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Unable to delete ghost network adapter

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Thursday, November 16, 2017 1:24 PM

Hi,

I have the problem described in this article : 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/269155/error-message-when-you-try-to-set-an-ip-address-on-a-network-adapter

But all the solutions suggested in the article don't help my cause. The Network adapter was initially created by VirtualBox and after I've deleted it it seems to still be there but it's unlisted everyhwere I search. Trying to rename another Network adapter to the ghost adapter's name also fails with a message indicating another adapter exists with the same name.

I've exported my whole registry, searched for the adapter name, got the GUID assiciated with the interface and deleted every reference to it. At this point I don't know what to do anymore.

How can I delete the ghost adapter?

Thanks

All replies (1)

Friday, November 17, 2017 5:38 AM

Hi Francois,

To resolve this issue, make the ghosted network adapter visible in the Device Manager and uninstall the ghosted network adapter from the registry:

  1. Run Command Prompt as Admin.

  2. Type the following command:
    set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1

  3. Start the Device Manager by running this command from the same command prompt:
    start devmgmt.msc

  4. Click View > Show Hidden Devices. 

  5. Expand the Network Adapters tree (click the plus sign next to the Network adapters entry).

  6. Right-click the dimmed network adapter, then click Uninstall.

  7. Once all of the grayed out NICs are uninstalled, assign the IP address to the virtual NIC.
    Note: To assign the IP address to the virtual NIC on the command line, run the command:

    netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection #" static IP_Address Subnet_Mask Default_Gateway
    For example:
    netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection 2" static 192.168.1.101 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1

  8. Close the Device Manager.

If the problem cannot be resolved, please run network reset tool:

Settings -> Network & Internet -> Status, Click Network reset link in the right pane.

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