Assembly date:  February 3, 2007

Number of BSODs to date:  None

Number of unscheduled reboots to date:  None

Onboard GigaBit LAN 0&1 problems:  1

In this section I will list all of the problems I have with my MSI K9N Diamond.

When I started my PC (Vista Home Premium) it went directly into Safe Mode.  The last person to use the PC was my daughter.  She said she shut it down normally the last time she used it; I think she may have done something wrong that she's not telling me about.  I believe my daughter caused this event by powering down the PC quickly by holding the power button in and not allowing the PC to shutdown normally.

I booted out of Safe Mode and entered the desktop normally and I noticed that my FioS Network connection was not functioning.  This has happened before and all I had to do previously was to power the router off and on again.  Simple enough I thought.  I've also had this problem with DSL Routers before too.  I cycled the FioS Router power off and waited 20 seconds before turning it back on.  It did not fix the problem.  There were no Green/Orange lights on either of the Onboard GigaBit LAN 0&1 ports.

Next I called Verizon (my FioS supporter) and the technician and I performed the following:

• went into DOS config and tested the IP (it was good) and did a ping (PC not communicating with Router)
• looked at the Network settings in Device Manger
• checked to see if the drivers were up-to-date
• swapped the RJ-45 cable
• tried both LAN slots on the mainboard
• swapped the RJ-45 cable in all four slots in the back of the FioS Router
• ensured Onboard GigaBit LAN 0&1 were enabled in Bios

None of those troubleshooting steps worked.  The Verizon tech determined that the FioS Router was working properly and that the Onboard LAN was basically dead.  I then tried a System Restore and that did not fix the problem.

After three hours of scratching my head and several more reboots I decided to perform a CMOS reset.  AND IT WORKED!

I guess you can never underestimate the power of a CMOS reset.

It still does not explain why I got the initial Safe Mode screen but I believe that was due to my daughter not shutting down the PC properly and that somehow affected the Onboard GigaBit LAN 0&1.