Fixing Wired and Wireless Internet Connection Problems

The Problem: No Internet After Reinstall

Symptoms: The computer cannot connect to the internet via Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet cable.
Indicators:
- A red “X” appears on the connection icon in the system tray, stating “Not connected – No connections available”.
- In Device Manager, the “Ethernet Controller” and “Network Controller” both have yellow exclamation points, indicating missing drivers.

Step 1: Identify the Missing Drivers

Check Device Manager:
- Go to Start > Computer (Right-click) > Properties.
- Click on Device Manager in the top left corner.
- Look for devices with yellow exclamation points under “Other devices” or “Network adapters.”
Get Model Info: Write down the exact model number from the sticker on the back of the computer (e.g., Acer Aspire 5336) to ensure you download the correct files.

Step 2: Download Drivers (Using a Second Computer)

The Catch-22: You need internet to get the drivers, but the computer has no internet. You must use a second computer and a flash drive.
Process:
1. Go to the manufacturer’s website (e.g., Acer Support).
2. Search for the specific model (e.g., Aspire 5336).
3. Select the correct operating system (e.g., Windows 7 64-bit).
4. Download the LAN (Local Area Network) driver for wired internet and the Wireless LAN driver for Wi-Fi.
- Note: If multiple vendors are listed (e.g., Broadcom, Atheros), it is safer to download both if you aren’t sure which hardware you have .

Step 3: Transfer and Install

Transfer: Save the downloaded ZIP files to a flash drive and plug it into the broken computer.
Install LAN Driver:
- Unzip the folder.
- In Device Manager, right-click the “Ethernet Controller,” select Update Driver Software, and browse to the unzipped folder on the flash drive.
Install Wi-Fi Driver:
- Run the “Setup.exe” file inside the downloaded wireless driver folder.
- If the yellow exclamation point disappears during installation, the driver is working .

Step 4: Verification

Restart: Reboot the computer to finalize installation.
Check Device Manager: Ensure there are no more yellow exclamation points.
Test Connection: Open a web browser to test the wired connection, then check the system tray to see if wireless networks are now visible.

I love how you went slow and explained each step. My wifi was disabled. The wifi button or fn + wifi button were working. But following the steps you showed, I was able to enable my wireless adapter again. I had even tried previously, going to change adapter setting from the Control Panel. It did not work. I know this video is old, but it was so helpful & I really appreciate it!

first gaming PC with windows 7 and ever since he powered it up it would not register that it was plugged into the cable modem. I watched this video after dancing around it thinking that it was going to have all the misinformation all the others had for this situation. but I was wrong, after I followed your steps I loaded the missing driver from the mother board maker and then installed it. I am happy to say after 3 minutes he is up and running on the internet and enjoying the bragging rights of building his first computer.

This advice is amazing and it worked! I am relatively low-tech, but I with this video I was able to (a) diagnose on my computer that the reason I had no internet access was that there was a problem with the drivers; (b) on a different computer go to the Dell website, locate, and download the needed drivers on a flash drive; (c) upload the drivers feom the flash drive on my computer with the access problems; and (d) open the drivers and get immediate re-acces to the Internet.

I found out how to fix this! You don’t need to buy a new 200$ router, you just simply ask either your parents or your ISP if you have purchased the highest internet speed possible. I don’t know why the standards for a good internet connection has gone up but apparently it has because when my mom called my ISP (Comcast) and she got the highest speed this stopped happening on every game! Just make sure to wait ten minutes to play and if it has “Network connection lost” if you get disconnected just unplug your router for 10 minutes and plug it back in! Done! Hope this works for you guys!

I hope the owner of the video or someone in the comments could help my Wireless connectivity problems. So here it is: kinda the ping in online games randomly skyrockets, I don’t know the reason, I am not downloading anything and other programs are closed. While the ping is like that, the browsing speed is awful. Sometimes it says I am connected to the internet but when I want to open a web page it says I am not connected to the internet. I have to right click on the connectivity signal logo in the task bar and click on ”Troubleshoot problems” It detects most of the time this problem (1) ”Problem with wireless adapter or access point” but still the internet is lagging even though it’s fixed. When it fixes this problem (2) ”The default gateway is not available” after that the internet is back to normal. One time I got the 2 problems I told you and this one too ”Security or firewall settings might be blocking the connection” I assure you that my firewall is on and no settings could probably block the connection. The internet is laggy for about 1-2 and sometimes 3 hours for about 2-3 times per day. Doesn’t matter how much it fixes the (3) ”Problem with wireless adapter or access point” the internet is still slow. Btw the most common problem is (1), and the problem I get but it’s rare it’s (3) I started getting these problems I think in June, and I have this Aspire E1-530 from the 2014’s winter. Before getting the laptop I asked someone to change the Windows because I didn’t like that much Windows 8. He. installed Windows 7. I realised I made a huge mistake by changing the Windows and now I don’t know how to revert back. Please, if you might know a possible solution, reply to this comment.