Reset Network Adapter?

Solved/Closed
BWG - Feb 19, 2010 at 10:35 PM
 Friendly Advise - Jul 28, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Hello, I purchased a new Toshiba laptop a few months ago (it had Vista when I bought it but have upgraded to Windows 7) and have had no problems connecting to wifi at hotspots until yesterday. Whenever I go to various areas on the computer to try to ascertain the reason (like Network and Sharing Center) and I click on "See Full Map and then "Wireless Network Connection" in the drop-down menu, it just says "The adapter is not connected". I've made sure that the wifi switch is on on the front of the laptop. The hotspot's signal bars show good signal strength but when I click on connect, after a few seconds, it says "unable to connect". When I choose the troubleshooting option, one of the first things it does is "reset network adapter" but I'm not sure if it is able to do this. I think it tries but cannot actually "detect" the adapter to reset it and I do not know how to manually reset it (other than to turn the switch it off and turn it back on).

The day before this happened, I did download a ".bat" file that was supposed to do something so a trial program software would not be able to recognize my ip address so that could have been the culprit. When I was troubleshooting, I did see an option to restore or reset my IP address and remembered that the ".bat" file that I had downloaded and executed had something to do with the IP address and so I chose to reset (restore) my IP address but so far nothing has worked. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much.
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3 responses

How do I fix network adapter problems?

If you can't connect to a network, there might be a problem with your network adapter. You can try using the Network Adapter troubleshooter to automatically find and fix some common problems.

Open the Network Adapter troubleshooter by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting. Click View all, and then click Network Adapter.

Here are some common reasons for network adapter problems, and related solutions:

The network adapter is disabled.

To enable the adapter:

Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type adapter, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, click View network connections.

Right-click the network adapter icon, and then click Enable. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

The network adapter needs to be reset.

To reset the adapter:

Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type adapter, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, click View network connections.

Right-click the network adapter icon, and then click Disable. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Right-click the adapter icon again, and then click Enable. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

The adapter is now reset. Try connecting to the network again, or run the Network troubleshooter to verify that your network adapter is now working correctly.

Open the Network troubleshooter by right-clicking the network icon in the notification area, and then clicking Troubleshoot problems.

The network adapter driver is missing, isn't working, or is out of date.

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

If you reset your network adapter and you still can't connect to a network, you might need to update the adapter driver. (Updating the driver can solve the problem of missing or failed drivers, as well as outdated ones.) To update your network adapter driver, follow these steps:

Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then, under System, clicking Device Manager.? If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Double-click Network Adapters, right-click your adapter, and then click Properties.

Click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver.

If Windows can't find the driver on your computer and you don't have a connection to the Internet, you might need to contact the network adapter manufacturer or your computer manufacturer to get the driver. Check the information that came with your network adapter or your computer to see if you have a disc that contains the drivers.

Once you've updated the driver, try connecting to the network again, or run the Network troubleshooter to verify that the adapter is updated.

Open the Network troubleshooter by right-clicking the network icon in the notification area, and then clicking Troubleshoot problems.

The network adapter needs to be replaced.

If you've tried resetting the network adapter and updating the drivers, and the Network troubleshooter indicates that there's still a problem with your network adapter, try replacing the adapter. Buy a new network adapter and install it in your computer by following the manufacturer's instructions, or have a service technician replace the adapter for you.
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