Network quit after KB4586781 Win 10 2020-11 update

[Eirc]

After Windows installed update 2020-11 (KB 4586781 Cumulative Update Win10 Ver2004) all network stopped working. No local connections, no internet. Both Realtek devices stopped working. and Troubleshooting suggested driver problems. (Realtek Gaming GbE Family, Realtek RTL8822BE 802.11a PCIe adapter)  Backing out the Windows update resolved this issue.

Just curious: Has anyone else experienced this issue?

I went to the Realtek website for drivers, and everything they had there was actually "older" than what is installed on my HP. Realtek website said that motherboard manufacturers may have newer drivers that are specific to their hardware, and that features may be lost if I install their generic website drivers.

I don't expect anyone here to "fix this" for me. Just wondering if it is a known problem that Realtek/Microsoft is aware of.

(Two of my three computers crashed in this way. One was HP, one was Asus, one was "custom built", so I dont think this is unique to HP)

[The_Fossette]

@Eirc

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

I assure you I will try my best to get this sorted.

In order that I may provide you with an accurate solution, I will need the product number of your computer. I will check and provide you the latest drivers available for your computer.

Follow the steps in the below article to find the product details.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03754824

Look forward to hearing from you and have a great day!

Take care.

Cheers!

[Eirc · Accepted solution]

The_Fossette:  Thanks for your response.  I was able to resolve this issue using HP resources that came with the computer.

1. I uninstalled the Windows update.

2. I rebooted. 

The network now worked again.  However, I needed to eventually install the Windows update, so I tried a few more things...

3. I ran an HP utility (I think it was called "optimize Windows"). According to notes about the utility, it mentioned "empty PreFetch folder" as one of the things that it did.

4. I rebooted again.

5.I re-installed the Windows update.

Everything worked again.

I confirmed the "empty PreFetch" as a solution:  I had another computer (non-HP) that had the same issue.  Running the same steps above (except manually emptying the Windows/System/PreFetch folder) resolved the issue on that other computer as well.

Thanks for your offer of support.

[The_Fossette]

@Eirc

Perfect, I am really glad to hear that!

If any other questions arise, please feel free to write back to me.

Cheers!

[Cesar_77]

Hello,

I have the same problem on my OMEN Laptop 15-en0037nf : hardware failure on my gbe network card with this update, that is probably the BSOD source when I ran a game (Rainbow 6 Siege). My other problem is that Fusion 360 doesn't start without this update, that's why I'm very interrested by your solution. But I didn't find such an utility (I have french OS version) nor any option in all HP utilies installed. And folder "Prefetch" appears in Windows folder, not in Windows/System. Do you think that I can empty this Windows/Prefetch folder and reinstall this update ?

Thanks

Cesar

[Eirc]

Cesar_77:

My OMEN came with "HP Support Assistant" already installed. In addition to being available from the normal Windows programs list, it is running in the background and appears in my Windows tray at the bottom of my screen as a blue circle with a question mark.  Either way, if you start up the Assistant, there is a section labeled "Fixes & Diagnostics" which has a "Optimize your performance" or "Performance Tune-up Check" choice.  This is the utility that I ran on my Omen.  However as mentioned below, I had the same issue on a non-HP computer and found that emptying the Prefetch folder alone was sufficient (with your correction that it is Windows/prefetch, not in system32).

So again the process:

Uninstall the Windows update.

Reboot

Empty prefetch

Reboot

Does your network card now work? Hopefully, yes.

Reinstall Windows update. Network card should still work.

Good luck!

[Cesar_77]

Hello,

Thanks for you help, but this didn't help. I empty prefetch before installing this f***g update (manually AND with HP tool), still have an error on my Gbe network card after the update. I fought that the driver update that came with this update (it was not available the last time) should help too, but it didn't.

That is strange that empty prefetch folder could help, it just contains copies of programs that are often used ... I don't see the link between this folder and the network card driver ....