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Laptop has lost wireless internet connection, cannot find network
Hello there,
Please bear with me as I'm new here and I'm honestly not super tech-savvy. I'm seeking help because my laptop seems to have spontaneously lost the ability to connect to (or even detect) my home network internet connection. (Details about the laptop and OS are towards the end of this post.) When I open Chrome, I get the error message, "Unable to connect to the internet." When I click on the usual icon that I'd use to locate my home network, I see, "Currently connected to: Unidentified network. No network access." My network does not show up. There is a link for "Open Network and Sharing Center." I attached a screen shot of what I see when I click on that link. Clicking on the "Connect to a network" option leads me right back to "Currently connected to: Unidentified network. No network access" with a link to open the Network and Sharing Center. I can't get the laptop to find my home network no matter which choice I try.
I got out my old HP laptop (which has wireless) for troubleshooting purposes. It immediately found my home network and accessed the internet without any problems. So I it would seem there are no issues with my modem and/or router. I suspect I've just done something dumb in the laptop settings. I once accidentally turned off all sound for internet websites and couldn't restore it until a friend came to troubleshoot, so this scenario does not seem unlikely.
Also, in case it provides any clues, I can tell you when the problem started. My laptop started grousing at me about an IP address conflict. I ignored it and kept closing the error box (I wasn't using it for internet when that happened). Then about a couple weeks ago, my desktop PC (i.e., my command central) told me it couldn't access the internet due to an IP address conflict. I depend on internet access for work and school, so in a panic, I disconnected the laptop from the internet hoping it would fix the problem. (How did I do that? I'm not sure I even recall. I think I just did some right-clicking on the "connected to the internet" icon at the bottom right and then chose "disconnect." But I might have done more than that. Maybe disabled wireless...?) That did not fix the problem, so I placed an emergency call to a tech-savvy friend who said I should unplug my router and then plug it back in. PRESTO, I had internet on my desktop PC again. But I've not had internet on my laptop since then.
Any hints or troubleshooting advice would be sincerely appreciated. I started to include the information from the introductory "Basic Requirements Before Posting your Networking Thread" post below, but then thought it best simply to post my question before getting out a flashlight to locate router and modem model numbers as I doubt there is anything wrong with either of them. However, should you need this information, I would be most happy to provide it. Thank you so much!
Danielle
Specs: I have an Acer Aspire V5-171-9620 laptop. Pretty much anything you'd want to know about the specs on it can be found at the link below (you can scroll down a bit for the specifics). The only difference is that I had Windows 8 taken off and replaced with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
Amazon.com: Acer Aspire V5-171-9620 11.6-Inch Laptop (Silky Silver): Computers & Accessories
My service provider is Comcast (cable), my antivirus is Norton Security Suite, and I have ABP Popup Blocker installed. (This is where I sorta trailed off and decided simply to post my question before continuing.)