Can't get any wifi dongle to work!

[alessandrocar88]

Hi guys,
I'm having a problem that's driving me crazy.

2 days ago I got a virus with my pc, so I decided to format, and everything was cool.
I just had a small problem: I had to manually connect to my wifi network (also if i thicked the option "automatically connect")...so I uninstalled the driver of my usb wifi dongle key, and reinstalled them: since that moment it stopped working.

I use windows 7 professional x64, and the dongle it's a Netgear WNA3100.
The problem is that when I try to install it, it get stucked in the "looking for the device" phase.

I already tried to install the drivers in safe mode, disable and later uninstalled the antivirus (Avast) and the firewall (Zone Alarm). Still no luck.
I also tried all the drivers versions, still nothing.
The strange thing it's that I can install the driver (also if most of the time they get stucked in the process)...but if I go in devices managment, I can see the wifi dongle as installed and working. At the same time though I can't use it.

I tried the dongle on my laptop, and it worked.

So, to go on testing, I bought a new usb dongle from Belkin (the Surf N300 N micro adapter), and same thing...didn't work on my desktop (the one with the problem) and worked with the laptop.

I've really no clue on what do to, but it's clear that the problem lies in the system.
My motherboard drivers are updated, so as windows.

Any idea? my next step would be formatting again but that'd be so bad, cause I've very big software for music, and it's so time consuming to format.
Thanks!

 

[alessandrocar88]

I worked out a solution after driving myself crazy: on BIOS I disabled all the USB ports. turned on the pc, restarted, re-enabled the USB from the bios.
In this way I was able to install the USB wifi dongle, but I still had the not-automatically connection on startup...and I found the solution on the microsoft site:

open search, type "services.msc" open services.
Scroll down to "wlan auto config" right click, stop the service.

Navigate to
"C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Wlansvc\ delete everything in this folder leaving only a folder called "profiles" delete everything in the "profiles" folder except for a folder called "interfaces" delete everything in the "interfaces" folder)

Restart "wlan auto config" connect to your wireless network, enter
your passkey, (ensure the connect automaticly box is checked)

Restart your computer job done, your computer will now connect to your wireless network automaticly on boot.

My work here is done

 

[indianacarnie]

Thanks for sharing your solution. Microsoft's gets a lot of grief about their help site but there IS a wealth of information there. I visit it fairly often myself, either looking for solutions to problems of posters or just to "nose around".

 

[alessandrocar88]

Yeah in this case it was useful...but if I wouldn't had the "nose" to deactivate the usb from my BIOS, I wouldn't have find any solution...I guess sometimes computers just like to mess up with us