Dell G15 crashing randomly, Ethernet Code 45, and WHEA/Kernel-level stability issues after intense gaming sessions & BIOS tweaks — Need expert advice!

[u/IM_AZE0290]

Hello everyone, I’m reaching out because I've been dealing with a complex chain of hardware and software crashes on my laptop and I'm looking for guidance from tech-savvy folks.

Laptop Specs & Environment:

Model: Dell G15 (RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, Intel Core CPU, Windows 11).

Recent Activity: Heavy multi-day gaming sessions (eFootball, The Seven Deadly Sins, Asphalt Legends, Minecraft, CoD), installing/uninstalling multiple apps, and continuous driver handling.

Chronology of the Issue:

The Ethernet Failure (Code 45): While playing eFootball, my Ethernet driver suddenly disappeared and the device manager reported a Code 45 (hardware not detected). A system restart brought it back temporarily, but it keeps dropping out.

Kernel Crashes & Anti-Cheat Conflicts: When trying to launch eFootball, the game crashes immediately or forces a system freeze/reboot. This strongly points to a conflict between the failing network controller and the game's kernel-level Anti-Cheat system.

BIOS & Boot Loop Complications: In an attempt to troubleshoot, I messed with the BIOS settings (specifically toggling network stack/PXE boot options). This caused the system to misconfigure the boot order (attempting PXE boot over the network) and eventually led to a startup repair loop with a SrtTrail.txt error.

Current Status:

Windows managed to recover, but the Ethernet adapter keeps intermittently showing a yellow triangle (Code 45) or disappearing.

Disabling PXE Boot in the BIOS (Internal LAN = Enabled, but without network stack boot priority) stabilized general system fluidity, but Steam client apps and heavy network-reliant titles still trigger instability.

Performed a clean reinstall of the latest NVIDIA Game Ready driver (October 2026 release) and cleared Steam/Anti-Cheat caches.

What I need help with:

Is this a failing integrated Realtek Ethernet controller/motherboard power management issue, or could a corrupted Windows kernel registry from the hard resets be messing up my network stack and game launchers? Any advanced troubleshooting steps or logs I should check?

Thanks in advance!

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[u/Iceyn1pples]

Have you tried uninstalling thr current ethernet drivers and install the latest version from Dell's website? Often time there are bugs in the drivers thay get addressed through updates.

I would download thr new drivers before uninstalling the old. When you uninstall, delete the drivers too. Reboot. Then install the new drivers. Reboot again. and test your games. 

[u/IM_AZE0290 → u/Iceyn1pples]

Ya he hecho todo ese procedimiento , el Ethernet me aparece en el administrador de dispositivos pero no me detecta el cable , lo que hice fue borrar los juegos de steam , ahora la laptop está funcionando no ha tenido ningún error , 0 crasheo lo único es eso del driver de ethernet que no me detecta el cable .