Windows 7 doesn't recognize network adapters

[JannE]

Good evening!! Been awhile since I posted. Haven't had to. Got rid of an ugly virus on one of my daughter's Win7 machines. But that isn't why I am here.

My daughter in HI just called me. System is a Toshiba Notebook Satellite L650, bought brand new last week. All was well until yesterday. She couldn't connect to the net with any source, dial-up, DSL, etc. She went into the Device Manager and all of the network sources under Network Adapters have ! next to them. She went in to properties and all of the drivers are installed and working properly.

Now, since I am Win7 challenged I am not sure about my solution (haven't done it yet until I find out if it can be done). In other Win OSes, I would uninstall every one of them, power off, power on and let the OS find and install the drivers. I saw when I install my other daughter's Win7 machine, that Win7 installed everything! I didn't have to do a thing.

My question is: Is my solution right? Will that work?

Yours in long distance teching .

Jann

 

[madtownidiot]

Should work. Only way to find out is to try it, but first try doing a system restore. That should always be the first resort

 

[JannE]

I never even thought of system restore. I had her do a look-see in system restore for the dates she could go back to. Yesterday was one of them. Seems her computer did an automatic windows update at 5:30 yesterday morning. She went back to then as the restore point. No clue why but it worked. Now, all the Network Adapters are okie dokie. BUT, and this is confusing, there were a bunch of mini-port entries under Network Adapters before she did the restore, now they are gone and all is working A-OK. What are those mini-port thingys?

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH

 

[madtownidiot]

You're welcome...
Regarding the cause of the problem...
Without knowing what exactly what software and hardware is present, it would be hard to pin down an exact cause .. but that wouldn't be the first time I've seen a windows update break a system that had too much factory installed bloat. You should have her turn off automatic updates for about 2 weeks.. chances are it's something that's going to happen to a lot of people and eventually force either toshiba or microsoft to come up with a solution..

my solution would be to erase the HDD and do a clean install of windows.. That's what I recommend for anyone who doesn't build their own computers.. and it solves a lot of problems. Improving the functionality of a computer is not the primary motive for manufacturer-installed software.. it's there because the manufacturers are paid to install it by the software vendors.

 

[JannE]

I had her turn off the auto installs. I have been a firm believer in wiping the hdd and reinstalling only that stuff I will use. I have only had one system with pre-loaded junk. Otherwise, I have always either built my own or requested what I want. Pre-loaded crap makes me a crazy person!!

Thank you for answering so quickly.

Jann