Ethernet port USED to work T.T

[ramstick]

So my brother had this desktop that has been working just fine for quite awhile now and then he got a laptop and stopped using it for a few weeks and then went back to it one night and it said "Network cable unplugged" and it turns out that the plugs are actually plugged in, the device is enabled, working correctly, the drivers are up to date, tried switching wires around and everything. Took the cord from his xbox which was ON the internet right before he unplugged it and that didn't work either. SO my theory is the damn things busted =P New ethernet port or what guys? Suggestions?

[Steve R Jones]

It wouldn't hurt to reboot the router and or modem.

[pe4rljam]

Sometimes drivers become corrupted and freak you NIC out. Try to uninstall the NIC via the Device Manager, reboot your PC, and if windows doesn't automatically detect and reinstall the drivers install them manually. Good luck!

[railfrog]

I had the same error message after buying a new PC and hooking it up to my router. Found the answer after a few days on different forums.
Might not connect at full speed but hopefully it will get you connected.

"Have seen before where the PC and router can not decide on a speed to operate at, try forcing the network adaptor to use 10Mbps or 100Mbps and see if it then connects."

The network adaptor is situated at..
Right click my Computer>Properties>Device Manager>Network Adaptors.
Right click the Network Adaptor>Properties>Advanced
On the Advanced tab there is a menu on the left side. Go down to "speed and Duplex" and change the setting to 10 or 100.
Try them all and see which works best.