Symptoms
- After restarting computer both wireless and Ethernet adapter will not start
- Going to device manager (devmgmt.msc) and disabling/re-enabling wireless driver allows wireless driver to work
- Doing the same for Ethernet causes causes mmc.exe to hang and eventually fails to start driver.
Attempted fixes
In an effort to reduce generic boiler-plate answers, these are the steps I have taken to try and rule out what is causing the issue.
Reinstall drivers -> Failure. This yields the same result for wireless adapter as disable/re-enabling it (success). Reinstalling Ethernet adapter hangs mmc.exe, then fails with same error code (code 10).
Reinstall drivers using files provided by manufacturer's website (ensure using latest driver) -> Failure. Same result as reinstalling drivers from device manager.
Disable antivirus/Disable firewall -> Failure. Tried two different antiviruses (antiviruses integrate into firewall) Eset NOD32 and Bitdefender (Bitdefender cannot be completely "disabled").
Go back previous build -> Failure. No change in symptoms.
Reset computer (but keep personal files) -> Temporary success, restarting enough times causes symptoms to come back.
Clean Install -> Temporary success, restarting enough times causes symptoms to come back.
Hypothesis
I have a strong suspicion that Windows Update may be corrupting my drivers, although at this point I would not completely rule out the possibility that an application I have installed keeps on corrupting the driver. Here is a link which encloses my installed programs.
Additional information
Events: Click here to download relevant Events (.evtx)
Ethernet Adapter Event: Device PCI\VEN_1969&DEV_E0A1&SUBSYS_11581462&REV_10\4&f8d6983&0&00E3 requires further installation.
Detailed Device Status:
This device cannot start. (Code 10)
{Operation Failed}
The requested operation was unsuccessful.
Troubleshooter:
Troubleshooter simply says hardware or software problem. Basically the network troubleshooter says a lot about nothing.