How to Check Whether Network Card Is Working or Not?
2017-02-16

Sometime we are not able to access internet on our system which become a major issue for us and the first thing we do is calling our internet service provider, but in many cases internet service provider says that there is no fault form their end as everything is working fine from their side. In this type of situation there might be something wrong with our network card. Before we try to figure out what could be wrong with our network Card, let’s try and understand the basics first.

 

So what is a network card and how much should we know about it? It’s not a complicated piece of circuitry, is very easy to use; and compatible with all the devices that connect to the internet. If you have more than one computer that needs to be connected to the Internet source, then a network card is the magic wand!

network card

Check Network Card

Whether the network interface card (NIC) is part of your PC’s motherboard circuitry or attached as an expansion card, you can inspect its status by using the steps mentioned below.
1. Open Your Computers Command Prompt
Click Start > Run > CMD
2. Ping Your NIC Card
At the command prompt type either of the following:
Ping google.com > then press Enter
3. Check Your Results
You should get back results that look something like this:
Pinging google.com [72.14.207.99] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 72.14.207.99: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=243 
Reply from 72.14.207.99: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=243 
Reply from 72.14.207.99: bytes=32 time=80ms TTL=243 
Reply from 72.14.207.99: bytes=32 time=65ms TTL=243
Ping statistics for 72.14.207.99: 
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), 
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: 
Minimum = 65ms, Maximum = 80ms, Average = 70ms
4. Exit The Command Prompt
At the command prompt type exit and press Enter
So, if you receive a ping response your NIC card is working.

How do I Test a Network Card?

The usual reason individuals test a network cardis to find out if it is working properly and if it is letting the computer access other devices or networks. One of the easiest ways to test a network card is by sending a pingto a website that is known to be always up most of the time. You can also test a network card by checking the properties section and the internet protocol(IP) configuration of your personal computer.

When sending a ping to a website to test a network card, it is best to choose one of the most popular websites because they are likely to be up most of the time. The popular search engines are examples of these kinds of websites. This can be done by opening the computer's command line. From the command line, you simply type the word ping, then a space and the uniform resource locator (URL) of the web site, and hit enter.

You will then see results of the ping you sent. These results frequently display the response time, the number of packets sent, the number of packets received, and the number of packets lost. If you get these numbers, it means you have a working network card. Any other results may indicate that the website you are pinging is down or your network card is not working.

Ethernet Network Card FAQs

When should you get a new ethernet network card?

There are a couple of cases in which you should consider getting a new ethernet network card. If you've determined through troubleshooting that your ethernet network card is no longer functioning, you may want to replace the card to see if this gets the network running properly again.

If you are upgrading your network or your computer, you will probably need a new network card. And if you recently upgraded the network and didn't replace the card at that time, you probably should add a new card to get everything working well.

How can you tell an ethernet network card is no longer working?

There are a few different ways to troubleshoot an ethernet network card and determine if it is not working, or if another part of the system has stopped functioning as it should.

Try pinging another computer on the network or a website on the internet that you know is working. This is one way to determine whether or not the card is working as it should be.

How do you replace an ethernet network card?

Network cards are inserted into the PCI slot on a computer motherboard. The card should be gently pushed into place in this slot until you feel it snap into place.

A screw at the end of the bracket must be loosened and then tightened in order for the card to be secured.

This sounds much simpler than it actually is. You don’t want to pull a motherboard out of a computer and start moving components around unless you know how to work with hardware.

Because dust, hair, and lint can negatively affect a computer’s performance if the delicate components are exposed to this debris, you want to work with hardware in a clean room environment using the proper gloves and protection.

Changing out a network card is a big deal and should only be done by someone who is familiar with working with hardware like this.

Summary

Without a network card, a computer cannot connect to the Internet. If you suspect your network card is broken, methodically check all alternatives to isolate the source of the problem. If the network card is indeed the source of the problem, there are many ways to resolve the issue. Buy external or internal replacement networking cards. Buy antivirus and security software in order to repair the device driver software that controls the existing card, or try restoring the operating system to its factory settings. Lastly, buy surge protectors to protect the physical hardware of the network card and the overall computer.
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