How to Re-enable Ethernet in Azure VM After Accidental Disablement

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If you’re having trouble connecting to your virtual machine because the network interface card (NIC) seems disabled, there’s a simple way to fix this using the serial console. This method allows you to connect directly to your VM and make the necessary adjustments to enable the NIC.

First, access the serial console for your VM. You can find instructions for doing this in this official guide: Serial console for Windows virtual machines. Once connected, you can run a few commands to check and enable the NIC.

Start by entering the command to display your network interface configurations:

netsh interface ipv4 show config

This will show details about your network adapters. Find the name of the adapter you want to enable, such as “Ethernet 4.” Then, run this command to enable it:

netsh interface set interface “Ethernet 4” admin=enabled

Make sure to replace “Ethernet 4” with the actual name of your network interface if it’s different.

For additional guidance, you can review this troubleshooting document: Troubleshoot RDP and NIC issues.

If you need more help or run into any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out for support! And if this solution works for you, please remember to “[Accept the answer]” to help others find useful information.