Ethernet controller driver tries to install several times

J

jcroot

Posts: 56   +0
Hello guys!

I am having a very strange problem with my Asus laptop running Windows 7 64 Bits, the issue appeared after i used Acronis True Image to recover a backup from few weeks ago.

Everytime i restart or boot up my laptop, the Ethernet controller driver tries to install even thought it is already installed.

I noticed something very interesting which is a number adding next to the driver each time the laptop starts, example:

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #3

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #4

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #5

And son on....

For now i just disabled this device since i am not really using it (i use the wireless connection most of the time) but i was just wondering how can I fix this?

Many thanks!
 
LookinAround said:
Look to uninstall that Ethernet Controller in Ctl Panel->Programs and Features. Uninstall it from there
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply, i tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Ethernet Controller Driver in Device Manager, is this the same thing? Also, i tried to look for any Ethernet controller program/driver under "programs and features" but couldn't find anything related. Perhaps i need to look more? or what else can I do?
 
i tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Ethernet Controller Driver in Device Manager, is this the same thing?
Click to expand...

No. Uninstalling from DevMgr doesn't remove the installation files (which is why WIndows reinstalls after reboot). Kind of like uninstalling an application but the Setup.exe file is still left behind so Windows can call it again to redo the install

Look through Programs and Features for something about the Network Controller or Adapter. (i'm guessing there will be an entry there. not 100% certain but that would explain what you;re seeing)
 
LookinAround said:
No. Uninstalling from DevMgr doesn't remove the installation files (which is why WIndows reinstalls after reboot). Kind of like uninstalling an application but the Setup.exe file is still left behind so Windows can call it again to redo the install

Look through Programs and Features for something about the Network Controller or Adapter. (i'm guessing there will be an entry there. not 100% certain but that would explain what you;re seeing)
Click to expand...

Thanks! after looking into the control panel - programs and features i found NVIDIA Drivers, i believe this is the only item that looks kind related to Ethernet controller, correct me if i am wrong. I have also upload three pics of all my programs to see if you or somebody else can find anything different.

Here are the pics:

http://img827.imageshack.us/i/ethernetcontrollerpic1.jpg/

http://img811.imageshack.us/i/ethernetcontrollerpic2.jpg/

http://img20.imageshack.us/i/ethernetcontrollerpic3.jpg/

Click each pic to enlarge

Thanks!
 
FWIW... The NVIDIA driver in the pic could also be your graphics. It's a little strange to me that it doesn't list what the drivers are. For example, mine list NVIDIA Graphics, Realtek Ethernet and so on. Lookinaround can probably tell you more than I. Are you certain the network card is NVIDIA? Device mgr should list the manufacturer.
 
ruready2 said:
FWIW... The NVIDIA driver in the pic could also be your graphics. It's a little strange to me that it doesn't list what the drivers are. For example, mine list NVIDIA Graphics, Realtek Ethernet and so on. Lookinaround can probably tell you more than I. Are you certain the network card is NVIDIA? Device mgr should list the manufacturer.
Click to expand...
1) I agree w/ruready. Is strange (tho of course strange things happen with 'puters!) that it only says Nvidia drivers. And along that same line of thought.. i'm going to guess those are your graphics drivers. So DON'T uninstall the Nvidia stuff. It would seem you should have Ethernet drivers from Atheros
Code: 
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #3

2) just to clarify... Uninstalling a driver using DevMgr will perform the driver uninstall. BUT whether the driver setup file is ALSO removed at time of uninstall does vary by the driver. (It's the driver's specific setup file that tell's windows what to do for its case).

3) About to go to bed. Will look further / post again tomorrow. 'Nite all ZZZZZzzzzzz :)
 
Good morning all!

Yes, this is a very strange problem that i am having right now, wondering what else can i try? i can perhaps try to install the Lan Driver manually? (I have my laptop's driver disk somewhere).
 
Before anything else, and if only out of curiousity.... could you do the following

1. What exact model ASUS do you have??? (with the model # i could see what driver packages they offer on their site for your cmputer) for Win 7 64 bit.

2. If you would provide me a list of all your installed programs this way..... (by default, Windows may actually HIDE some things in the list but this will show me everything)
Download MyUninstaller and run it
> Click Edit->Select All then File->Save Selected
> In the file save pop-up, change the File Type (in the pull down menu) to Tab Delimited File
> Then save as a TXT file and attach it to your next post (using the TechSpot paper clip icon)
 
LookinAround said:
Before anything else, and if only out of curiousity.... could you do the following

1. What exact model ASUS do you have??? (with the model # i could see what driver packages they offer on their site for your cmputer) for Win 7 64 bit.

2. If you would provide me a list of all your installed programs this way..... (by default, Windows may actually HIDE some things in the list but this will show me everything)
Download MyUninstaller and run it
> Click Edit->Select All then File->Save Selected
> In the file save pop-up, change the File Type (in the pull down menu) to Tab Delimited File
> Then save as a TXT file and attach it to your next post (using the TechSpot paper clip icon)
Click to expand...

First of all, thanks for trying to help, here is a text file containing the list of all my installed programs.

http://jcroot.com/asusul30vt.txt

Secondly, here is another pic of the driver error message that appears every time i restart my system.

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/5539/laptoperror1.jpg

By the way, i have an Asus UL30VT-A1 Laptop computer.
 
Hmmm... well, here's what i know (or don't know, as the case may be! ;) )

1) I looked through the Programs list and and in your case, i find there is no Ethernet network adapter software/drivers to be found there. So confirmed nothing to be uninstalled from there (you can uninstall MyUninstaller)

2) Looking on the ASUS website for the UL30VT under Win 7 64 bit
> I do find an Atheros LAN Driver
> Version 1.0.0.14 11/06/2009

I would guess this is a more recent version then what's on your CD??? I'd try downloading and reinstalling the LAN driver on ASUS web site.

So driver reinstall sounds like the best shot..
 
LookinAround said:
Hmmm... well, here's what i know (or don't know, as the case may be! ;) )

1) I looked through the Programs list and and in your case, i find there is no Ethernet network adapter software/drivers to be found there. So confirmed nothing to be uninstalled from there (you can uninstall MyUninstaller)

2) Looking on the ASUS website for the UL30VT under Win 7 64 bit
> I do find an Atheros LAN Driver
> Version 1.0.0.14 11/06/2009

I would guess this is a more recent version then what's on your CD??? I'd try downloading and reinstalling the LAN driver on ASUS web site.

So driver reinstall sounds like the best shot..
Click to expand...

I just tried re-installing the Lan driver from Asus's website but nothing has changed, still same problem... I am starting to think that this could be a very difficult problem. or maybe there is something wrong with my Asus Ethernet device? even though i believe is internal.

One more thing... after playing around with my Asus Laptop LAN Network i see something really interesting... Under Network and sharing center i see "Local Area Connection 12" instead of "Local Area Connection" (without the number 12) could this be the issue? Also, do you believe re-installing Windows 7 could be a better solution? I tried re-installing Windows 7 and the problem seems to persist.

Also, could this be a Hardware related issue? or just software? I really don't want to give up!
 
Under Network and sharing center i see "Local Area Connection 12" instead of "Local Area Connection" (without the number 12) could this be the issue?
Click to expand...
Remember when you posted earlier you observed entries like
Code: 
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #3

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #4

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #5
My guess: The number you're seeing for LAN Connection # is just the latest driver entry attempt #. I wouldn't be concerned about the LAN connection #

As to next steps: on the one hand, you could try uninstalling all those failed entries and THEN follow it with a new install attempt BUT can't predict if that will fix your problem or not. Tho i will add: since you really do want to have a working Ethernet connection available (in case you ever lose your wireless) I think is better to fix the Ethernet connection problem sooner then later.

Since the problem occured when you did some type of restore? I'm guessing is probably a software issue that's causing the install to fail and all your woe's. But of course no way to tell until you can prove it'll work with a clean software base.

I'd vote for: do an Acronis backup image of your current drive then do a clean Win 7 install. Tho if you want to try uninstalling all those failed entries first, do you find them listed in DevMgr under Network adapters??? Rt click each and uninstall all of them, then try an Atheros driver install
 
LookinAround said:
Remember when you posted earlier you observed entries like
Code: 
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #3

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #4

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #5
My guess: The number you're seeing for LAN Connection # is just the latest driver entry attempt #. I wouldn't be concerned about the LAN connection #

As to next steps: on the one hand, you could try uninstalling all those failed entries and THEN follow it with a new install attempt BUT can't predict if that will fix your problem or not. Tho i will add: since you really do want to have a working Ethernet connection available (in case you ever lose your wireless) I think is better to fix the Ethernet connection problem sooner then later.

Since the problem occured when you did some type of restore? I'm guessing is probably a software issue that's causing the install to fail and all your woe's. But of course no way to tell until you can prove it'll work with a clean software base.

I'd vote for: do an Acronis backup image of your current drive then do a clean Win 7 install. Tho if you want to try uninstalling all those failed entries first, do you find them listed in DevMgr under Network adapters??? Rt click each and uninstall all of them, then try an Atheros driver install
Click to expand...

Hi! Thanks for your post again, as I said earlier, i tried a clean soft installation first and the problem seems to persist, i also tried uninstalling my lan driver by going to Device Manager under network adapters and nothing changed. I will try one more time to do a clean software installation to see if that makes any difference.

Jobearb:

I never tried the Regedit to remove the devices, would you recommend this to see if that solves the issue before trying to do a clean soft installation?
 
IMO Stick to using rt click Uninstall in Device Manager

Also...
1) by chance, are you running under a userid without Admin privileges? (i wonder if your problem might be due to privileges)
2) One other thing we can try:
> Recreate the problem and error message.
> Then let's see if your Windows event log might have a clue as to what happened. . [post=936481]See here[/post] for instructions to generate/post your recent events
 
LookinAround said:
IMO Stick to using rt click Uninstall in Device Manager

Also...
1) by chance, are you running under a userid without Admin privileges? (i wonder if your problem might be due to privileges)
2) One other thing we can try:
> Recreate the problem and error message.
> Then let's see if your Windows event log might have a clue as to what happened. . [post=936481]See here[/post] for instructions to generate/post your recent events
Click to expand...

Some news here...I just did what you suggested me (make a backup of my data with Acronis and make a clean install of Windows 7) and the problem is still there, i tried to download and install the LAN driver from the website after installing Windows and the problem one more time continues there...

I am not running any user without Admin privileges, I called Asus Tech Support and told them what is happening and after they tried most of the stuff that i already tried here they suggest me to send my laptop back to them for repair. (the first time i sent my laptop it was because of a hard drive failure). I wonder if it is worth the time to send my laptop back to Asus for repair? and wait another 2 o 3 weeks to get it back? Also, my Ethernet Device is working properly, i tried connecting the Ethernet cable into my laptop and I have wire internet as well. This pop up message trying to install the Ethernet Driver is my only problem! that I am starting to believe is a hardware issue and not software.

Any other suggestions are very appreciated!
 
I just did what you suggested me (make a backup of my data with Acronis and make a clean install of Windows 7) and the problem is still there, i tried to download and install the LAN driver from the website after installing Windows and the problem one more time continues there...
Click to expand...

At this point, whether it's hardware and/or a Windows 7 bug, fact is it's quite a nuisance for a problem!!

And while i understand being hesitant to take the time and effort to send it back to ASUS for repair, what's the chance you might regret that some time future once the computer isn't under warranty any longer??

I think you're best bet is to "bite the bullet" and let ASUS fix it as based on all we now know, i don't think it's likely we'll be able to find any solution in this forum. And especially if it's all due to hardware nothing we could do here. :(
 
LookinAround said:
At this point, whether it's hardware and/or a Windows 7 bug, fact is it's quite a nuisance for a problem!!

And while i understand being hesitant to take the time and effort to send it back to ASUS for repair, what's the chance you might regret that some time future once the computer isn't under warranty any longer??

I think you're best bet is to "bite the bullet" and let ASUS fix it as based on all we now know, i don't think it's likely we'll be able to find any solution in this forum. And especially if it's all due to hardware nothing we could do here. :(
Click to expand...

I understand, well i do not know what else to try, and I do not know how Asus will fix this problem either, perhaps changing the mother board? if it is a hardware related problem? since my Ethernet Controller device is internal (connected to the motherboard). If it is a Windows 7 bug, could this be a driver bug? perhaps i need to wait some time to see if the LAN driver get some updates. Just thinking...

Many thanks!
 
just a "P.S."

just fyi... my best guess based on current facts (but who knows if i'm right or not! is just my guess!) I think this problem is at least, in part, a software bug.

Your symptoms are at least consistent with what I'd expect to see if Windows thought you had plugged in a physically different but same make/model Atheros controller on each reboot. (i.e. Windows keeps redetecting the same physical controller each reboot but when it detects, it doesn't think its the same one it detected before (e.g. as tho you bought 12 identical controllers and kept plugging a new one in) which makes me think it's a Plug and Play detection/installer issue... but that's just my off-the-hand guess :)
 
jcroot said:
I understand, well i do not know what else to try, and I do not know how Asus will fix this problem either, perhaps changing the mother board? if it is a hardware related problem? since my Ethernet Controller device is internal (connected to the motherboard). If it is a Windows 7 bug, could this be a driver bug? perhaps i need to wait some time to see if the LAN driver get some updates. Just thinking...

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

Yea, you might try to live with it awhile (if you want) but be sure to keep your warranty window in mind!! (see if Windows 7 and/or driver updates help). Tho, of course, i can't be certain h/w isn't involved as well in addition to my software speculation above!

And glad to try and help! :)
 
LookinAround said:
Yea, you might try to live with it awhile (if you want) but be sure to keep your warranty window in mind!! (see if Windows 7 and/or driver updates help). Tho, of course, i can't be certain h/w isn't involved as well in addition to my software speculation above!

And glad to try and help! :)
Click to expand...

Hello guys again!

I really couldn't sleep last night thinking about my Ethernet Driver's problem, i haven't contact Asus yet since if it is not a hardware problem but software then there must be a way to solve it. I was just thinking about the "MSCONFIG" tool from Windows, could there be an start up entry that is preventing or causing this Ethernet Controller Issue? perhaps windows is adding this start up entry automatically?

If so, here text file with my entry list:

http://jcroot.com/startup.txt
 
Hello guys!

I just wanted to follow this thread with a quick update regarding my Asus ethernet controller driver... finally i decided to send my laptop back to Asus with a detailed description of the problem... i got it back today and guess what? the sent me the laptop back without fixing the problem, they said the did all testing to my ethernet controller and they couldn't find any problem with it. Also what is worse is... they sent me a survey email saying:

Dear Customer,

The goal of ASUS service team is to provide the best service worldwide to our customers. We count on your support to
provide us valuable feedback and share your service related experiences with us.

Please follow below link and provide your feedback via the online survey for your service case:

RMA# : xxxxxxxxxx,
S/N: ,

The repair is finished, but it might be that you haven't received the unit back yet. Please fill in the survey once you have received the unit.
Click to expand...


I was just wondering what should i do now? perhaps they were not that curious to find the ethernet controller message?
 
jcroot, you are not alone! im using Asus UL80VT, and i have the EXACT same problem with you.
i've triend many times, and the installation keeps going, now im using "Local Area Connection 60" already....

:(
 
^^. I have a same problem too.
I'm using ASUS G51J
Before i don't have this problem.
After I update BIOS fall. Then i have to send my laptop to ASUS support.
When my laptop return to me i got this problems.
If anybody can help me how to delete the:
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #1
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #2
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #3
Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) #....

I think that i can delete it from he registry but i dun know where i can delete it.
 
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