Lenovo Y500 SLI Gigabit Ethernet only running at 100Mbps

My Y500 won't connect at gigabit speeds to either of my gigabit lan capable routers. I've done lots of troubleshooting using the devices I've listed below and confirmed that the ONLY device in my house not capable of connecting at gigabit speeds is my brand new Y500. In addition to eliminating the below hardware methodically from being the root cause, I've tried rolling back the driver. Uninstalling the driver completely. Installing the newest driver. Checking each individual setting of the driver one at a time. There is also no option to set 1000mbps full duplex in the driver, only 10/100 half and full, or auto. I left it on auto.

So basically I believe I've tried everything except call Lenovo. All the other devices in my network connect at full gigabit speeds, which I confirmed by transferring a large file across the network and achieving the expected 80mb/s speed I'm used to. The first couple of days I had the laptop connected via lan, it actually did connect at gigabit speeds, but now it won't. I'll take any tips you have about this issue, but I'm also making a thread on it now in case it turns out to be an issue only Lenovo can resolve. Below you will find my network specs if you're into that sort of thing.

I have:
Lenovo Y500 SLI with Windows 8 x64
Atheros AR8161 Gigabit Lan PCI-e with driver version 2.0.0.4 and also tried with newer version
BRAND NEW (just got it 2 days ago) Monoprice Cat 6 Ethernet cables
Netgear WNDR3800 Router
Asus RT-N56u Router (using as switch/AP)
Gigabit NAS device
HP DM4X laptop with gigabit lan
Foxconn nt-A3700 with gigabit lan

 

I did finally call Lenovo. Two different remote sessions later and it was determined that the last troubleshooting step I can take is to restore Windows to factory state. Since I kept the original hard drive and did not format it yet, all I have to do is swap it back in to restore the laptop to semi-factory default. If that's not factory default enough I can always do a refresh. I'll work on swapping the hard drive sometime when I get a chance and if I have anything to report I'll post back in here even though I am just talking to myself so far.

I'm pretty sure at this point that the hardware has failed, but on the rare chance it hasn't, I would really hate to discover that my SSD and this ethernet controller are not compatible.

 

Something is screwy. I have a samsung 840pro 256 and a Crucial M4 256 in the Msata slot and my gigabit is working perfectly. Plugged into a netgear Model GS105 switch. I highly doubt it is your SSD.

 

Quick update: I sent the laptop in to Lenovo for RMA. It's definitely the ethernet port that's bad, I just don't know how or why it's bad. But I also found out that the port on my router where the laptop was plugged in is shot as well. So that's two RMA's I have to do now. Geez.

 

Lenovo sent the laptop back to me from the depot in TX, USA and all they did to fix it was run One Key Recovery, which obviously did not resolve the issue as I had already tried that. I called Lenovo back and said no chance in heck am I sending it back in again, so they escalated the issue. A few phone calls later and I'm waiting for a tech to schedule a time to come and replace the motherboard on site. That's the most current info I have on the issue to date and I honestly think this will be a rarely occurring problem as ethernet controllers don't die very often. Let's hope...

 

Man that sux! Hope everything turns out OK. You have every right to be frustrated with that kind of service.

 

Octiceps you're right, it does suck! But the guy came out today and installed the new motherboard so the ethernet works now. He had me make sure it was working by booting it up and testing it. Ethernet worked. He left.

Then I installed Windows again to my SSD for the 5th time in two weeks using an OEM bloatware-free version instead of One Key Recovery. Installed a few programs, then BAM. Computer shut down. Booted back up, did some more stuff and it shut down again with no warning. Then I noticed the fan was running full speed all the time and checked the temps. Sure enough, they were too hot. Processor was at 85-95C on IDLE.

Tore it completely apart myself and repasted, and now it works like it should. This isn't what I signed up for though Lenovo. I wanted a laptop that worked that I didn't have to tear down myself within 2 months of owning it.

 

Sounds like he did a crappy job of applying TIM since you said the entire mobo was replaced.

 

I don't think he applied any at all. The exhaust fan wasn't blowing hot air which means the heat must not have been transferring to the copper pipes, so it was just pooling right above the processor. I'm probably lucky there wasn't any damage done.

 

Wait so there was no thermal paste on the die and heatsink when you disassembled the machine?! That's a scary thought. Thankfully these chips shut down well before they reach temperatures that cause permanent damage.

 

An update on this. I recently noticed through some benchmarking and stress testing that my cpu was throttled to 50% due to overheating. When I did the repaste myself, I didn't have enough paste so I didn't get complete coverage on the heat spreader. Luckily, this problem was never caused by me in the first place, rather it was due to the ineptitude of the on-site technician Lenovo contracted to come out and replace the mobo. I finally got a hold of someone at Lenovo who had worked on my escalated ticket from before, and they are replacing the laptop entirely. It is still under warranty after all

My replacement should be here in about a week.