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Network Adapter Missing after installing Windows 7
I'm trying to fix the WiFi on my Dell Inspiron 15-3521. My WiFi stopped working shortly after upgrading from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. I've tried different drivers, power schemes, and fresh installs of Windows 7, 8, 8.1 & 10. There are no signs of a network adapter in device manager or network connections.
My guess is that the initial problem was driver related. The computer manufacturers probably saw little reason to spend time and money testing older models that were out of warranty for driver compatibility when Windows 10 was released, so they didn't. That being said, I don't think my issue is driver related anymore. Something happened when I downgraded to Windows 7 that caused my system to stop seeing my network adapter, and here's why I say that.
After all else failed I took the hard drive from another computer that originally came with Windows 7, wiped it using diskpart, and did a fresh install of Windows 7 on the Dell. I opened device manager after installation and there waiting for drivers was my network controller and Bluetooth. I used the browse feature and installed my WiFi drivers, but not the Bluetooth. I created a restore point, rebooted, and was about to install the Bluetooth, when POOF....the WiFi and Bluetooth links in device manager disappeared. I tried installing the network driver package, but the installation stopped and told me to "Activate Bluetooth Using Wireless Switch." I tried Fn+F2, Fn+PrntScr, looked in BIOS and on the side of my laptop for a switch, and installed six different QuickSet packages....nothing worked. The restore point didn't work. A fresh install including a full wipe with diskpart didn't work.
1. I have the event log table and the log with details from just after installing the WiFi drivers and rebooting to when the listings disappeared in device manager, but I have no clue what to look for.
2. KB958488 and one other update installed on their own while I was offline during this time. Uninstalling them made no difference.
3. I looked at the event logs for a computer with working WiFi and the following updates stood out as missing from the Dell's start-up:
Information 8/22/2016 11:46:24 PM Kernel-Power 84 (81)
Information 8/22/2016 11:46:24 PM Kernel-Power 89 (86)
Information 8/22/2016 11:46:24 PM Kernel-Power 89 (86)
Information 8/22/2016 11:46:30 PM Microsoft Windows security auditing. 5056 System Integrity
Information 8/22/2016 11:46:31 PM WLAN-AutoConfig 4000 None
4. I ran Autoruns after the links in device manager disappeared and that program saw the drivers, but it listed them, and many more drivers, as unsigned. I tried logging in with driver verification disabled but that didn't help.
5. SFC and chkdsk scans come back fine.
I've read hundreds of posts on dozens of forums by people who all share the same problem. Everyone started with Windows 8.1, lost the ability to connect after upgrading to Windows 10, went back down to Windows 7, and the network adapters disappeared. While my problem is specific to my computer, I am hoping to find a solution that everyone can use. So I guess the question is what could cause your system to stop recognizing your network adapter after downgrading to Windows 7?
*Link to event logs in case anyone wants to take a look: https://1drv.ms/f/s!Au-gT5_7FmGal6xh31MR8P_VYfbXnA