Plugging in ethernet cable causes computer to restart automatically.

Humorush

Humorush

Recruit
The computer has been running fine for the past 2 years, and normally does not have any problems running without ethernet (or if cable is plugged in before booting up the PC).

This issue started occurring randomly when a whining noise started being heard in headphones. Reinstalling realtek audio drivers fixed this.
After this plugging in headphones or ethernet cable leads to an immediate restart. The strange thing is that I have a separate pair of headsets, and they don't lead to any restarts.

Any ideas what could be causing this issue?

I am trying to resolve this by updating Windows drivers to the latest version. Will update whether this resolves the issue.
 
  1. Dust the ports area, and if possible clean it with IPA(Isopropyl alcohol), and a soft brush. Do check if there are any lose screws or metal pieces struck on motherboard shorting any internals.
  2. If those pair of head phones are repaired or old by any chance, avoid them. There may be some shorting inside.
  3. Check if you can run this ethernet cable from a different router/switch. Is your existing router/switch is used with the right power adapter as recommended?
 
The static noise in headphones resumed after some days. Reinstalling Realtek audio did not fix it.
I tried the following:
▪︎Installed the latest Windows/Nvidia drivers - did not solve the issue.
▪︎Used DDU to remove previous Nvidia/audio drivers but the whining/static noise was still heard.
▪︎Reset windows. Installed audio and Nvidia drivers.

After all this was done, the restart issue was not seen anymore though the static noise has not been solved.
The noise was heard with various devices which function fine when used with phones or laptops. This leads me to believe there is some issue with the port itself.

I eliminated the case shorting from the equation, by breadboarding the components separately (placed mobo on newspaper, connected everything outside the case). The static noise was still present.

Ultimately I worked around this by getting a cheap USB sound card, though the audio quality is not as good. But it serves my purpose for now.

If the USB sound card stops working, I might get a Pcie sound card (available on Amazon for ~1k).

>Checking power leaks and earthing is an exercise I don't want to get into, as it sounds like an extensive undertaking. And there are easier alternatives available to me.

>Will try cleaning the ports with isopropyl alcohol
 
Humorush said:
The static noise in headphones resumed after some days.
Click to expand...
Having other accessories like pen drive near to 3.5mm jack can insert noise into audio signal. Keep electric stuff/cables away from 3.5mm jack and the headphone cable.

Humorush said:
Checking power leaks and earthing is an exercise I don't want to get into, as it sounds like an extensive undertaking.
Click to expand...
Checking earthing is easy. Take any 2 pin appliance like AllOut or mobile charger and plug it in socket diagonally. If it works then it means your earthing is fine.

ddd.jpg
 
lockhrt999 said:
Having other accessories like pen drive near to 3.5mm jack can insert noise into audio signal. Keep electric stuff/cables away from 3.5mm jack and the headphone cable.


Checking earthing is easy. Take any 2 pin appliance like AllOut or mobile charger and plug it in socket diagonally. If it works then it means your earthing is fine.

View attachment 118121
Click to expand...
Looks like earthing is fine, diagonally plugging in Allout was working.

When I had breadboarded the mobo, I had removed any extra pen-drives/cables. But still the noise was heard.
 
lockhrt999 said:
Having other accessories like pen drive near to 3.5mm jack can insert noise into audio signal. Keep electric stuff/cables away from 3.5mm jack and the headphone cable.


Checking earthing is easy. Take any 2 pin appliance like AllOut or mobile charger and plug it in socket diagonally. If it works then it means your earthing is fine.

View attachment 118121
Click to expand...
Anything more than a mobile charger should trip your circuit breaker though.. something to keep in mind
 
> The static noise in headphones resumed after some days. Reinstalling Realtek audio did not fix it.

After reading this, have a feeling that issue is with Windows driver.

Can you put any Linux live USB pen drive /cd-rom and check how it sounds ?

Many of inbuilt cards on older motherboards have either gone silent or erratic because of MS Windows driver issues.
Testing with a new USB sound card can also help with this. Disable sound from BIOS if possible before this.
 
Start by turning automatic restart off (System Properties - Advanced).
Then your PC should BSOD rather than restart. Google the BSOD error.
 
Before starting to prepare the Linux pen drive, I checked the mobo audio ports and found that the headsets were not recognised due to missing driver. Installed the same Realtek drivers as before, after which the sound problems went away. I had performed this exercise multiple times previously as well, don't know what changed this time (grateful for it though ).
It has been running fine since past 2 weeks.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, learnt some new debugging tips in this thread.
I had held off from updating previously as I can't provide a definitive reason for the fix.
 
Back
Top