Member Avatar for m.pinky357

for every once in three days i'm facing this problem. in the tool bar a icon appears saying "new hardware found" & i have already installed realtek... but when that icon appears in device manager there will be a sign '?' before ethernet controller, to overcome this i have to restore my system this is very frustrating since i have to restore in once in three days... how can i solve this problem please help me

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Dani AI

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Intermittent "New hardware found" plus a question mark on the Ethernet controller means Windows is repeatedly detecting the NIC but failing to keep a working driver bound to it. Because System Restore temporarily fixes the symptom, this points to a recurring root cause (corrupt driver package, Windows auto-updating an incompatible driver, driver-store/Plug and Play churn, power-management glitches, or failing NIC/motherboard hardware) rather than a one-off glitch.

Diagnostic checklist (practical steps to isolate and fix):

  • Collect evidence first: check Event Viewer -> System for PlugPlay/driver install errors and note timestamps. Record the adapter's Device Instance Path and the driver Provider/Version/Date from Device Manager -> Details/Driver.
  • Prevent automatic driver churn: confirm whether Windows Update is replacing the Realtek driver and, if so, disable automatic driver updates for devices on that machine (use Device Installation Settings or local policy depending on OS).
  • Remove stale/corrupt driver packages from the store (list then delete the offending oemXX.inf entry):
pnputil -e
pnputil -d oemXX.inf
  • Repair OS integrity (if registry/OS corruption is suspected):
sfc /scannow
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
  • Check power-management: in the NIC properties disable any "allow the computer to turn off this device" or aggressive energy‑saving options in the driver's advanced tab.
  • Clean reinstall: uninstall the adapter (Device Manager), remove its driver package from the store (pnputil or DriverStoreExplorer), then install the vendor driver as administrator.
  • Hardware isolation: boot a Linux live USB or try a known-good USB/PCIe NIC or different cable/switch port. If the problem appears outside Windows, suspect hardware; otherwise it’s OS/driver related.
  • If hardware is at fault, disable onboard LAN in BIOS and fit a replacement adapter; also consider a BIOS update if the motherboard vendor recommends it.

This builds on ’s driver-focus and ’s uninstall idea by adding driver-store cleanup and log checks, and echoes ’ note about system/registry health—use SFC/DISM instead of repeated restores as a long-term fix.

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Member Avatar for barryt

you are not realy giving enough info
try 2nd button on realtek in device mamager and say update driver , point the updater to the possition where your realtek file are.
OR
post a screenshot of your device manager with full details
barry

Member Avatar for designbooks

you didnt mention whether this affects network connectivity. what happens alot of times is registry gets corrupted

Member Avatar for la1

go to system in control panel, hardware then device manager. click the + sign to the left of network devices , you should see your network card, right click click uninstall, either go up highlight the name of your coputer in the above list click action then rescan or restart your pc.

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