Windows 10 Ethernet not regcognized after window 10 upgrade

ThomasBW

Member
After upgrading my Dell XPS 8700 from Windows 8.1 to 10, the Ethernet stopped working. It's not found in device manager, so the uninstall/reinstall of the driver did nothing. It gave me the "The Realtek Network Controller was not found. if deep sleep mode is enabled please plug the cable." I've even reset the motherboard by taking the mother board's battery out and letting it sit for a while with the power disconnected. This did not fix the issue either. If anyone has dealt with this since the release of Windows 10, any help would be appreciated.
 
Hi Thomas,
if you have a UEFI bios try changing it to 'Legacy mode' if you have such a setting in the bios.
 
Under the boot menu in the UEFI setup, the option to change whether I enter UEFI setup or BIOS is blacked out. It doesn't allow me to change it. Could someone point me in the right direction to flash my bios. The software from Dell Support (XPS_8700 BIOS Version A11) says "The BIOS version is same or lower than current BIOS version", and does nothing for me. I think that flashing the bios will wake up the integrated Ethernet port. I've tried everything else I could come across on the interwebs. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
 
Checking your system support page you'll see the only bios version available is A11 which you already have. As your system is Windows 10 ready and has driver updates available why not try a clean install?
I would download your drivers first though. You may need to install the network driver first before you'll have any internet access so do make sure you have a copy handy.
Product Support | Dell UK

As you've already completed a successful upgrade you will not need to activate Windows after the install. This should take place automatically.
 
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