Started a new course, so I figured I’d format the laptop and get a fresh start. Downloaded the drivers of my laptop’s model onto a usb beforehand. Formatted the laptop and installed the drivers. No network connection. I see no options but airplane mode, and can’t even turn that on. No wifi network search button (the laptop is wifi only, no ethernet). I need to jump into a video lecture that evening, so in a panic I try a Debian install, and then an Ubuntu install (which I am on currently). Both automatically sort out a network connection for me without anything needing installing. Great to see from Linux, frustrating behaviour for MS as usual. Unfortunately I will need a Windows install for all the software I will need, or I would happily stay on Ubuntu. My question is, is there a free software that will magically sort me like Linux does for Windows? Something that tries a few different generic network drivers perchance?
Yea … windows will sort out the drivers for ya once your online!
Do you by chance have a physical switch to turn your wifi adapter on or off? Some laptops do have this option.
Another option is to install the device driver thru the old control panel (windows tools - control panel - device manager - network adapters - right click on the wireless adapter and install driver).
another option is to see if best buy / Walmart / target have a network to usb adapter that you can hard wire into your home network and get all the updates you need
The reason linux seems to just work in this respect is due to the fact that the drivers are baked into the kernel!
First check for the obvious: Check if your Wi-Fi switch (if your laptop has one) is turned on (yes even if you already checked it once, maybe you turned it off). Sometimes it’s the simplest things!
Check Device Manager:
Let’s make sure your Wi-Fi adapter is even recognized by Windows. Open up Device Manager (you can search for it in the Start menu).
Look under “Network adapters.” If you see your Wi-Fi device listed there, great! If not, well, that’s our starting point.
If you can not find your device under Network adapters, check under Other for Unknown Device.
If the device is present Scenario:
Dive into Windows Settings:
Go to Settings Network & Internet Wi-Fi.
Make sure Wi-Fi is toggled on.
Click on “Advanced network settings” and ensure that “Connect automatically” is enabled.
Try Updating the driver through Device Manager:
Right-click on it device or unknown device and select “Properties.”
Head over to the “Driver” tab.
Here, you’ve got a couple of straightforward options:
Update the Driver: If you have not installed your new driver yet you should try now. If this is a Dell and it installs really quick it likely just unpacked the driver into C:\Dell\example and did not actually install the driver. If the wireless is still not working continue forward.
Click the “Update Driver” button
Select Brows My computer for drivers. Here you can pick from a list or if you know exactly where your driver is, browse to it and let windows look for it. If this is a dell then it is likely under C:\Dell\example where example represents the driver ID sometimes they make sense.
Uninstall the Device:
If updating the driver of a known device didn’t do the trick, let’s get a bit more serious.
Uninstall the Wi-Fi device (don’t panic—it won’t vanish forever).
When uninstalling, if you see an option to remove the driver, definitely check that box. Sometimes remnants of old drivers cause trouble.
Now, take a deep breath, and… Reboot your system. Windows should automatically detect the device again and install a fresh driver.
If not, proceed to the next step.
Grab Slightly Older Drivers:
Remember those drivers you downloaded for your laptop or motherboard? Yeah, those latest and greatest ones, well they might be the problem. If you are not installing the latest version of your OS, they could be causing issues if they are not backward compatible.
Head to the manufacturer’s website (or your laptop brand’s support page) and find the second latest Wi-Fi driver for your specific model.
Download it, install it, and cross your fingers.
Still No Luck? Well, it works on Linux so now it’s just getting strange
If you’re using a third-party security suite (like McAfee or Norton), they sometimes mess with network settings. Temporarily disable them and see if Wi-Fi springs back to life.
Run the built-in Windows troubleshooter:
Search for “Troubleshoot settings” in the Start menu.
Select “Internet Connections” and follow the wizard.
“Sometimes”, magic happens.
Still No Joy? Let’s Get Creative:
If you’re feeling adventurous, open a command prompt (as an admin) by pressing start and typing cmd then select run as administrator (you may need to right click on it) when the command prompt window opens run the command:
netsh winsock reset
Then reboot. It resets your network settings (like a digital reset button).
Community Wisdom:
Hopefully someone more informed than myself steps up and has a solution not listed.
Note: If nothing else works buy a Wi-Fi dongle from Walmart, Target, BestBuy, College store, etc… or barrow one from a friend. This might allow you to update the laptop online and find the missing techie magic needed (aka correct drivers). Remember no matter how frustrating this is, it will improve your IT skills. I wish you luck.
Maybe I did something stupid here. I did the OOBE\BYPASSNRO thing upon setup to skip the forced MS account bit- maybe that’s why WiFi is not available? Do I have to re-activate something through the terminal when I eventually get into windows?
Or maybe it was one of the many convenient options Rufus gives you when it sees a W11 to turn things off?
It’s AMD. Not sure I can use My Asus, there doesn’t seem to an exe I can find, any link I’ve found to it is a windows store link which would just install it on my other machine. I’ve been advised to use Snappy Driver, gonna try that now.
I’m not sure that is what they use for non-gaming laptops, dunno if trying to install an .exe of that would help or cause more issues… it certainly was never installed on my laptop pre-format.