Network Adapters Disappearing Randomly

I have a Windows 2003 Server that appears to have a serious problem where
the network adapters simply disappear. Sometimes one of two adapters
disappears. Other times neither one appears after a reboot. The
computer is an HP DL380 G4 and the adapters are NC7782, built into the
motherboard. The adapters pass the HP hardware diagnostic, and (of
course) HP thinks it is a software problem.

The drivers for the NC7782 were installed by the DL380 G4 Proliant Service
Pack package, but I have since then installed the latest version of the
NC7782 drivers directly. It doesn't change the outcome.

Lately, after a fresh reboot, the first login to Windows as local
Administrator hangs, and no adapters appear on the system. I have to log
out and login again, at which point the adapters appear in the system tray.

I have audited many things in the file system and registry and so far I
don't see any rejection there that might explain this behavior.

Has anyone else seen this behavior before, and how did it resolve?

Any ideas for experiments to try? We can try a different adapter, and I'm
open to doing a fresh, parallel Windows install to see if the problem
duplicates on a clean Windows installation.

Before I open a ticket with Microsoft for a problem that is subtle and could
take them a long time to resolve, I would like to make sure I have tried
everything obvious.

--
Will

Hi Will,

>> after a fresh reboot, the first login to Windows as local Administrator
>> hangs, and no adapters appear on the system.
Whoops. That's not so good!
Does a chkdsk /r on the system volume help? Was HyperThreading enabled when
the OS was installed? You may have a confused HAL.
I'm out of idea's - anyone else?
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"Will" <westes-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ...
>I have a Windows 2003 Server that appears to have a serious problem where
>the network adapters simply disappear. Sometimes one of two adapters
>disappears. Other times neither one appears after a reboot. The
>computer is an HP DL380 G4 and the adapters are NC7782, built into the
>motherboard. The adapters pass the HP hardware diagnostic, and (of
>course) HP thinks it is a software problem.
>
> The drivers for the NC7782 were installed by the DL380 G4 Proliant Service
> Pack package, but I have since then installed the latest version of the
> NC7782 drivers directly. It doesn't change the outcome.
>
> Lately, after a fresh reboot, the first login to Windows as local
> Administrator hangs, and no adapters appear on the system. I have to log
> out and login again, at which point the adapters appear in the system
> tray.
>
> I have audited many things in the file system and registry and so far I
> don't see any rejection there that might explain this behavior.
>
> Has anyone else seen this behavior before, and how did it resolve?
>
> Any ideas for experiments to try? We can try a different adapter, and
> I'm open to doing a fresh, parallel Windows install to see if the problem
> duplicates on a clean Windows installation.
>
> Before I open a ticket with Microsoft for a problem that is subtle and
> could take them a long time to resolve, I would like to make sure I have
> tried everything obvious.
>
> --
> Will
>

I think the approach of doing a clean build is the right one. It may take
time, but you will find what is causing it this way so long as you are
methodical. I've never seen this happen BTW. I assume HP would have
advised this, but is there a newer firmware for the adapter? I noticed on
the HP site last week that the DL 380 G5 has downloadable firmware for the
NIC.

"Will" <westes-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ...
>I have a Windows 2003 Server that appears to have a serious problem where
>the network adapters simply disappear. Sometimes one of two adapters
>disappears. Other times neither one appears after a reboot. The
>computer is an HP DL380 G4 and the adapters are NC7782, built into the
>motherboard. The adapters pass the HP hardware diagnostic, and (of
>course) HP thinks it is a software problem.
>
> The drivers for the NC7782 were installed by the DL380 G4 Proliant Service
> Pack package, but I have since then installed the latest version of the
> NC7782 drivers directly. It doesn't change the outcome.
>
> Lately, after a fresh reboot, the first login to Windows as local
> Administrator hangs, and no adapters appear on the system. I have to log
> out and login again, at which point the adapters appear in the system
> tray.
>
> I have audited many things in the file system and registry and so far I
> don't see any rejection there that might explain this behavior.
>
> Has anyone else seen this behavior before, and how did it resolve?
>
> Any ideas for experiments to try? We can try a different adapter, and
> I'm open to doing a fresh, parallel Windows install to see if the problem
> duplicates on a clean Windows installation.
>
> Before I open a ticket with Microsoft for a problem that is subtle and
> could take them a long time to resolve, I would like to make sure I have
> tried everything obvious.
>
> --
> Will
>

Hello Will,

For me this sounds like a real hardware problem with your NIC chipset. I
have about 20 DL380 G4 in use with 2003 SP1 and never got any problem with
the NIC's. We also using the newest NIC drivers and teaming software from HP.

Best regards

Myweb
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.

> I have a Windows 2003 Server that appears to have a serious problem
> where the network adapters simply disappear. Sometimes one of two
> adapters disappears. Other times neither one appears after a reboot.
> The computer is an HP DL380 G4 and the adapters are NC7782, built into
> the motherboard. The adapters pass the HP hardware diagnostic, and
> (of course) HP thinks it is a software problem.
>
> The drivers for the NC7782 were installed by the DL380 G4 Proliant
> Service Pack package, but I have since then installed the latest
> version of the NC7782 drivers directly. It doesn't change the
> outcome.
>
> Lately, after a fresh reboot, the first login to Windows as local
> Administrator hangs, and no adapters appear on the system. I have to
> log out and login again, at which point the adapters appear in the
> system tray.
>
> I have audited many things in the file system and registry and so far
> I don't see any rejection there that might explain this behavior.
>
> Has anyone else seen this behavior before, and how did it resolve?
>
> Any ideas for experiments to try? We can try a different adapter,
> and I'm open to doing a fresh, parallel Windows install to see if the
> problem duplicates on a clean Windows installation.
>
> Before I open a ticket with Microsoft for a problem that is subtle and
> could take them a long time to resolve, I would like to make sure I
> have tried everything obvious.
>

"Myweb" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) .com...
> For me this sounds like a real hardware problem with your NIC chipset. I
> have about 20 DL380 G4 in use with 2003 SP1 and never got any problem with
> the NIC's. We also using the newest NIC drivers and teaming software from
> HP.

I agree that this also sounds like a hardware issue to me as well, but I
want to make sure I try everything reasonable first to diagnose source of
problem.

--
Will