Testing and troubleshooting the NIC

With the NIC installed and the PC connected to the network, the next step is to test whether the NIC is functioning correctly and whether the link to the network is established.

With today's plug-and-play environment and software configurable NICs that have a range of autodetection features, testing whether the NIC is operating should be a matter of routine. You might not even have to test the NIC specifically, but just configure the NIC through the operating system and connect to the network. If all is working correctly, you should be able to connect, and by doing so prove that everything is working as it should be.

However, there is always a possibility that the installation of the NIC might have some problems. Understanding how to fix such problems is an important network administration skill.

Before considering troubleshooting the NIC at a protocol level, you should ensure that the NIC is installed and operating correctly.

Depending on the results of the tests, you might need to further troubleshoot the installation of the NIC. If you are using a manufacturersupplied testing utility, and it reports that it can't find the NIC, you might have the wrong utility for the NIC, or the NIC might not be working at all. Manufacturer-supplied testing utilities do not need separate driver software, so if the testing utility can't find the NIC, you can eliminate the drivers as the cause of the problem.