FIX: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

Event ID: 1, Realtek and being disconnected from the internet, the basics.

I have a work laptop where I often play games on as well, during work it is frustrating when your internet occasionally falls away, but when you play a computer game and your internet falls away, this is one of the most frustrating things out there. For games like hearthstone you can lose your progression in dungeons and start over.

Every time my internet disappeared, I saw a warning in my Event Viewer: “Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is not connected to the network“.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.

This sounds like a Realtek driver that does not work correctly. A driver can no longer function properly after a system update. So let’s start by updating your Realtek driver.

Below is a short solution for system administrators and a longer tutorial for the dummies among us.

Let’s fix “Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.”

A short tutorial for the system engineers among us.

Right click This PC and click Manage.
Open Device Manager and search for Network Adapters.
You need the network adapter that’s named Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.
Right click the Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller adapter and select Update Driver software.
Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
Your driver will now be updated.

If that doesn’t update the Realtek driver, please proceed by downloading the driver from the Realtek website and install the driver manually.

The tutorial for the dummies among us.

Go to start and search for Explorer.exe and right click This PC in the left menu.
Or search for This PC directly, right click This PC and select Manage.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.

Computer Management will open. Select Device Manager in the left menu.
Now open the tab Network Adapters and select the Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller adapter.
Right click the Realtek network adapter and select Update Driver software.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

You get the same screen as in the screenshot below.
Select Search automatically for updated driver software.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.The latest driver updates are now installed, or you will be notified that the last update has already been installed. If you get that message, this can have two causes:

The last update has been installed and this is not the case here.
Windows can not find the driver updates.

To be sure that you have the latest update you can download the driver from the Realtek website.

If you follow the link you will get to the drivers page of Realtek. Here you can see the different drivers per operating system. Select the correct driver that fits your OS.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.

Download the file and unzip it.
Now go back to the Device Manager, and re-open the option to update the driver, but now select Browse my computer for driver software.

Browse to the directory you’ve unzipped and make sure you check the box for “include subfolders” Windows will now search for the newest driver manually.

Has your driver been updated now? See if you still have disconnect problems.

Did you update the driver, but still have problems? Then keep reading.

Let’s go through a few driver settings.

The Realtek driver has various settings that you can adjust. These adjustments can also ensure a better connection.

If you right-click on the Network Adapter click and choose Properties you see more settings.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

One of these settings is in the Power Management tab. Here you see Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. In my opinion, this option means that Windows can disable your driver to free up resources, but I’m not sure about this. You can disable it in any case.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

Does it still not solve the issue?

Go again to the Realtek PCIe Family Controller driver and click this time on the Advanced tab.

There are three settings we’ll change:

Set Auto Disable Gigabit to Disable.
Set Green Ethernet to Disable.
Set Energy Efficient Ethernet to Disable.

With the settings we have adapted, we ensure that Windows no longer switches off the Realtek driver. The annoying thing about this is that you continue to see the event viewer notification. The problem is no longer there.

Summary

Unfortunately, this is a problem that can have different causes, so this may not solve your problem. If you find the solution, can you put it in the comments for other users?
If you have other questions you can also leave a comment.

The complete event viewer notification for when users are googling something else.

Log Name: System
Source: rt640x64
Date: 5/9/2016 7:49:32 PM
Event ID: 1
Task Category: Non
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: %COMPUTERNAME%
Description:
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="rt640x64" />
<EventID Qualifiers="32768">1</EventID>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2016-05-09T17:49:32.394855500Z" />
<EventRecordID>19941</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>%COMPUTERNAME%</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>\Device\NDMP2</Data>
<Data>Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
<Binary>00000000020030000000000001000080000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>