Windows 7 not recognizing wireless adapters

Hi

What type of PC you have, and how the Wireless network card is installed?

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Go over these steps and tell us where the breaking point is.

Check the Device Manager for valid Wireless card entry.

http://www.ezlan.net/Win7/net_dm.jpg

If there is No valid entry, delete any Bogus Entry, and re-install the Wireless card's Drivers.

Check the Network connections to make sure that you have a Wireless Network Connection Icon/Entry, and that the Properties of the Icon (right click on the Icon) are correctly configured with TCP/IPv4 protocol in the Network Connections Properties.

http://www.ezlan.net/Win7/net_connection_tcp.jpg

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Many Wireless cards' drivers also install the vendor's Wireless utility.

Make sure that if there is a vendor's Wireless Utility thes Not Running together with the Windows native Wireless utility (WLAN Service) .

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Make sure that No Firewall is preventing/blocking the Wireless components to get to the Network.

Some 3rd party Software Firewalls keep blocking aspects of Local Traffic even it they are turned Off (disabled).If possible configure the Firewall correctly, otherwise totally uninstall it, and get rid of its residual processes to allow clean flow of local network traffic.

If the 3rd party software is uninstalled or disables, make sure that Windows native Firewall is On .

3rd party Network mangers like Bonjour, and NetMagic can block local traffic too.

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Working TCP/IP stack should look this way.

Right click on the Wire card Network Connection, choose Status, Details, and see if it got an IP and the rest of the settings.

http://www.ezlan.net/Win7/status-nic.jpg

Description is the card manufacturing data.

Physical address is the card's MAC number.

The xx should be a number from 0 to 255 (all xx same number).

yy should be from 0 to 255

zz should be from 0 to 255 (all zz the same number.

The lease date should be valid to the current time.

*Note 1. IP that starts with 169.xxx.xxx.xxx is not valid functional IP.

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A message in the Wireless little Window that says Connected does not means that your are really have a valid functional connection.

If everything above is OK you have to be able to connect to the Router.

Connecting to the Router means that you can enter the Router's core IP into an address bar of a browse, be able to connect, see, and configure the Router's menus.

If it does not connecting to the Router, log from any computer that can connect to Wireless Router with a Wire, disable the Wireless Security, make sure that the Wireless broadcast SSID is On,  and try to connect with No Wireless security.

Enable the Wireless security after you mange to establish a functional connection.

Hello mikel142,

There is an option in some laptops BIOS, (HP and Compaq come to mind), that allows LAN/WAN switching. Here’s a reference to that scenario:

http://cid-25ab668da65c8fbe.photos.live.com/self.aspx/Windows%20images/LAN%5E_WLAN-switching.png

Hope this helps, Thanks

Bobby