Windows 7 Professional nodes are unable to reliably be on the network. Issuing a pin to a Win7 node returns random packet loss, and in a traceroute win7 node always have at least one of the three test hops miss. Sometime the win7 nodes will randomly drop off the network. I have tried every combination of network settings possible, and nothing makes a bit of difference. I have tried IP4 only, IP4 & IP6, with/without QOS, with/without each or all Link-Layer options, DHCP/STATIC, 100/Full, Auto/Auto, etc. All Win7 nodes are unable to stay connected to the servers making work unreliable. All XP and UNIX/LINUX nodes are flawless and have full connectivity. Rebooting Each Win7 PC into a Live Linux CD works flawlessly, after Win7 updates the issue still is unaffected, after installing new drivers the issues still persists, nothing can be done to even make a difference. Windows 7 must have a bug with Networking and I am surprised that it would even be released with such a major issue. Is there a way to resolve this, or does anyone have any idea as to what is wrong?

Good idea, but I had already thought that. It is on the supported hardware. Plus I looked for updates to the driver by using device manager. There were no updates so I downloaded the drivers from Intel support page. There was absolutely no change. This morning I ran Ms updates and installed 51 important updates and 1 optional update which was specifically for the NIC. After the update there was completely no change. Also I have tested about 18 windows 7 PCs. Other company computers co-workers personal laptops and PCs that are my friends, and they all have the same issue.

The problem could be with the vendor's NIC hardware/driver in Win 7. You may want to check the windows hardware compatibility list to see if the hardware is "certified" to work correctly with Win 7. Visit: anITKB.com, an IT Knowledge Base.

What is the model of your computer or network adapter? If the device is not compatible for Windows 7 and there are no Windows 7 compatible driver on the OEM side, you are not able to get it work properly. Also I suggest you temporary disable antivirus on the Windows 7 client and check if the issue occurs.Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.