Realtek onboard LAN doesn't work above 10 Mbps

[Yousuf Khan]

Issue affects Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubuntu Linux.

As of yesterday, my onboard Realtek Gigabit Ethernet NIC stopped working
fully. It's a "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller", model RTL8167. It
was the NIC built into the motherboard of my PC, which is an ASUS
M4A785-M. Initially, it wasn't working at all when plugged into my
router, so I plugged it into a separate hub, and it somehow got working
at the lowest possible speed of 10 Mbps. This NIC has previously worked
both at 100 Mbps, and 1 Gbps!

I also tried this under Ubuntu Linux, thinking maybe it's a Windows
driver problem, but the same problem occurs under Linux, so it's looking
like a real hardware problem. Perhaps it's an autodetect issue, is there
some way to hard-code it to run at 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps, without going
through autodetection?

Yousuf Khan

 

[Big Steel]

Issue affects Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubuntu Linux.

As of yesterday, my onboard Realtek Gigabit Ethernet NIC stopped working
fully. It's a "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller", model RTL8167. It
was the NIC built into the motherboard of my PC, which is an ASUS
M4A785-M. Initially, it wasn't working at all when plugged into my
router, so I plugged it into a separate hub, and it somehow got working
at the lowest possible speed of 10 Mbps. This NIC has previously worked
both at 100 Mbps, and 1 Gbps!

I also tried this under Ubuntu Linux, thinking maybe it's a Windows
driver problem, but the same problem occurs under Linux, so it's looking
like a real hardware problem. Perhaps it's an autodetect issue, is there
some way to hard-code it to run at 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps, without going
through autodetection?

It doesn't make a difference if you hard code or not. If it's
defective, then it's defective.

 

[Joe Morris]

Issue affects Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubuntu Linux.

As of yesterday, my onboard Realtek Gigabit Ethernet NIC stopped working
fully. It's a "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller", model RTL8167. It
was the NIC built into the motherboard of my PC, which is an ASUS
M4A785-M. Initially, it wasn't working at all when plugged into my
router, so I plugged it into a separate hub, and it somehow got working
at the lowest possible speed of 10 Mbps. This NIC has previously worked
both at 100 Mbps, and 1 Gbps!

I also tried this under Ubuntu Linux, thinking maybe it's a Windows
driver problem, but the same problem occurs under Linux, so it's looking
like a real hardware problem. Perhaps it's an autodetect issue, is there
some way to hard-code it to run at 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps, without going
through autodetection?

Assuming that the NIC hasn't experienced a hardware failure, try using a
different cable. Bad network cables (open/short/noisy/whatever) can cause
all sorts of "interesting" symptoms. For the same reason, examine the
sockets on both the NIC and the router for damage.

Joe Morris

 

[daytripper]

Issue affects Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubuntu Linux.

As of yesterday, my onboard Realtek Gigabit Ethernet NIC stopped working
fully. It's a "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller", model RTL8167. It
was the NIC built into the motherboard of my PC, which is an ASUS
M4A785-M. Initially, it wasn't working at all when plugged into my
router, so I plugged it into a separate hub, and it somehow got working
at the lowest possible speed of 10 Mbps. This NIC has previously worked
both at 100 Mbps, and 1 Gbps!

I also tried this under Ubuntu Linux, thinking maybe it's a Windows
driver problem, but the same problem occurs under Linux, so it's looking
like a real hardware problem. Perhaps it's an autodetect issue, is there
some way to hard-code it to run at 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps, without going
through autodetection?

Yousuf Khan

Under Windows Device Manager you can find adapter-specific settings that may
include the ability to force a specific speed. It won't fix a hardware problem
but it might be useful in diagnosis.

As for your specific problem, presuming you've eliminated the network cable
and any other external influences such that the problem is at or behind the IO
panel connector for the nic, one common failure mode - and frankly about the
only one a user has much chance of fixing in the field - is a solder joint
gone bad, which can often be diagnosed by gently flexing the connector body
while the nic is cabled to a working 100Mbit or Gbit port, and checking to see
if the status LEDs change state...

/daytripper

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Assuming that the NIC hasn't experienced a hardware failure, try using a
different cable. Bad network cables (open/short/noisy/whatever) can cause
all sorts of "interesting" symptoms. For the same reason, examine the
sockets on both the NIC and the router for damage.

Already tried that. Tried about 3 different cables lying around here.

Yousuf Khan

 

[CHDesign]

I have the exact same issue, same motherboard Asus M4785-M and nic. I have a Realtek onboard GB nic that was previously working fine at 1GB to my local switch. I recently noticed that it is now connecting at 10MB, no higher. After looking around my system a bit I noticed that Windows Update had installed an optional update for my network card as shown below. I am wondering if this update did something to the drivers or hardware. I have rolled my system back to a date prior to the update and I have the same issue. Booting from a Ubuntu live disk also shows the connection at 10MB. Hopefully this update hasn't caused any hardware damage.

Realtek driver update for Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Installation date: ‎1/‎16/‎2011 1:10 AM
Installation status: Successful
Update type: Optional

This driver was provided by Realtek for support of Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller

More information:
http://winqual.microsoft.com/support/?driverid=4603

 

[novaraz]

possible solution

Hey guys, I know this sounds weird, but have you tried disconnecting the power for a few minutes? I was having the same connection problem (previously 1Gbps, now only 10Mbps, and zero connection in Ubuntu 10.10). I read on another forum to unplug the comp for 3 minutes. Now everything works fine. YMMV of course.

 

[CHDesign]

Solved!

Novaraz, it worked! I am back to 1Gig again. Powered off the computer and unplugged it for about 15 minutes, powered everything back on and I was at the correct speed. I guess through all the troubleshooting I had powered off, but never shutoff/unplugged the power supply. Thanks for the tip.

 

[isochronous]

Hey guys, I know this sounds weird, but have you tried disconnecting the power for a few minutes? I was having the same connection problem (previously 1Gbps, now only 10Mbps, and zero connection in Ubuntu 10.10). I read on another forum to unplug the comp for 3 minutes. Now everything works fine. YMMV of course.

I've got the same M4A785-M motherboard, and experienced the same problem after performing my first Windows Update - TWICE. I reinstalled Windows the first time, then once it happened again I searched google for an answer and stumbled on this thread. I have to say, I was super skeptical once I saw this, but I thought it was worth a shot, and can you believe it, IT WORKED.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MAN! I *love* you. You just saved me so much frustration.

 

[mattydee]

I've got the same M4A785-M motherboard, and experienced the same problem after performing my first Windows Update - TWICE. I reinstalled Windows the first time, then once it happened again I searched google for an answer and stumbled on this thread. I have to say, I was super skeptical once I saw this, but I thought it was worth a shot, and can you believe it, IT WORKED.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MAN! I *love* you. You just saved me so much frustration.

I was skeptical also and IT WORKED! THANK YOU

 

[binaryfabricator]

Yep, I was having the exact same problem. Tried everything -- drivers, new network gear and cables, fresh Win7 install -- nothing.

It would only work at 10mbps and anything higher would just connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect....

Then I saw the suggestion to unplug the power. I laughed a little bit and said to myself, "Pshh, that can't do anything!" Well, I gave it a try, unplugged the power for about 10 minutes, plugged it back in, and it worked. Set it to Gigabit ethernet with no issues! Well I'll be darned.

Thank you to who ever suggested that.

EDIT: Just an after thought, I did notice it started doing this after a storm one night. Given the fact that completely draining the power from the PC fixes it, the issue could have been from a surge in power. Time to invest in a good surge protector.

 

[oforshell]

Problems on my HP Laptop

I have a HP dv7-3010so with Windows 7 Home Premium and a Realtek 8167 NIC.

My impression is that the chip during heavy loads (downloads, uploads, watching TV from the internet etc) either overheats or that data areas in the driver overflow because the machine simply stops dead: the display still works (no black or blue screen) but neither mouse nor keyboard work. Once I was uploading about 80GB to a friend and the encrypted link was transferring at more than 10 MB/s. It stopped maybe thirty seconds after the upload started. I finally switched to the wireless adapter.

Since the machine stops dead the only solution is to turn it off by holding down the power switch for more than five seconds. It will start up again and suggest a normal windows startup. The problem is most frequent when operating in Gb mode. It is less common in 100Mb and sometimes happens in 10Mb.

Overheat or overflow? That area of the computer gets rather hot but I really don't know.

There's a new Realtek driver (7.50.1123.2011) on their site which I just downloaded. I'll get back with my experiences.

 

[oforshell]

New Realtek driver

Hi, I promised I'd get back to you about this.

The Realtek driver is a BIG improvement over the W7 provided one. I can now run at Gb and without the "mandatory" freezes. I've had one - which occurred when the computer was idling as I was away for a few hours. When I got back it had frozen.

On the whole I recommend!

 

[neelin]

I rolled back from 7:50.... to 7.17.304.2010 & I'm instantly back up to 100 from 10

 

[keyboar]

possible solution
Hey guys, I know this sounds weird, but have you tried disconnecting the power for a few minutes? I was having the same connection problem (previously 1Gbps, now only 10Mbps, and zero connection in Ubuntu 10.10). I read on another forum to unplug the comp for 3 minutes. Now everything works fine. YMMV of course.

Sorry if I'm bumping this, but it's the best solution I've had for these slow internet speeds! I feel like it's a fairly common one, and even trying this in Windows 8.1 has worked. I thought it was a problems with my cisco router, or windows 8.1., it's likely that changing so many things at once confused my motherboards onboard Ethernet. I tried everything, re installing drivers, calling Shaw, resetting my router, new IPs, boosted speeds to the max on my ISP's end, I tried everything, and of course the simple fix (unplug everything and wait a few minutes) was the correct way to go!

I hate how simple these seemingly complicated problems always are! Thank you so gosh-darn much Novaraz. Seriously, my speeds have gone from 8Mbps to 30 in a few minutes. I am so happy.

Are these tears?
Yes. Tears of joy.

Forever yours,
keyboar

 

[Karim]

I had to sign up to post a response here but really felt compelled to when I read a solution that was no better than a scripted IT support department telling me to turn my PC on and off again. I was laughing when I read this thread...
But given I had a similar issue previously and on that occasion it was Realtek gigabit dropping from 1Gbps to 100 mbps which had me pulling my hair out as I tested everything and it turned out to be not one but two dodgy Cat6 cables that needed replacing I thought I'd solve this one too.
On this occasion it was same RealTek NIC (embedded in Gigabyte MB) dropping connect speed from 1Gb to 10mbps. I checked all cables, phoned the fibre provider/ISP, reinstalled drivers, rolled back drivers and booted with Ubuntu (I now have a nice little Ubuntu bootable USB stick I shall keep for future occasions) and eventually decided to buy a new NIC and plug it in. However, on the way home forgot to drop into the local computer store so gave Google one last chance and came across this thread. I was so frustrated at myself for even trying to power off and disconnect the power from the PSU for a few minutes, felt quite the fool for even bothering to try it. Felt very foolish when it worked!!!!

Thanks Novaraz!!

Stress and frustration replaced by peace and highspeed ethernet!!!!

 

[Lud4l]

Hey guys,
My comp worked fine with its 1Gbps ethernet (windows Vista). I ugraded it to windows 8.1, and the speed falls to 10Mbs.

I checked drivers (mobo and ethernet card), try to unplug my comp during a few minutes, it doesn't work

Does anyone have another tips? This drive me mad

 

[Xhumeka]

It would only work at 10mbps and anything higher would just connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect and connect and disconnect....

I registered on these forums just to post the same verification - I had the exact same problem and unplugging my computer for 10 minutes also fixed it for me.

It's very strange because I had already power-cycled the PC, but I didn't unplug the power and network cable nor leave it powered off for longer than a few seconds. It was only after I unplugged the power and ethernet cables for 10 minutes then restarted did the problem go away.

Just wanted to further confirm the "unplug PC and wait 15 minutes" solution - it really works for this problem!

 

[Kevin Brusie]

After experiencing the same issue, and trying all sorts of remedies, I discovered that under Local Area Connection Status-> Properties-> the RealTek PCIe GBE had Kaspersky AntiVirus NDIS 6 Filter checked. I unchecked it and I am flying along at Gigabit speeds...

 

[WfromKualaLumpur]

Purposely register an account to thanks!
I spent few hours to find for solution, and the power off and wait solution worked!
After I have updated to the latest version (realtek ethernet onboard lan ehternet port ), the speed still cap at 10mbps. Then I followed this instruction here, I power off and wait for around 10 mins. After that the speedtest back to normal, 100Mbps. Thank you so much!

Note: Using MSI motherboard, windows 10 professional version.