:\

No cigar.

'Your system doesn't meet minimal requires for this update. Error 9996'

found several pages of people with the same nic reporting this problem (the nic totally disappearing). some corrected it by updating their bios, others corrected it by disabling PET (Precision Event Timer) in the bios.

it seems like its a piece of junk (sorry dude). Might be best to replace it with a pci Ethernet card.

If my network card or w/e it is is integrated into the mobo can I still buy a new one and put it in myself?

Very few ppl can do that, who aren't professionals. It could be your onboard NIC has just given up the ghost, or as someone said, could be disabled in the BIOS :/

yeah you just plug it into a pci slot (assuming you have an open one). While I can't recommend this exact product, this is more or less what I'm talking about (I just linked the first one I found, you should shop around and find a better deal or whatever):

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Gigabit-Network-Adapter-EXPI9301CTBLK/dp/B001CY0P7G/ref=sr12?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1355929374&sr=1-2


/e
if your uncomfortable with opening your case and installing it, you could go with a usb version. It won't be as fast, but often times that does not matter as your internet connection is typically the limiting speed (you can only go as fast as the slowest piece, and your internet connection is typically much slower than even the device linked below), again, shop around, this is just an example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186164&nm%5Fmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm%5Fmmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-%5F-pla-%5F-NA-%5F-NA

This post was edited by Azrad on Dec 19 2012 09:11am

If your Ethernet is instead a LAN chip soldered to the mobo....no you can't change that.

This post was edited by Ghot on Dec 19 2012 10:38am