# Is my ethernet card fried? Lightning Storm Q

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-ethernet-card-fried-lightning-storm-q/500287>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 19, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-ethernet-card-fried-lightning-storm-q/500287 "2009-06-19T12:04:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-ethernet-card-fried-lightning-storm-q/500287/1 "2009-06-19T12:04:59Z")

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Yesterday a very nasty storm blew up so fast I didn’t get to turn things off. And I mean fast - it came, blew holy hell around, and left in under a half-hour! Of course, if you turned off your electroncis for every storm around here, you’d pretty much be squatting at home reading by candlelight, so…

Anyway, I was nearby and heard a pop - but it sounded like it came from the speakers along with a nearby thunderclap. The computer continued to run, and I’ve confirmed everything works… except my internet connection.

I’ve no error messages, and both the wireless router and the cable modem _appear_ fine, properly blinking lights and all. When I plug an ethernet cable into the back, my onboard ethernet card does not light up, but the router end seems to recognize the cabling.

Any tips? I’m not sure how to pinpoint the problem without pulling things out and fiddling with it for a while.

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-ethernet-card-fried-lightning-storm-q/500287/2 "2009-06-19T13:19:22Z")

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First, the obvious, is to shut down and reboot.  
Second, borrow a known good ethernet card and substitute. If that solves the problem replace the card.  
Third the problem could be in the MB and that means more sophisticated testing at a computer service shop. (Might be easiest to start there anyway.)