Windows 8.1 DisplayLink Network Adapter Error with 7.4 M2
 

Hello,
I have just upgraded to windows 8.1 and installed DisplayLink 7.4 M2 software on my Dell XPS 14 laptop connected to a Targus high speed 3.0 USB dock. After the installation of the DisplayLink software, most everything started working as expected, but my NIC does not seem to work. When looking at the DisplayLink Network Adapter NCM properties, I get the following error:

This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)

An object ID was not found in the file.

I have attempted to completely uninstall the DisplayLink software and even went so far as to use the cleanup utility to ensure everything was removed from the system. I then rebooted, reinstalled and came up with the same error.

I have also attempted to manually update the driver in the system device manager, but that indicated the driver was already up to date.

I've attached the logs from the Diagnostic file gathering tool.
Attachment 1478

Please let me know if you need anything else from me.

Hi,

Can you try these steps?

Right click on device in device manager
Select Driver
Select Update Driver
Select Browse my computer for driver software
Select Browse
Enter C:\Program Files\DisplayLink Core Software\
Check Include subfolders
Select Next

Let me know how you get on.

Thanks,
James

Hi James,
Thanks for your response. I followed the instructions and was told that the driver was already at the latest version.

After I attempted that, I uninstalled the DisplayLink Network Adapter NCM NIC. After that, I scanned for hardware changes. When I did that, I was able to connect and use the DisplayLink Network Adapter NCM NIC, but my monitors stopped working. I rebooted the server and after the reboot, the monitors started working again and the DisplayLink Network Adapter NCM NIC was displaying the original error again and unusable.

Thanks.

Hi,

Thanks for the information.

I've raised this internally for further investigation.

Thanks,
James

Have you tried power cycling the dock to see if that recovers it?

Wim

Similar problem with a Dell U2713HM monitor. Log files attached, hopefully they help as it's a pain to have to plug the network cable into the laptop directly.


Rhys
:(

Are you seeing the same error code in device manager and rebooting or power cycling the dock doesn't solve it? Or updating the driver and pointing it to the driver in:

C:\Program Files\DisplayLink Core Software\CdcNcmDriver\Ndis6.2.Hck81

Which is for Windows 8.1. I wonder if it is loading a driver from a different directory.

Wim

Thanks!!

It worked for my Lenovo USB 3.0 Port replicator, but I had to remove it first from the device manager, reboot, then the device reloaded with older driver. Then I followed your procedure!

Don't think so. I tried what you suggested and it tells me I have the latest driver loaded. I'm using an HP 3005pr. The specific error message is:

This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)

An I/O operation initiated by the Registry failed unrecoverably. The Registry could not read in, or write out, or flush, one of the files that contain the system's image of the Registry.

Hi,

Thanks for the info - I've added this to the same issue internally.

Thanks,
James

Is it possible to uninstall the drivers first before pointing device manager to the right directory, or is this not an option because Windows doesn't think there is a driver loaded anyway?

Wim

Also experiencing the issue with a Dynadock U3.0 connected to a laptop running on windows 8.1 using the 7.4 M2 drivers installed.

Hi,

It's possible it's picking up the wrong driver even after uninstallation.

Can you try these steps:

From device manager right click on the USB Ethernet device
Select uninstall and be sure to select "Delete the driver software for this device"
Select OK
From device manager select the Action menu and select "Scan for hardware changes"
Select "Other devices" from within device manager
Select the USB Ethernet device
Select “Update Driver Software” -> "Browse my computer for driver software" -> "Let me pick from list" ->”Have disk” -> Select "Network Adapter" -> Select Browse -> Select "C:\Program Files\DisplayLink Core Software\CdcNcmDriver\Ndis6.2.Hck81" -> Select "Next"

Let me know how you get on.

Thanks,
James

This worked for me! Lenovo ThinkPad Twist s230u Windows 8.1. I was also getting the same error as rhysgibson:

Cheers!!

Hi James,

This is not working for me. Lenovo USB 3.0 dock is saying that the ethernet cable is unplugged even after replacing with the latest drivers that you mentioned. This worked fine before the upgrade to Windows 8.1. Running 7.4 M2.

Edit: attached logs from support tool

I’ve lost Ethernet connectivity on my USB 3.0 port replicator since upgrading my HP Envy L/T to Windows 8.1 from V8.0. I’ve installed the latest driver (V7.4 M2) but I am still unable to load.
Device Manager indicates an error with the following message –
“This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)
An I/O operation initiated by the Registry failed unrecoverably. The Registry could not read in, or write out, or flush, one of the files that contain the system's image of the Registry.”
When I move the LAN cable from the replicator to the PC it works fine.
All other ports/devices are working without any problems.
DisplayLink manual for the Driver Key has the following-{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0022, yet the registry entry is {4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0021...cannot change.

This is a different problem to the other users on this thread. Your Ethernet is detected by Windows, but the link appears down. Are the LEDs on the Ethernet port of the dock on? If not, then there really is no Ethernet link.

Wim

Don't worry about the registry, this is correct and it doesn't always have to be the same place.

We have tried to reproduce this. Can someone post the exact steps they used to upgrade to Windows 8/1, including the versions of DisplayLink software before and after the upgrade, how they updated to Windows 8.1 and how they updated DisplayLink software in Windows 8.1. There must be a specific sequence that is causing this, as it is not happening for everyone, but there it is affecting quite a few people.

Also, if James' solution in comment 13 is not working, could you try uninstalling, then running the cleaner from here, then reinstalling from the setup.exe on our website.

Wim

I believe this is still related to the drivers. Everything worked before the upgrade to Windows 8.1. The ethernet even worked after the 8.1 upgrade before I upgraded to 7.4m2 (the display did NOT work before the upgrade). So now I have display working, but ethernet not.

Your logs show:

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Lenovo USB Ethernet
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-B6-60-C1-56
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

This means that Windows has correctly loaded the Ethernet driver and can see the Ethernet port, but thinks there is no connection. This means that it is different to the driver code 31 error seen on this thread

Wim