Windows 7 no network adapters. How to update a network card. Updating and installing drivers

Windows 7 supports the vast majority of network cards. Moreover, most modern network equipment is designed specifically for Windows, with all the ensuing problems, because Windows is not famous for its stability. However, Microsoft quickly solves most of the problems that arise with network equipment, honor and praise to them, but those that inevitably arise will be discussed in detail in this article.

First of all: in order to expand the potential range of tasks that a client computer performs on the network, there is a need to change the basic parameters of the network card.

Here are examples of such tasks:

How to view a list of available network adapters (network connections) in Windows 7?

The list of available devices on Windows 7 can be seen in two ways:

The second method begins by opening Device Manager using the Run window:

Enabling a network card, including using the BIOS

Read the instructions for everyone BIOS versions in the article -

On laptops, turn it on and off network interface carried out by pressing a keyboard shortcut, on desktop computers - through the BIOS menu.

To turn on the wireless network adapter on laptops there is a combination “Fn + F12”, although some manufacturers do special key for this function.

Installing a network driver on Windows 7, including without the Internet

Since the network adapter is equivalent to the Internet, its absence makes it very difficult to download a driver to the network card. The issue is resolved by pre-recording drivers onto media.

Drivers are downloaded and written to a flash drive, CD, etc.
The media is connected to the PC.
After this, the “Device Manager” opens using the “Run” window (called by pressing the “Win + R” keys), in which the “devmgmt.msc” command is entered.
There is a section “Sound, game and video devices”, a subsection “Unknown device”, which has not yet been installed. You need to start installing drivers for an unknown device (future network adapter) after selecting it with the right mouse button and selecting “Properties” in the drop-down menu.
Left click - “Update”.
Manual installation is selected.
The path to the media with drivers is registered or specified.
Finally, the installation begins. It takes no more than a couple of minutes.

The network card without drivers was located in the "Device Manager" section " Unknown devices" After the update, it takes its rightful place - in “Network adapters”.

Video - How to install a network adapter driver without Internet access

Setting up a network connection in Windows 7

Although companies providing Internet services prefer to configure their own network hardware clients, sometimes you have to carry out more advanced configuration. This is typical for computers with multiple adapters.

For this:

Go to the Start context menu and open Control Panel.
In the “View” category, set the value to “Category”, find and open the “Network and Internet” section.
Click on the "Network and Sharing Center" link.
Click on the "Change adapter settings" link.
Right-click on the network connection shortcut and select “Properties”.
Check the box “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” and click on the “Properties” button.
Check the box “Use the following IP address” and fill in the fields with data.

On a note! The fields and “Default gateway” are in the agreement with the Internet provider, the remaining fields contain the same values for all users.

Video - The computer does not see the network adapter

How to view and change network card settings (IP, Mac, etc.) in Windows 7?

It is easy to see the adapter parameters and its MAC address thanks to system programs.

For this:

How to reset all network driver settings?

If you want to completely roll back all settings to their original level, then do the following:

Is it possible to create two network cards?

Many users are thinking about getting a second network card. Physically, there are no problems here: most laptops and computers support a second network card. But there are exceptions, as well as damaged slots, as well as netbooks and tablet computers. In this situation, you need to use a virtual card, which distributes Internet traffic no worse than physical traffic.

The ability to install such a virtual card is available in the Windows system:

In the Start menu, type “manager” in the field, open “Device Manager”.
In the "Device Manager" click on the "Network adapters" section, select in the top menu"Actions" item, and from the drop-down menu - "Install old device".
The installation wizard will open. You need to select the manual option to gain access to the list of drivers for all devices.
Scroll through the categories, highlight Network Adapters, and click Next.
Then click on the “Microsoft” item and add “Microsoft loopback adapter” or “Microsoft loopback adapter”, which will then appear in the network connections window.
Confirm. The network adapter should now appear in Network Connections.

Complete reset of network driver settings

If your Internet has been interrupted or most of the Internet pages cannot be opened, then resetting all parameters and the TCP/IP stack can be an excellent solution to this problem.

Disabling a network card

To disable the network adapter, most the best remedy— it’s just to use the most standard and convenient Windows tool to contain all such equipment is the device manager. Do the following:

In this case, the shutdown will occur immediately; you won’t even need to reboot the OS.

Important! After the adapter is disconnected, the Internet connection will be severed along with it and a disconnection from the local network will occur. Therefore, it is recommended to finish all your Internet activities in a timely manner before disconnecting the network card.

The network adapter does not have valid IP settings

A common problem in Windows users 7 - this is when problems appear with Internet access and the network diagnostic tool displays a message stating that the network adapter does not have acceptable parameters IP settings.

IN in this case you can try resetting your router first. If you have wired connection, then disable and then re-enable your network connection in the network connections menu. If this does not help, then you can move on to further steps.

Step 1. Update your IP address - this is the simplest method, although it does not always help in this case. To do this, open Command Prompt (as an administrator) and enter the following commands:

Check again to see if the error is still displayed? If yes, then move on.

Step 2. You can try resetting network settings, namely, IP protocols. It is recommended to reset the TCP/IP protocol stack to factory settings in the most extreme cases when problems arise as a result of actions malware and so on. To do this you need to open in administrator mode command line and enter:

Network card settings are lost

When setting up a network, users may encounter the following situation: when they manually register the IP address, gateway, DNS - the specified parameters are not saved, but are reset to factory settings, and thus it becomes impossible to change the network settings from automatic receipt addresses from the router. One of the common reasons for this is the incorrect removal of an antivirus that has firewall functions.

What should be done:

Reset the TCP/IP protocol stack to factory settings (the article above indicated how to do this).
Reboot.

If this does not help, then do the following:

After doing this, the problem should be resolved.

What to do if there are problems with the network card?

Many plug-in AC adapters, due to their vulnerability to electricity, may temporarily fail during periods of severe thunderstorms or building power outages. In most cases, difficulties arise in situations with wired equipment, since multi-storey buildings have long cable runs laid by Internet providers in places not entirely intended for this purpose, next to telephone and TV cables and wires high voltage. High humidity, dampness and low temperature in this area - all this has an extremely negative effect on the insulation of wires, so breakdowns appear in them .

Sometimes also, in more rare cases, breakdowns occur due to emergency situations like a major thunderstorm. Network adapters quite often burn out, or users begin to experience difficulties logging into the network. In this case, the equipment will function, but there may be no Internet connection during such periods.

Unfortunately, this problem can only be solved by purchasing a different model of network adapter. For desktop computer Complies with the PCI standard, for a laptop - USB and PCMCIA.

It is also not recommended to include network cable into the router, and then connect the computer to it, because even if the router breaks down, replacing it will be relatively inexpensive compared to replacing the network card built into the computer (or even the entire motherboard).

Windows 7 does not see the network adapter

When integrated network equipment is not shown in either the " Network connections", nor in the "Device Manager", and is not even reflected in the "Unknown devices" section (which would be explained by the lack of drivers), then most likely there is something physically wrong with it. It is quite possible that some transistors on the network card board have burned out, or a chip has fallen off - in this case, it is more advisable to buy a new card.

Video - How to configure a wired network card on Windows 7

The network adapter for the computer/laptop is responsible for access to the Internet, which modern devices connects via USB or BNC connector. Because it's built-in, and the ability to explore World Wide Web in most cases, the technician sets it up; the question of what it is and how to make it work arises if breakdowns occur. It's not easy to figure this out, but it's quite possible.

What is a network adapter

An additional connecting element between a PC or laptop and other devices that provide access to the Internet is called a network adapter (terminology from the manufacturer Intel processors). In the majority modern computers it's built in motherboard. There are other names for the device. What's happened LAN card, board or Ethernet adapter? These are all variant names for one device.

What function does it perform?

In the model OSI systems The network adapter is responsible for the functioning of the second, data link layer. In conjunction with the driver, it also provides operation physical equipment. Each manufacturer decides for itself the task of distributing responsibilities between them. Behind link layer In addition, the OS (operating system) module responds. Together they perform two main operations: sending and receiving data from the network to the PC and vice versa, and also take part in:

monitoring incoming/outgoing traffic;
remote configuration change;
improving network performance and prioritization;
remote activation from central workstation;
encoding/decoding sent/received data;
packet formation (transmission/reception mode).

Classification

Although most modern PCs have built-in network cards, they can break down and require replacement. To do this, it is not necessary to completely disassemble the computer, since there are two large groups of these devices:

External. Some are connected via the PCI connector of the motherboard, others use the ISA bus.
Built-in. They are also called integrated. The output is presented as a connector on the panel near the USB ports. Nearby there are indicators - LEDs, which are used to guide you regarding the performance of the device. Plus of the built-in device: convenience. Cons: unreliability.

3Com approached classification from a different angle. In it, all adapters are divided into generations. Varieties include:

First generation adapters. Built on discrete logic chips. They had low performance - even if the computer memory was large, the adapter buffer could only hold one frame. There were many types, each of which needed its own driver. In addition, the OS modules were not standardized. As a result, configuring the network card was difficult. The devices were used on old computers.
Second generation adapters. ASIC chips used, dimensions buffer memory allow multi-frame transmission in parallel mode. The reliability of 2nd generation adapters has been increased, and standard specifications for drivers and interfaces have been developed. In addition, the transfer speed has increased.
Third generation. This latest devices, to which 3com refers its EtherLink III boards. Frame processing is conveyor-based. The adapter is configured automatically. It is connected to the network via a BNC connector (for the cable type - twisted pair).
Fourth generation. High speed boards that support standards Fast Ethernet.
Fifth generation. Gigabit Ethernet, supporting modern network protocols.
Sixth generation. 400 Gigabit Ethernet, currently in development. Will begin to be used no earlier than 2020 for home PCs. Sixth generation Ethernet adapters for servers have already appeared (they are used by providers).

There are other parameters by which devices are classified. The main ones are listed below:

by data transmission medium (wired, wireless);
by functions performed (implementing the first two OSI levels/first four);
by topology (similar local networks: tire, ring, star, tree, combined);
by type of PC (client, server);
by bus type (ISA, EISA, PCI, MCA).

Species

Although in order for the selection and configuration of the device to be correct, it is advisable to know some of the subtleties and features of the adapters and have all the knowledge system administrator not necessary. The main types of boards you need to know:

wired;
wireless;
virtual.

They vary in body size and external parameters, can be connected directly to the motherboard or via a USB socket. Otherwise they look similar, representing a cable with a corresponding key for connecting to a computer port. They provide data transmission over a wired network, connecting a PC/laptop and a router. Sometimes sold complete with software(drivers) for various operating systems, but most modern operating systems find and install it automatically.

Wireless

Often a network adapter means wireless view devices. It is small, mobile and universal, it is also called a modem (although they are designed for 3G), but within this variety the concepts are interchangeable. To work with wireless networks- that's what the network card is used for in this case. Looks like a flash drive, connects to a USB port, configures and searches for available Wi-Fi points. Convenient item, if integrated peripheral device broke.

Virtual

Designed to create private and secure networks(VPN). They work using special programs, are built on the basis of physical adapters. Installation depends on type virtual card and selected software. For example, in the Windows operating system there is a special “Control Panel” section for configuring the adapter. Another feature of this type of board is the possibility of remote configuration.

The two most important points regarding connection: what type of connector is used by the network adapter and what drivers are needed for its operation. There may be several answers to the first question: USB slot, PCI port or ISA bus. The last two options involve connecting directly to the motherboard. In most cases, drivers are detected automatically or are included with the adapter. If not, you need to search for them on the Internet by device model. Full instructions Connecting a wired network card:

Buy a device in one of the stores in Moscow, St. Petersburg or any other city in the Russian Federation.
Unpack, read the instructions, use it to determine the type of connector.
Connect the plug to to the required port router and computer.
(option a) See automatic installation, wait for it to finish.
(option b) If there is a disk with drivers, insert and run the program.
(option c) Find the necessary software on the Internet (use proven services!), download and run.
Go to Control Panel – Device Manager – Network Adapters. The list should display the name of the board. If there is no one near him exclamation point- everything is installed correctly.

Connecting a wireless device is carried out in a similar way, but in this case only a PC and a USB connector are used. Drivers are installed automatically. After this operation, the computer immediately starts searching available Wi-Fi networks. Conflicts with the OS are possible; to avoid them, you need to choose a device with correct parameters(will be discussed below).

If the network adapter is not listed in Device Manager, it means something went wrong during the connection. But what exactly? Main reasons and ways to solve them:

Board fault. Unlikely reason, if not physical damage. If there were, you need to take it for repair or replace the adapter yourself.
Errors in the operating system. Solution: Roll back to the previous restore point. If it is not there, reinstall the system.
Driver problems. Solved either similarly previous point, or are updated in manual mode. You need to download the software from the official website, since dubious services main reason, Why network card The driver for the computer is not supported.
Built-in intervention antivirus protection Microsoft Windows or other. Start the system in safe mode, disable your antivirus and check the operation of the equipment.

What to do if the adapter does not work

Make sure that the computer sees the device; if not, use the instructions above. Check your system for viruses using the built-in OS protection. If the problem persists, check out the following solutions:

Run diagnostics on the card through Device Manager. To do this, call the context menu and find the corresponding item.
Remove all adapters from the Device Manager list. Restart your computer/laptop.
As Administrator, open Command Prompt. Scan the system: enter sfc /scannow and Enter.
Update or roll back your drivers.
Check the board's operation indicators. If they don’t light up or blink, it’s time to contact a service center.

Network adapter price

The higher the generation and capabilities, the higher the cost of the device. But there's no reason to chase after yourself at a high price, since the question is not what technology the adapter supports, but also what technology the computer processor can work with. The characteristics can be viewed on the packaging, checked with the seller, or read on the screen by going to the manufacturer’s official website. The price breakdown for Moscow and the region is in the table below:

Connection method. You need to first check whether you have a suitable free connector on your computer.

Network standard. Although, for example, 802.11ac provides speeds higher than 802.11n (up to 10 Gbps), there is no point in paying more if the provider only provides 100 Mbps.

Power. Optimal – 20 dBM, receives signals even from weak sources.

Video

Not long ago, the author of these lines encountered an unpleasant situation - one of the computers, which had worked perfectly previously, was connected to the router in a new location using wired connection. Several devices regularly receive Internet from this router, but the newbie himself refused to work, giving the error: “The network adapter does not have valid IP settings.”

That is, a patch cord, aka Ethernet cable, perfectly provides a regularly humming system unit with the Internet, and when connected to a long-suffering system unit, the latter stubbornly ignores the connected Internet.

What is this error and how to get rid of it - let's figure it out together.

We try to turn it off and on

I admit right away - in my case, the old one helped me good way. I simply unplugged the router and then reconnected it to electrical network, and everything worked on its own. However, before I tried this miracle method, I had to thoroughly study the problem.

Therefore, first of all, try to “turn off and then turn on again” your problematic device, and also reboot the router. Well, what if it actually helped me in the end?

You can also enable or disable the Internet connection manually. To do this, go to the “Change adapter settings” menu. You can find him in the following way:

Right-click on the connection icon and select “Control Center..”

You can also use the following method: press on the keyboard Win + R, dial ncpa.cpl and confirm your entry with the key Enter.

In the window that opens, select your connection and click disconnect, and then in the same way, using right button mouse, click enable.

Checking the connection. Did not help? Let's move on.

Update the IP address

We are trying to update the IP address automatically. For this we use the command line.

Launch the command line and enter the following code:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

This method is the safest, and most likely the most useless.

Resetting the TCP/IP protocol

Let's try resetting the network settings. To do this, use the command line again, and then enter the following queries:

netsh int ip reset

netsh int tcp reset

netsh winsock reset

Afterwards we restart the computer. Wrong again? Let's try the following.

We try other ways to solve the error: “The network adapter does not have valid IP settings”

Try disabling your antivirus or third-party firewall.
Remove Network adapter V Device Manager, and reboot. After such an execution, the drivers will be automatically reinstalled. If this does not happen, try downloading drivers from the manufacturer’s official website.
Uninstall the program Bonjour from Apple, if you have it installed, sometimes it causes a crash.
Check if the network card is disabled in the BIOS.

I hope your problem will be solved as easily and painlessly as in my case. Just in case, it’s worth checking that the cable and network adapter are working properly. Try disconnecting and reconnecting the cable. Update drivers and operating system. If it doesn't help, maybe it's worth it

The idea of writing this article was born at the moment when, at the request of a friend to fix a problem on his computer with a WiFi connection, it was discovered that Network adapter is not in Windows Device Manager. Let me remind you that it is this device that is responsible for connecting to the Internet via wireless signal. We began to figure out the essence of the problem step by step, and I will share this algorithm with you today.

Let's think about it and systematize everything possible reasons, according to which the device manager does not see the network adapter.

WiFi adapter is broken

This doesn’t happen often, but it does happen, so this option cannot be ruled out. In my practice, there have been cases where computer network cards burned out that were connected to PCI slot motherboard inside system unit, and much smaller cards installed in laptops. Since the device is not working, the adapter does not appear in the device manager.

USB connector is faulty

Continuing the topic of breakdowns, we will touch on the option in which the problem is not in the adapter at all, but in USB port which simply doesn't work. That is, when your computer connects to the Internet via external adapter, connected to this same USB. To check if this is true

try to insert the adapter into the adjacent port
if it doesn’t work, or if it’s the only one, which is not uncommon on laptops, then we try to connect another device, for example a mouse, to this connector

In the case when the mouse works, but the adapter does not, this is the reason. If the mouse doesn’t work either, then it’s definitely a USB problem. And it’s even worse if none of the ports is functioning - this alarm bell may indicate either the absence of some drivers for the motherboard, or serious malfunctions associated with the operation of bridges on the motherboard - but this is a topic for another article...

USB extension cable is faulty

In order to better catch a signal that is poorly reaching the computer, “advanced” users use USB extension cable, which is placed closer to the access point. So, this could be the whole problem - either the cable is leaky or the connector is loose. Try plugging the adapter directly into the computer. Another type of such connection is through a USB hub, when the laptop has a shortage of USB inputs. But here there may still be a problem with malnutrition devices. If it is quite enough for flash drives, then it may not be enough for a wifi whistle.

Drivers not installed or lost

Drivers conflict with others or are not suitable for this version of Windows

The case is quite rare, but it happened to me once, as a result of which I was forced to give up one wifi models adapter and install another one. I couldn’t figure out what was going on - it kept appearing in the dispatcher and then disappeared again. Even repeated removal and installation of factory drivers did not help. Perhaps they simply did not support Windows 10 correctly - I was never able to find out for sure.

Here is the experience of solving a problem when the network adapter is not in Windows Manager, I hope it will be useful to you in correcting this error.

When operating system reinstalled, the user may encounter the problem of a missing network driver. Without this driver it is impossible to start either wireless or wired network. If you have the disk, there are no problems, just install the program. And if it is missing, you need to find, for example, a mobile phone/tablet with a connected network in order to download the driver. So that there is no similar problems, when reinstalling the operating system, you must adhere to correct algorithm actions.

The driver is link between the operating system and the internal components of the computer, that is, this program connects the OS with the motherboard, video and network cards, and office equipment. These programs are developed by the same companies that produce PC equipment and electronic office equipment, with which they interact Personal Computer. When buying a computer, the user does not think about various drivers, since they are already pre-installed in the system. But, for example, after the first reinstallation of the OS or the purchase of a new computer, the user will be faced with their absence.

If there is no driver for the network on the computer, there is no way to go online and download from official sites, which automatic mode will scan the operating system and install all missing drivers. When might you encounter driver installation problems? network device? In these three cases:

Even a new computer, just from a store, may lack an operating system, and as a result, a driver.
When the operating system is installed/reinstalled.
When it happens system failure, and the driver stops working.

The first case is the easiest. The box with your purchase should contain driver discs. The network device driver is located on the software disk for the motherboard.

Since in Lately Users are increasingly assembling computers themselves (choosing internal components), then a DVD drive may be missing, and as a result it is not possible to possible installation any driver from the disk.

In this regard, it can be recommended to keep full set drivers in separate folder on a PC or download them to a flash card. In this case, you don't have to search mobile device to go to the official pages of the manufacturers' websites and from there download a program that will automatically install the missing drivers.

Installing the network driver

Before installing the driver, you must identify your computer. All brands and models of computer internal equipment are encoded with special “ciphers”. This is done so that during installation the driver can identify the computer model and its manufacturer. The network device driver code looks like this: PCI/TECH_xxxx&DEV_xxxx&SUBSYS_xxxxxx. TECH means that the computer hardware was manufactured by A4Tech, and DEV is the device ID.

Step 1. Equipment identification

In order to find out the code, click Start and enter device manager in the search field. Next, a menu will open with which you can identify the equipment. Press " Network adapters» and select the name of the controller.

Once you do this, the Details section will open. Find their "Properties" and select "Model ID". The first line contains full information about the device model.

Step 2. Install/update the network adapter driver

This will be the identifier of your equipment. Now you need to find it on the Internet by entering the name in any search engine, for example.
The search engine will give official page driver and you need to download it to your PC. And then follows the installation procedure itself. If you need to update a network device driver, you do exactly the same thing: find the ID, enter it into the search, download and install.

To install a missing or recent version of the driver, use Device Manager. Perform the same steps on last step « Update drivers».

Select “Search for drivers on this computer.”

Go to the folder where you saved the downloaded ones on the manufacturer’s official website necessary drivers, and install them using the “Next” button.

Many users, before installing new driver versions, remove old ones to avoid conflicts and inoperability, because even if you did everything correctly, the Internet may not appear on the computer. In this case, you still need to take the advice of users and remove old versions.

How to do it! In Device Manager you can remove old version network driver. Agree with the choice, and the system will remove the network device driver that was previously installed on your computer.

There are two steps left and your computer will work fully. Step one is to reboot and open Device Manager. On the spot remote driver" Network controller" In chapter " Other devices».

At the final stage, follow the steps from (update/install network drivers devices).