a jumpered CMOS clear seems to have done the trick... guess there was something I didn't try.

I'll leave this up here in case some other unfortunate soul has a similar problem.

bkp57

I upgraded my system today, installing two new 1TB WD Blue drives in a RAID 0 configuration.  I will keep the sequence of events as short as possible:

1) My storage before the upgrade was - SAMSUNG 960 EVO 256GB (boot), one 1TB WD Blue, one SAMSUMG 850 EVO 256GB SATA, and one 500GB WD Blue laptop drive (this is a Desktop system).

2) My storage after the upgrade is - SAMSUNG 960 EVO 256GB (boot), and two NEW 1TB WD Blue drives (the older one was removed).

I have built many, many systems over the years, some smooth sailing and some rough seas, but for the most part I am pretty knowledgable at what I'm doing.

Before the upgrade, I removed all the 'other drives', leaving only the NVMe, and installed the two new drives.  I allowed the system to boot up, and it was still functional, so I assumed the drives worked (which they do).

I commenced a reinstall of Windows 10 version 1803 (even though I probably could have gotten away with not doing so) from a USB 3.0 flash drive.  Completed very quickly.

I now have a problem I was not at all expecting - the onboard Realtek ethernet doesn't seem to work.  It worked before the reinstall.  I get no lights at all on board or switch, and Windows tells me that the cable is unplugged no matter how many times I disable and re-enable.  Tried several sets of drivers (ASROCK site, latest Realtek, etc).

I have tried several BIOS flashes to try and cure the problem - I was doing this to cure another problem with the 'five beeps' which didn't start until after I upgraded to an RX 580 video card.  I've tried several ethernet cables, resetting my switch + modem + router.

I cannot find any option in the BIOS which would disable the onboard ethernet, and in fact I can find no way of disabling it at all outside of Windows.  I have no idea what has happened.

Any help would be appreciated... I'll be checking back

system config:

ASROCK AB350 Gaming K4 (BIOS 3.30, 3.40, 4.70, and latest beta 4.83)

Ryzen 5 1600X, stock frequency, no overclocking

16GB G.SKILL DDR4

SAMSUNG 960 EVO 256GB NVMe

2x1TB WD Blue in RAID 0

MSI Radeon RX 580 ARMOR OC Edition

PCIe Sound Blaster Z

FENVI Intel-based PCIe wireless NIC (without which I'd have no connection at all)

Thanks everyone, any help appreciated!

bkp57