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My Toshiba Satellite will not connect to wifi.

Anonymous
2011-08-06T10:06:46+00:00

Problem with wifi

I'm currently making my way home and have encountered some problems with my wi-fi connecting to the wireless networks at various hostels. Any help would be heartily appreciated!

I've got a Toshiba Satellite L300, 32-bit, Windows 7 Pro, Realtek RTL8187B Network Adapter. The wi-fi is turned on!

First it wouldn't connect to one wireless network at my last hostel after connecting fine before; but could connect to another network there. Both were secured networks using the same security profiles. Then it would connect to my new hostel's network but only for the first night. After that it could detect the network but couldn't connect. I tried using ConfigFree to reset the IP but that didn't work. Troubleshooting using MS tools didn't return anything I could understand. It could still connect at a local coffee shop using an unsecured link.

So, I tried to uninstall the network adapter driver and reinstall using the latest version (a self-extracting version from Realtek's website). Looking in the 'device manager' the driver is up to date, the network adapter reports working normally and it is enabled but in the manage wireless networks screen, it can't find any connections and it says the network adapter is disabled...

The MS troubleshooter says that:

Thre might be a problem with the driver for the wireless netwok connection adapte

Windows couldn't automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter.

Help!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-08-07T07:25:34+00:00

    Thanks for your help. I did finally manage to fix the problem. As mentioned in some other answers, having reinstalled the manufacturers latest driver, my firewall (ZoneAlarm) was blocking the network adapter from reconnecting to the internet. So, I uninstalled the firewall and hey presto - the connections appeared again.

    The original problem was still there of seeing but not being able to connect to the wi-fi network but I opened the command prompt (Start -> cmd) and updated the IP configuration (ipdonfig /renew) while it was attempting to connect to the network and that forced through the connection.

    Thanks again for your help.

    Anna.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-03-18T22:35:34+00:00

    RO, the following procedure may be of help.

    Uninstall the wireless driver in Device Manager.

    Using a cable to connect to the internet, download the driver for the wireless device.

    Open the downloaded folder and look for setup. 

    Use the setup file to install the driver.

    In other words, do not install the driver through device manager.

    Best of luck.

    Patrick

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-01-19T20:46:46+00:00

    When Windows 10 updated on January 7, it changed something in the Wi-Fi connections. I have been unable to connect to the internet since then. I renewed ip/config - no change. Tried several things like, switching off firewall and other protections. Had AT&T check my router. Nothing. Any ideas?? Help, Please!

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-08-15T07:40:54+00:00

    Hello Anna_108,

    You are welcome.

    We are glad to know that your computer is working as expected and I thank you for the information provided. Please feel free to contact us back, in case you face any other issues with Windows in future.

    You may refer the article for more information on network connection problems:

    Wired and wireless network connection problems in Windows

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/wired-and-wireless-network-connection-problems-in-windows

    Thank you.

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-08-07T06:08:27+00:00

    Hi Anna_108,

    The majority of wireless problems within Windows 7 have been solved by installing the latest driver for the wireless network adapter obtained from the manufacturer. Visit the manufacturer’s website and download and install the latest Windows 7 compatible drivers and check if the issue gets fixed.

    Refer the following Microsoft article for more information on updating drivers:

    Update drivers: recommended links

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Update-drivers-recommended-links

    Additionally, I would recommend updating the firmware of your router as well.

    You may also refer the below article for more information:

    Troubleshoot network connection problems in Windows

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313242

    Hope this helps.

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