So I think I am missing something

[G+_Jason Perry]

Originally shared by Jason Perry

 

So I think I am missing something.

I went to Lenovo's website and downloaded the Ethernet controller drivers, installed them, and nothing happened. I have pulled some pictures together and I am posting a link to the Lenovo download page I used.

 

http://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/products/Desktops-and-all-in-ones/ThinkCentre-M-Series-desktops/ThinkCentre-M58/6258/RY2?tabName=Downloads&linkTrack=Mast:SubNav:Support:Drivers and Software|Drivers and Software&beta=false

[G+_Ben Reese]

It's hard to see from your pictures what the Dell service tag is, so I can't really look it up myself; but there are sometimes multiple network drivers depending on which chip they actually used, wireless vs wired, version of Windows, etc. I typically just download and install them all and hope that one of them is correct lol. (There's ways to look through the [Details] tab of the device properties and figure out what device it is, but that's a bit of an Easter egg hunt.)

 

The other thing I do is remove all "broken" devices from device manager then tell it to scan for changes again. It will scan automatically on reboot, but you can force it to under the Action or maybe View window (or I think the toolbar button of a computer and magnifying glass will do it too).

 

Drivers are a complicated beast, so one other thing you can try is removing the device in device manager then running the driver installer. Some devices won't update the drivers if it thinks the drivers are already there.

 

Good luck though!

[G+_Jason Perry]

Wayne Hobbins?, I have tried to install the driver a few times. The first time I restarted to see if that would resolve the issue. The second time I opened the readme and followed the directions and double checked path names, surprise surprise it was the same process as the first time. It isn't even showing up in the device man.

 

I am now back to looking very closely at the site I downloaded them from to make sure all the letters and numbers were right.

 

Past that I might go out and get a USB adapter, but I dont know how well that will work if there is no internet connection.

[G+_Patrick Graham]

Given the errors showing on all the "Other Devices" looks like you may need to update or reinstall your chipset driver(s). The Lenovo website frequently won't find chipset drivers when you search by OS so you may need to drop the OS from your search criteria. Alternatively, if you have Lenovo Solutions Center installed, make sure it is the latest version, than have it scan your system for driver updates. (Sorry don't have it installed myself so can't double check specifics).

[G+_Jason Perry]

Wayne Hobbins?, I haven't had chance to get back out to see if anything works. But I agree with you, I think Patrick Graham? is on to something. I have double checked the model number and everything is right

[G+_Jason Perry]

Ben Reese? it is a lenovo m58 6258. The link is to the driver download page I used.

[G+_Ben Reese]

Jason Perry doh! Not sure why I was thinking Dell.

 

I haven't worked on as many Lenovo laptops, but it seems like I had similar issues. I'd definitely try getting those PCI and SM BUS drivers installed.

 

If you have a USB wifi dongle, I'd give that a shot. I don't know which ones would just work out of the box, but it might be easier to get USB drivers working than the internal drivers.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Why do I feel like I never have these problems with a clean Ubuntu install, but give me a clean Windows install and there are all kinds of driver issues.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Just to give everyone an update.

 

I was hoping to take the easy route, I purchased a USB ethernet adapter, plugged it in and installed the driver for it. It works great.

 

Unfortunately after updating everything, the onboard ethernet controller still doesn't work. I am going to be going through all your comments and seeing what I can try next.

 

At a lack of that I am going to be upgrading to windows 7 to see if that helps. (Not my preferred option because I only have a finite number of licenses). Everything ran fine when Ubuntu was running on it, but the program they need to run needs Windows.

[G+_Ben Reese]

Wow, that stinks! I don't understand why the giant company of Microsoft can have problems like this when Linux does seem to usually just work.

 

Just out of curiosity.... Would their software run on WINE or maybe on a Windows VM? I also thought you were already on Win7. Guess I missed that part.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Ben Reese  The computers aren't that great. I haven't tried WINE or a VM yet and I want to avoid it. That is just one more step for people to mess up.

 

I noticed on the link I posted above there is an option to "update your system" That is my next move.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Patrick Graham, Do you know if Solution Centre work for Windows Vista?

 

The website only makes reference to 7,8, and 10

[G+_Patrick Graham]

Jason Perry, I believe the Vista version was a carryover from the XP release. Not sure if the current 7/8/10 release will run on Vista. Look like Lenovo stopped supporting everything prior to 7. It may be available on the CDs that came with PCs. I know it is also still available to download via 3rd party sites, but who know what other buggers are included?!

[G+_Jason Perry]

So I have had some time to attack this problem and well I am no further ahead.

 

I went back through the comments and pulled out as many suggestions as I could.

 

All the drivers with an error in device manager were uninstalled and I rebooted.

 

Googling the Hardware IDS led me to the downloads I was using.

 

I installed the chipset drivers. It looked like this was getting somewhere but in the end I was no further ahead.

 

Another reboot for good measure

 

Lenovo has pulled Solution Centre for XP and Vista and the 7 through 10 version doesn't work.

 

At this point I think I am going to dig up my Win7 install USB and try that. I really don't get why Ubuntu works and Vista doesn't, unless Lenovo decided to stop supporting the drivers and there was an issue.