diff --git a/playbook/blancco-init.sh b/playbook/blancco-init.sh
index 1a4dcd7..6450876 100644
--- a/playbook/blancco-init.sh
+++ b/playbook/blancco-init.sh
@@ -20,14 +20,38 @@ mount -t devtmpfs devtmpfs /dev 2>/dev/null
 mkdir -p /tmp /run
 
 echo "[1/4] Loading NIC drivers..."
+echo "  Kernel: $(uname -r)"
+echo "  Interfaces before driver load: $(ls /sys/class/net/ 2>/dev/null)"
+
+# Dependency modules first. insmod does not resolve deps; main NIC
+# drivers like igb need dca + i2c-algo-bit, atlantic needs macsec,
+# some Intel drivers need libeth/libie. Load helpers first so the
+# main driver module has its required symbols available.
+for mod in /lib/modules/libeth.ko /lib/modules/libie*.ko /lib/modules/dca.ko \
+           /lib/modules/i2c-algo-bit.ko /lib/modules/macsec.ko \
+           /lib/modules/mii.ko /lib/modules/ssb.ko /lib/modules/libphy.ko \
+           /lib/modules/mdio*.ko /lib/modules/phy*.ko /lib/modules/ptp*.ko; do
+    [ -f "$mod" ] || continue
+    insmod "$mod" 2>&1 | grep -v '^$' | head -1 || true
+done
+
+# Main NIC drivers (everything else in /lib/modules/ that is not a helper
+# or the overlay/squashfs modules). Errors are now VISIBLE so if a
+# driver fails to load we can see why.
 for mod in /lib/modules/*.ko; do
-    echo "  insmod $(basename $mod)"
-    insmod $mod 2>/dev/null || true
+    base=$(basename "$mod")
+    case "$base" in
+        libeth.ko|libie*.ko|dca.ko|i2c-algo-bit.ko|macsec.ko|mii.ko|ssb.ko|libphy.ko|overlay.ko|squashfs.ko|mdio*.ko|phy*.ko|ptp*.ko)
+            continue ;;
+    esac
+    echo "  insmod $base"
+    insmod "$mod" 2>&1 | head -1 || true
 done
 sleep 5
 
-echo "  Interfaces after driver load:"
-ls /sys/class/net/ 2>/dev/null
+echo "  Interfaces after driver load: $(ls /sys/class/net/ 2>/dev/null)"
+echo "  Kernel messages mentioning NIC driver activity:"
+dmesg 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "eth|igc|igb|bnxt|tg3|r8169|atlantic|e1000|ixgbe|i40e|eno|ens|enp" | tail -20
 
 echo "  Waiting for network interface..."
 IFACE=""
@@ -47,9 +71,13 @@ done
 echo ""
 
 if [ -z "$IFACE" ]; then
-    echo "ERROR: No network interface found!"
-    echo "Available interfaces:"
-    ls /sys/class/net/ 2>/dev/null
+    echo ""
+    echo "ERROR: No network interface found after 60s."
+    echo "  /sys/class/net/: $(ls /sys/class/net/ 2>/dev/null)"
+    echo "  Last 40 lines of dmesg (look for probe failures):"
+    dmesg 2>/dev/null | tail -40
+    echo ""
+    echo "  Dropping to busybox shell for manual debug. reboot with 'reboot -f'."
     exec sh
 fi
 
diff --git a/playbook/pxe_server_setup.yml b/playbook/pxe_server_setup.yml
index 71200c6..2d9b4f1 100644
--- a/playbook/pxe_server_setup.yml
+++ b/playbook/pxe_server_setup.yml
@@ -671,16 +671,37 @@
             ln -sf busybox "$WORK/bin/$cmd"
         done
 
-        # NIC drivers (common server NICs)
+        # NIC drivers: sweep the whole drivers/net/ethernet tree. The
+        # earlier targeted list (e1000e, igb, tg3, bnx2, bnxt_en, b44)
+        # missed igc (Intel I225/I226 on modern Dell Latitude 5330/5440,
+        # Pro-series), plus helper modules (libeth, libie, dca,
+        # i2c-algo-bit, macsec) needed as dependencies by the main
+        # drivers. insmod does not resolve deps; bundling the full
+        # tree + helpers is the reliable way to cover any NIC.
         KVER=$(uname -r)
-        KMOD="/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet"
-        for drv in intel/e1000e/e1000e.ko.zst intel/igb/igb.ko.zst broadcom/tg3.ko.zst broadcom/bnx2.ko.zst broadcom/bnxt/bnxt_en.ko.zst broadcom/b44.ko.zst; do
-            if [ -f "$KMOD/$drv" ]; then
-                zstd -d "$KMOD/$drv" -o "$WORK/lib/modules/$(basename ${drv%.zst})" 2>/dev/null
-            fi
+        ETH="/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet"
+        find "$ETH" -name "*.ko.zst" -type f 2>/dev/null | while read -r src; do
+            zstd -d "$src" -o "$WORK/lib/modules/$(basename ${src%.zst})" 2>/dev/null
         done
 
-        # Overlay module
+        # Helper modules (PHY, MDIO, I2C, DCA, PTP, macsec, ssb) - loaded
+        # first in blancco-init.sh before the main NIC drivers.
+        for helper_dir in \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/net/phy" \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/net/mdio" \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/i2c/algos" \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/dca" \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/ptp" \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/net/macsec" \
+            "/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/ssb" \
+        ; do
+            [ -d "$helper_dir" ] || continue
+            find "$helper_dir" -name "*.ko.zst" -type f 2>/dev/null | while read -r src; do
+                zstd -d "$src" -o "$WORK/lib/modules/$(basename ${src%.zst})" 2>/dev/null
+            done
+        done
+
+        # Overlay module (switch_root overlay mount)
         OVMOD="/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/fs/overlayfs/overlay.ko.zst"
         if [ -f "$OVMOD" ]; then
             zstd -d "$OVMOD" -o "$WORK/lib/modules/overlay.ko" 2>/dev/null