Troubleshooting NIC Driver Issues on Sprocket SHD7010 Devices Preventing Network Connection on First Boot – Sprocket, Inc

Overview:
This article provides guidance on resolving network interface card (NIC) driver problems affecting Sprocket SHD7010 devices that fail to connect to the network during initial boot before imaging. This typically manifests as no network activity during PXE boot and failure to detect a network connection.

Issue Description

New batches of Sprocket SHD7010 systems may occasionally experience NIC driver-related issues that prevent network connectivity on first boot. Specifically:

Devices do not detect any network connection during initial setup.
PXE boot fails due to no network activity.
Issue occurs even before imaging the device.
BIOS and boot configurations have already been verified as correct.

Root Cause

The NIC drivers for these devices might not be loading properly on first boot, causing the network hardware to remain undetected and preventing PXE boot or other network operations.

Affected Models

Sprocket SHD7010 (all batches experiencing the issue)
Please verify your exact model number to locate the correct NIC driver version.

Resolution Steps

1. Identify Model Number and NIC Version
Confirm the specific model number of the affected device(s) to ensure the correct NIC driver is downloaded.

2. Download the Latest NIC Drivers
Obtain the most recent drivers for the NIC from the official support site or your vendor portal. (Insert link here to the latest driver for Sprocket SHD7010 NIC)

3. Manually Update the NIC Driver
If you choose to manually update the NIC driver, follow these steps:

Save the extracted .INF driver files onto a USB drive.
Insert the USB drive into the affected machine.
Boot the machine into Windows or WinPE environment.
Open Device Manager:
- Right-click on Ethernet Controller (or the device with the yellow warning icon).
- Select Update Driver.
- Choose Browse my computer for drivers.
- Navigate to the USB drive folder containing the driver files and proceed with the update.

4. Verify Network Connectivity
After successful installation, confirm that the NIC is recognized and the device can access the network or PXE boot as expected.

Additional Notes

If fixing the imaging environment (e.g., integrating drivers into the deployment image) is preferred, please refer to the appropriate imaging and driver integration documentation.
Always ensure BIOS and boot settings are correctly configured for network boot.