Will a New LAN Card Work in My CPU After Lightning Damage?

[Wrichik Basu]

There must be people here who remember me discussing about lightning affecting my neighbour's appliances. Now it seems that I am also a victim.

But in my case, the problem is different: the lightning has come up through the cable of broadband connected to my PC, thereby burning the LAN card.

Now, I opened up the cabinet, and the LAN card is connected to the motherboard, as shown below:

It is evident that I won't be able to change the LAN card without desoldering the one fixed to the motherboard, and I'm in no mood to play with the motherboard.

I was searching for LAN card online, and found a few, like https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E9R7FNK/?tag=pfamazon01-20. I want to fit it in one of these ports:

The question is, will that work? I have a 100Mbps broadband connection.

As per amazon user reviews, I won't need a CD for installation.

 

[russ_watters]

Looks like that card should work, but you should check your motherboard spec and the lan card specs to ensure they are exactly compatible.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Looks like that card should work, but you should check your motherboard spec and the lan card specs to ensure they are exactly compatible.

How do I find the motherboard specs? I know it's made by Asus.

 

[CWatters]

See the label P7H55-M-LX I think that is an Asus model number.

 

[CWatters]

Yes here you go...

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P7H55M_LX/specifications/

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Looks like that card should work, but you should check your motherboard spec and the lan card specs to ensure they are exactly compatible.

As per the motherboard specs and the specs of the LAN card, it should work on my windows 7.

 

[CWatters]

You might need to disable the onboard LAN controller incase enough of it is working to cause a conflict. Google found...https://www.manualslib.com/manual/438745/Asus-P7h55-M-Lx-Usb3.html?page=37

Scroll to bottom of that page.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

You might need to disable the onboard LAN controller incase enough of it is working to cause a conflict. Google found...https://www.manualslib.com/manual/438745/Asus-P7h55-M-Lx-Usb3.html?page=37

Scroll to bottom of that page.

I found a short video showing the bios settings. I found how to disable the inbuilt LAN card.



The card is no longer being detected, and is not showing up under network adapters list. But I'll still be on the safe side and disable it before loading the new one.

Do I have to change anything on bios after plugging in the card?

 

[CWatters]

Usually this Windows will automatically find drivers although they may not be the latest. I would allow windows time to do its thing when you power it up. Once connected to the internet perhaps run windows update to see if there is a newer driver.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Usually this Windows will automatically find drivers although they may not be the latest. I would allow windows time to do its thing when you power it up. Once connected to the internet perhaps run windows update to see if there is a newer driver.

OK, thank you for the help.

 

[dlgoff]

Do I have to change anything on bios after plugging in the card?

Usually this Windows will automatically find drivers although they may not be the latest. I would allow windows time to do its thing when you power it up. Once connected to the internet perhaps run windows update to see if there is a newer driver.

I use the free version of SlimDrivers a lot. Works very well.

 

[Tom.G]

I use the free version of SlimDrivers a lot. Works very well.

At least one review claims it is a huge source of malware. I glanced at their webpage, the source is over 4500 lines with LOTS of cookie and advertising code.

 

[dlgoff]

At least one review claims it is a huge source of malware. I glanced at their webpage, the source is over 4500 lines with LOTS of cookie and advertising code.

bold by me
I don't think that's true. It's a "stand alone" 28.7 KB .exe file (SlimDrivers.exe). Are you sure you looked at the free version?

BTW I've used it for several years now with no problems.

 

[Tom.G]

I don't think that's true. It's a "stand alone" 28.7 KB .exe file (SlimDrivers.exe). Are you sure you looked at the free version?

BTW I've used it for several years now with no problems.

Yeah, it was the free version. Reading you post (and re-reading mine),

I glanced at their webpage, the source is over 4500 lines with LOTS of cookie and advertising code.

I realized my post was rather ambiguous in that the "4500 lines" I referred to was for the web page itself, not source code for the program, which I have not seen.

Sorry if that led to any confusion.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[CWatters]

I've only ever needed to use

a) drivers supplied on disc with the hardware and updated online from the hardware makers webvsite or
b) drivers that windows found automatically.

I don't see any advantage in using anything else unless it's all you can find.

 

[CWatters]

Bit dated but still worth a look...

https://www.techsupportalert.com/freeware-forum/freeware-installation-and-usage/11512-slimdriver-warning.html

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Bought the lan card and fixed it on the slot.

It's working properly. There was a problem with the screws. The CPU cabinet is about 18 years old, and if I tried to tightly screw the card, it was coming off. Anyways, I fixed it somehow with a single screw.

I thank all who have helped in choosing the accessory, and given further installation instructions, especially @CWatters.

 

[CWatters]

Jolly good.