Microsoft Virtual Wifi Miniport Adapter cannot be started

joseph10444 said:

I recently installed an internet sharing program which utilizes the connected wireless internet and shares it within the same wireless card.

After installing the program, I noticed that Wifi Miniport adapter had been installed. I had this driver prior to my system reset but i had constant problems with it.

I have the same problems again and apparently, the program needs wifi miniport adapter to be working properly to work itself.
It has an error (a yellow triangle an with exclamation on it) and that code number is 10, (The device cannot start)

On the program's website, it recommended to just disable and reenable and then the exclamation will go away. But it didn't. I tried updating the driver, and windows update found a driver (unsigned though) but it cannot install the driver because the device cannot start.

So it doesn't update because of its original error. (it cannot start)

Any suggestions on getting Microsoft Virtual Wifi Miniport Adapter properly working?

First off any external package that purports to add access point functionality to Windows 7 is quackery pure and simple. It's a built-in feature and always has been. Uninstall the rogue software, report it's name here and destroy the miniport it created from an elevated command prompt thusly:

netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=disallow

Now set the wlan hostednetwork SSID and WPA2-PSK/AES passphrase or key and start the wlan hostednetwork thusly:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=<my_ssid> key=<my_key>
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
netsh wlan show hostednetwork

Pitfalls:

1) ad hoc networking MUST be disabled on the wireless adapter
2) a Hosted Network capable wireless adapter is installed in the local computer. The driver for the wireless adapter must implement the wireless LAN device driver model defined by Microsoft for use on Windows 7. To receive the Windows 7 logo, a wireless driver must implement the wireless Hosted Network feature.
3) network connection sharing for use by other computers and devices requires the use of Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).

See also:
About the Wireless Hosted Network (Windows)
Using Wireless Hosted Network and Internet Connection Sharing (Windows)

joseph10444 said:

haha woops for not specifying, the program that wasn't named above was Connectify.

i have an atheros wireless card and the last update i have installed it from around april of this year..

it somehow disappeared on the hp product page i'm going to try deleting it and restarting


and how do i know if my wireless card is capable of network hosting?

I figured it was connectify because that software is required to make an AP out of your network adaptor. Windows does have the capiblity built in with it's virtual wifi mini port but the actual application "software" was never completed by the Windows team and that is why connectify is required.

I'm not aware of a list of adaptors that won't work for this but I read that someone was working on one the other day. Using the most recent driver for your adaptor gives you the best chance of getting it to work although I did read that certain wireless adaptors won't work for this. None of this will work with Windows 7 starter.

joseph10444 said:

haha woops for not specifying, the program that wasn't named above was Connectify.

i have an atheros wireless card and the last update i have installed it from around april of this year..

it somehow disappeared on the hp product page i'm going to try deleting it and restarting


and how do i know if my wireless card is capable of network hosting?

Get the device ID from device manager for the network card and search for a driver on the WHQL site at catalog.update.microsoft.com. In order to get Windows 7 certification the Atheros card must support hostednetwork. Only certified drivers are listed on that site.

chev65 said:

joseph10444 said:

haha woops for not specifying, the program that wasn't named above was Connectify.

i have an atheros wireless card and the last update i have installed it from around april of this year..

it somehow disappeared on the hp product page i'm going to try deleting it and restarting


and how do i know if my wireless card is capable of network hosting?

I figured it was connectify because that software is required to make an AP out of your network adaptor. Windows does have the capiblity built in with it's wifi mini port but the actual application "software" was never completed by the Windows team and that is why connectify is required.

I'm not aware of a list of adaptors that won't work for this but I read that someone was working on one the other day. Using the most recent driver for your adaptor gives you the best chance of getting it to work although I did read that certain wireless adaptors won't work for this.

Connectify is just a GUI interface to the same APIs implemented by the command line "netsh wlan" hostednetwork. See the commands I posted earlier. No GUI is required.

The list of adpaters guaranteed to support hostednetwork is the same as the Windows Hardware Quality Lab certification list for Windows 7. If the Atheros card is Windows 7 certified then it definately supports hostednetwork. Only WHQL drivers appear on catalog.update.microsoft.com so if you search for the PCI Vendor and Device string there and turn up a driver for Windows 7, then that driver and device support hostednetwork.

baarod said:

chev65 said:

joseph10444 said:

haha woops for not specifying, the program that wasn't named above was Connectify.

i have an atheros wireless card and the last update i have installed it from around april of this year..

it somehow disappeared on the hp product page i'm going to try deleting it and restarting


and how do i know if my wireless card is capable of network hosting?

I figured it was connectify because that software is required to make an AP out of your network adaptor. Windows does have the capiblity built in with it's wifi mini port but the actual application "software" was never completed by the Windows team and that is why connectify is required.

I'm not aware of a list of adaptors that won't work for this but I read that someone was working on one the other day. Using the most recent driver for your adaptor gives you the best chance of getting it to work although I did read that certain wireless adaptors won't work for this.

Connectify is just a GUI interface to the same APIs implemented by the command line "netsh wlan" hostednetwork. See the commands I posted earlier. No GUI is required.

The list of adpaters guaranteed to support hostednetwork is the same as the Windows Hardware Quality Lab certification list for Windows 7. If the Atheros card is Windows 7 certified then it definately supports hostednetwork. Only WHQL drivers appear on catalog.update.microsoft.com so if you search for the PCI Vendor and Device string there and turn up a driver for Windows 7, then that driver and device support hostednetwork.

I understand what your saying but why do it the hard way, and from what I understood Msoft never completed the software for this so connectify was required. Or I should say that is how everyone else in the free world does this. If you need to go off about telling people to do with with command lines then be my guest but I'm pretty sure that connectify is required or at least much easier than trying to remember a bunch of command lines everytime you want to use it.

Why you would imply that connectify is pure quackery is beyond me as pretty much everyone uses it with great success. I have yet to see those commands work for anyone so far, they won't fix the Op's problem which is no doubt related to the driver. I won't get into the fact that connectify probably has more options than the command line will like WPA2 security and AES encryption for the AP it creates.

As for the WHQL driver, if it's listed then it would probably also download automatically once he delated the old driver from device manager and rebooted. Or he may need to go searching around for it at the WHQL site as you suggested, in either event the driver is the most likely problem "not connectify or his connection method" as I pointed out earlier.

chev65 said:

baarod said:

chev65 said:

I figured it was connectify because that software is required to make an AP out of your network adaptor. Windows does have the capiblity built in with it's wifi mini port but the actual application "software" was never completed by the Windows team and that is why connectify is required.

I'm not aware of a list of adaptors that won't work for this but I read that someone was working on one the other day. Using the most recent driver for your adaptor gives you the best chance of getting it to work although I did read that certain wireless adaptors won't work for this.

Connectify is just a GUI interface to the same APIs implemented by the command line "netsh wlan" hostednetwork. See the commands I posted earlier. No GUI is required.

The list of adpaters guaranteed to support hostednetwork is the same as the Windows Hardware Quality Lab certification list for Windows 7. If the Atheros card is Windows 7 certified then it definately supports hostednetwork. Only WHQL drivers appear on catalog.update.microsoft.com so if you search for the PCI Vendor and Device string there and turn up a driver for Windows 7, then that driver and device support hostednetwork.

I understand what your saying but why do it the hard way, and from what I understood Msoft never completed the software for this so connectify was required. Or I should say that is how everyone else in the free world does this. If you need to go off about telling people to do with with command lines then be my guest but I'm pretty sure that connectify is required or at least much easier than trying to remember a bunch of command lines everytime you want to use it.

Why you would imply that connectify is pure quackery is beyond me as pretty much everyone uses it with great success. I have yet to see those commands work for anyone so far, they won't fix the Op's problem which is no doubt related to the driver. I won't get into the fact that connectify probably has more options than the command line will like WPA2 security and AES encryption for the AP it creates.

As for the WHQL driver, if it's listed then it would probably also download automatically once he delated the old driver from device manager and rebooted. Or he may need to go searching around for it at the WHQL site as you suggested, in either event the driver is the most likely problem "not connectify or his connection method" as I pointed out earlier.

What's so hard about it? I'd much rather use the trusted tools included with the OS by Microsoft, following the directions here: About the Wireless Hosted Network (Windows) (from Microsoft) than rely on some third party thing that's really not needed. Follow the instructions. Cut and paste if you must. I assure you, SoftAP works just fine and dandy without any added snake oil. And, just a little history lesson, before there were GUIs computers were still able to function. Just like Windows 7 SoftAP functions. Just fine. Without a GUI. If you don't want to remember the commands, create a script.

"Pretty much everyone in the free world?" You asked them all? You really get around!

Someone, anyone, without this Connectify stuff installed, issue the commands I posted and tell all of us if you see a new access point pop up. I'm tired of defending Microsoft's published method for the operation of their software which I've used dozens of times. Without any GUI shell of any kind on top of it...