Today we can connect some computers using an Ethernet cable or via WiFi. Each of these forms of connection has its advantages and disadvantages, but in both cases they are very useful. The problem is that, regardless of whether we use one or the other, these connections sometimes present several problems. Wi-Fi, for example, offers us greater mobility, but on the other hand, Ethernet connections tend to take more advantage of all the bandwidth. In this case, we are going to focus on the Ethernet connections, and it is that sometimes the doubt arises as to whether I will have the Ethernet adapter properly configured on the PC.
One thing to keep in mind is that when we talk about Ethernet adapters on the PC, we can use two different types. One would be those integrated into the motherboard and others that we will connect through a PCIe or USB port. The latter are the ones that we must be more careful about because they are more exposed as they are not inside the team.
Check that they are properly configured
One way to verify that the Ethernet adapter in the PC is properly configured is to verify that it has been correctly detected and its icon does not show any yellow or red sign that indicates that there is some kind of error. To check it in Windows 10 we would have to follow a series of steps:
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Let's go to Start Menu.
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We write Device Manager and click on Enter.
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There we go to the Network adapters section and then we look for the corresponding Ethernet adapter.
Then we would see a screen like this:
As you can see, its icon does not indicate that there is any type of problem. However, we could take advantage of and update your firmware or driver. In this case, we will click with the right button on the option "Update driver". On the other hand, in the event that we had problems with the Ethernet adapter on the PC and no update was found, we could resort to the web of the Ethernet adapter, the motherboard or the laptop. In this regard, we may be interested in knowing some basic steps to avoid problems with the adapter.
Troubleshoot problems with the Ethernet adapter
One important thing is that we must have a good antivirus, a firewall and a properly updated operating system on our computer. For example, if this were not the case, we could have a badly configured firewall or one that is not working properly, and it would affect the Ethernet adapter in the PC with cuts in the network communications that we make, even though the Ethernet adapter itself is working perfectly. You can visit our tutorial on why our Ethernet adapter disconnects.
If we are using a USB adapter and we see that we have problems, we can try to change the port, preferably for a USB 3.0 one. You have to be very careful because sometimes with a movement it may disconnect and not make the internal connection of the typical RJ-45 connector well. Another thing that we should not rule out is that there has been an error in the installation of the firmware or driver. Sometimes a corrupt file can cause us to suffer random failures, in addition, updating that driver can provide us with performance and stability improvements. Therefore, the solution would be to reinstall the driver in our operating system.
Sometimes what happens is that that Ethernet adapter in the PC has to be replaced because it is faulty, or simply because it is very old and we do not have Multigigabit speeds. Then we could opt for a new PCIe or USB, although our recommendation is to use PCIe cards if it is for a desktop computer and USB cards if it is a laptop.
It would also be convenient to try another network cable if we have another one. It is not an element that often fails, but you can try to do the test, especially when we see that it is not in good condition, because there are many times that the problem is not in the cable but in the RJ-45 connector.
As you have seen, we must check if the Ethernet adapter in the PC is properly configured and some possible solutions, as a last resort we could change the Ethernet card for a more modern one.