Network Adapters issue

Question

My issue throughout the past week was as following:
In random hours of the day my connection to the internet on the pc would disconnect for minutes or several hours.
After browsing through the questions asked here, I found one with a very similar problem in 2024, in which he would experience disconnecting with internet too.

Similar to his deductions and solutions, the router is not the problem since many other devices are connected on it and experience no such issue.
Lan Cable also is not the issue since it works fine with good speed whenever the internet works.

my solution was to just restart the pc or change Lan Ports in the router, but that no longer works well anymore.
after going to Device Manager as suggested in the problem I mentioned in 2024, i cant access the properties of the entire Network Adapters. As such, i will need to know which adapter exactly do i need to disable the function of it turning off the internet to save power.

Attached is the adapter I turned off the "Allow Device to close to save power" option:

Thank you for your time and please help

Answer 1

Hi, good day!

Have you tried the AI suggested solutions?

What is the exact model of your ACER laptop?

Press Windows key+R to open Run then type: msinfo32

Press Enter

Please take a screenshot of the System Information window and post it in your next response. Note: Don't include any personal information or sensitive data as Microsoft Q&A is a public forum.

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Open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options

1. Change plan settings
2. Change advanced power settings
3. Set:
   1. PCI Express > Link State Power Management > Off

I look forward to your update and am happy to continue working with you until the issue is resolved. If you find the answer helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and consider upvoting it. Otherwise, please keep me posted by clicking "Add comment" below instead of selecting Yes or No.

Answer 2

For an unstable wired (Ethernet) connection on Windows 11 where other devices on the router work fine and power‑saving has already been disabled on the Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller, the next supported steps are:

1. Restart modem and router
   1. Unplug the router’s power cable.
   2. Unplug the modem’s power cable (and remove its battery if the lights stay on).
   3. Wait at least 30 seconds, then reconnect the modem and wait until its lights stop blinking.
   4. Plug the router back in and wait a few minutes for both devices to fully start.
   5. Test the Ethernet connection again on the PC.
2. Check Ethernet status in Windows
   1. Open Settings > Network & internet.
   2. At the top, check the Ethernet status.
      • On Windows 11 it should show Connected under the network name.
   3. If there is an error (for example Action needed), select Ethernet to see more details.
   4. If possible, test with another Ethernet cable and/or another port on the router again to rule out intermittent hardware issues.
3. Uninstall and reinstall the Ethernet adapter driver If the connection problems started recently, reinstalling the driver can help.
   1. On the taskbar, select Search, type Device Manager, and open Device Manager.
   2. Expand Network adapters.
   3. Right‑click Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller and select Uninstall device.
   4. Check Attempt to remove the driver for this device, then select Uninstall.
   5. Select Start > Power > Restart.
   6. After restart, Windows will automatically search for and install the Ethernet driver.
   7. Test the connection for a while to see if random disconnects stop.
   If Windows does not reinstall the driver automatically, download the latest Ethernet driver from the PC or motherboard manufacturer on another device, copy it via USB, and install it.
4. Use Network reset (last resort) If the issue persists, reset all network components in Windows.
   1. Select Start, type settings, open Settings > Network & internet.
   2. On Windows 11, select Advanced network settings > Network reset.
   3. Select Reset now, then Yes to confirm.
   4. The PC will restart and reinstall all network adapters with default settings.
   5. Reconnect to the network and test stability.
   Note: After Network reset, VPN clients or virtual switches (for example from Hyper‑V) might need to be reinstalled or reconfigured, and network profiles may revert to Public.

If, after these steps, the Ethernet connection still drops while other devices remain stable, testing the same cable and router port with another Windows PC (if available) can help confirm whether the issue is specific to this PC’s network adapter.

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References:

• Fix Ethernet connection problems in Windows