220-1101 Question 139
Single answerNetwork interface card (NIC)A technician installs a new PCIe Gigabit NIC in a Windows 11 desktop that will be used for large file transfers to a local file server. The Ethernet cable is known good, and the switch port has already been verified by connecting another PC successfully. After installation, Windows detects the adapter and shows it as enabled, but the link light on the NIC remains off and the PC cannot obtain a network connection. Which action should the technician take FIRST?
- A
Install or update the NIC driver from the manufacturer
- B
Replace the Ethernet cable with a Cat 6 cable
- C
Assign a static IP address to the NIC
- D
Disable IPv6 on the adapter
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question focuses on practical NIC troubleshooting. When a newly installed network interface card is detected by the operating system but does not establish a physical link, the technician should first verify the driver and hardware initialization before making protocol-level changes. In this scenario, the cable and switch port have already been ruled out, making the NIC driver the most likely next step. This aligns with common vendor and Microsoft troubleshooting practices: confirm the device is recognized correctly in Device Manager, install the latest manufacturer driver, and then test link/activity status. A missing link light indicates a problem below IP configuration, so changing static addressing or disabling IPv6 would not fix the root cause.
- A. Correct.
Correct. If Windows detects the NIC but there is no working link, the first practical step after confirming the cable and switch port is to verify the adapter is using the proper driver. A generic or incorrect driver can prevent the NIC from initializing correctly, including speed/duplex negotiation and link establishment. Updating to the manufacturer-provided driver is a standard first step in troubleshooting newly installed hardware.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. The scenario already states the Ethernet cable is known good, so replacing it is not the best first action. Also, a Cat 5e cable is sufficient for standard Gigabit Ethernet in many A+ scenarios, so moving to Cat 6 would not be the primary troubleshooting step unless cable damage or unsupported speed requirements were suspected.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A static IP address would not resolve the absence of a physical link light. IP addressing occurs after Layer 1 and Layer 2 connectivity are established. If the NIC has no link, the system will not communicate on the network regardless of whether DHCP or a static address is used.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Disabling IPv6 does not address a physical connectivity problem. IPv6 is a Layer 3 protocol setting, while the missing link light points to an issue with the NIC hardware initialization, driver, or physical network connection. This option reflects a common misconception of changing protocol settings before confirming the adapter is functioning properly.