a few odd Win10 networking issues, not quite like yours. I dunno your config, but I would make a fresh win10 reload usb and just reload one of the pc's and see if it clears it up.

 

[EXCellR8]

I was having an issue with OS updates some time back; I ran a Win 10 refresh then and haven't had the issue again. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it but I'm feeling like it may just be my local configuration or a bug in the drivers for my board. A few of my PC's are assigned static IP but all local NIC's are set to automatic configuration. I might actually replace the LAN cable that runs to this particular system just as a "maybe this will fix it" sort of thing.

Last Friday I consolidated my router/unifi controller/server into one machine and it's working great--however I did not change how the router/DHCP worked.

 

[SamirD]

Hmmm...if you suspect it is the lan drivers somehow, get a cheap usb nic that uses a completely different chipset (hence different drivers) and see if that resolves the issue--if so, then definitely a windows driver issue for that particular nic.

The other thing you can try is when your win10 systems are acting like they have no nic, reboot and see if anything changes. Another test to try would be booting a linux livecd at that time and see if you're having the same issue or not. If so, then it could be a hardware issue.

 

[EXCellR8]

Ah yes, I do have a USB 2.0 NIC (ASIX AX88) that I can add to see if anything changes. If not, then it's most certainly Windows 10 doing Windows 10 things--on this culprit machine in particular.

Also worth noting that all Linux machines, located on the same downstream network/switch, do not have this issue either.

 

[SamirD]

Yep, it is pointing towards a windows 10 software issue of some sort. I'd be curious as to what the usb nic does--that will pretty much prove a software driver issue if it works. If it doesn't work, it could be the entire network software subsystem has somehow gotten screwy.

 

[EXCellR8]

USB NIC works fine right away so I'm thinking it's the onboard NIC drivers... there were some new chipset drivers available but nothing that pertains to the networking bits.

Looks like it's time to dig a pit deeper; maybe find some OEM drivers.

 

[MtnMan]

I've run into a few odd Win10 networking issues, not quite like yours. I dunno your config, but I would make a fresh win10 reload usb and just reload one of the pc's and see if it clears it up.

Wow, that is a bit extreme.... no a lot extreme. do you also trade in your vehicle if the low tire pressure light comes on?

A little basic trouble shooting.... what is the IP on the PC.... if on correct network (192.168. something. something) not 169.254. something.something, then can you ping the router, typically 192.168.1.1.... if so can you ping something on the internet, like Google DNS (8.8.8.8)....
...... or go to Best Buy and buy a new PC.......

 

[ch33zw1z]

Wow, that is a bit extreme.... no a lot extreme. do you also trade in your vehicle if the low tire pressure light comes on?

A little basic trouble shooting.... what is the IP on the PC.... if on correct network (192.168. something. something) not 169.254. something.something, then can you ping the router, typically 192.168.1.1.... if so can you ping something on the internet, like Google DNS (8.8.8.8)....
...... or go to Best Buy and buy a new PC.......

Based on Windows breaking networking repeatedly in the last few years, and the ease of reloads now, it's not really a big deal.

 

[Steltek]

USB NIC works fine right away so I'm thinking it's the onboard NIC drivers... there were some new chipset drivers available but nothing that pertains to the networking bits.

Looks like it's time to dig a pit deeper; maybe find some OEM drivers.

You might also want to look at the power settings for your NIC - it may be going to sleep and then not waking up properly. You might try to set it to not go to sleep at all to see if that makes a difference.

 

[EXCellR8]

Sorry for not updating this thread in a little while... certainly appreciate all of the input.

I had done quite a bit of troubleshooting; the issue hasn't really been as much of a problem in more recent weeks. I have also virtualized my Untangle server install under W10, which took a little bit of doing since my mini-server only has one NIC. I had to add another but since configuring that it's been mostly smooth sailing. The UAP's also seem 100% happy for the first time since I've had them set up.

I wanted to use pfSense but I could never get the port forwarding to work; eventually got tired of watching videos online and reading applicable documentation. It just didn't want to work no matter how I had it configured; Untangle, on the other hand, had always worked before.

The router VM is using the same exact configuration as the physical router was, so I'm thinking it was a local configuration issue on the afflicted PC--that was possibly cleared up with regular OS updates. Who knows, but once it starting working I was pretty quick to go on troubleshooting hiatus.