How to enable a network card in BIOS AMI, Phoenix, Award and UEFI

While working on a computer connected to the Internet, some malfunctions can occur and the network card will turn off. In this case, access to the World Wide Web will be lost. To correct this situation, you must reactivate the computer component. This article will tell you how to enable a network card in BIOS.

Useful Tips

Before the instruction on where to turn on the network card in the BIOS, we’ll talk about some features of this way to correct the situation and how you can solve the problem without resorting to parameter changes in the Setup Utility.

Firstly, you need to understand that there are a lot of BIOS versions and almost all have a different interface, respectively, and each has its own instruction. The article will cover the most popular versions, such as AMI, Phoenix, Award and UEFI. However, in any case, based on these data, you will be able to configure the network card in other versions, as they will have many similar points.

Secondly, it is worthwhile to understand that if the network adapter does not work, the reason for this is not always the disabled parameter in the BIOS. Before executing the instructions, it is recommended to check the network card updates through the "Device Manager". And only if they are missing, configure the BIOS.

Method 1: enable in AMI BIOS

Let's start with the BIOS version of AMI. To enable the network adapter, follow these steps:

1. Having entered the main menu, go to the Advanced section.
2. Find the OnBoard Device Configuration item and go to this menu. To do this, select it using the arrows on the keyboard, press the Enter button.
3. In the menu that opens, there will be a line OnBoard Lan Controller. Opposite it should be set to Enable, which means "Enabled". If you have Disable, change this parameter by pressing Enter on it and selecting the desired one from the list.
4. Save the changes by returning to the main menu, going to the Exit tab and selecting Save & Exit Setup.

Now you know how to enable a network card in AMI BIOS. If you have a different version, then continue reading this article.

Method 2: Enable Phoenix and Award BIOS

You can enable a network card through Phoenix BIOS in the same way as through Award. Because they are of the same type and one is considered an upgraded version of the other, so they have the same interface and menu items. Now we will go directly to the manual for turning on the network adapter.

1. Enter BIOS.
2. In the main menu, go to the Integrated Peripherals section.
3. In the menu that appears, open the OnChip Device Function section.
4. In the list of all parameters, find the line OnBoard Lan Device and change the Disable value to Auto, if it is not. This is done in the same way as in the previous method: select the desired parameter, press Enter, select Auto in the menu that appears.
5. Save all the changes made by going to the main menu and selecting Save & Exit Setup.

On this instruction, how to enable a network card in BIOS, is finished. As you can see, the difference between all these versions is small, but it consists only in the location of individual menu items.

Method 3: inclusion in UEFI

UEFI is not similar to any of the above BIOS versions, since, in fact, it is an add-on that changes the pseudo-graphic menu interface to a natural graphic one. Otherwise, the logic of work in it is the same. Well, now let's move directly to the instructions on how to activate the computer’s network adapter in UEFI.

1. Log in to UEFI.
2. Using a computer mouse, go to the Advanced tab. If this menu item does not exist, press the F7 key to activate it.
3. In the menu that opens, go to the OnBoard Device Configuration section.
4. In the list of options, find Lan Controller, and from the drop-down menu next to it, select Enable.
5. It remains only to save the changes, which is done in the Exit tab.

Now you know all the ways how to enable a network card in BIOS. As you can see, they are all similar to each other, therefore, having understood the logic of their interface, the user will be able to complete the task in other versions of BIOS without any problems. This information will be useful for beginners.