Friends Wifi Dead - Tried Everything

[zurqqh]

Hi everyone, I'm making this thread for my friend, who cannot connect to wifi on his PC at all.

He used a Netgear range extender, which plugged into a power outlet, and used an ethernet cable to plug into his PC. His old ethernet cable broke, and after purchasing the new one, his computer refused to show any adapters in the "Change adapter options" folder in settings.

We have tried a multitude of different fixes, including:
- Power cycling the PC (obviously)
- Resetting winsock catalog
- Windows network troubleshooter
- Network reset
- Power cycling modem/router
- Installing new drivers for internal wifi card
- Uninstalling wifi card in Device Manager and scanning for new hardware

His phone still connects to the internet just fine, its just that his computer refuses to pick up Wifi. He tried to wipe his PC entirely but it showed an error, which wouldn't allow him to. He uses a prebuilt computer (although I don't know which brand) that cannot access the BIOS.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you

 

[RealBeast]

So he used an Ethernet cable to plug into something that plugs into the wall -- sounds more like a powerline adapter. Please explain further on what brand and model "thing" is plugged into the wall that he used with the cable.

Does his computer even have a wireless adapter? It will either be a PCIe card with an antenna on the back or a small USB plug of some sort. (if yes, what model)

The phone is using wireless, so that makes sense -- his wireless router is fine.

If you want to figure out an answer, you will need to post more information. All the stuff you did is meaningless if he has no adapter or a broken adapter. In the device manager do you see either an Ethernet (LAN) adapter or wireless adapter, or both?

 

[zurqqh]

So he used an Ethernet cable to plug into something that plugs into the wall -- sounds more like a powerline adapter. Please explain further on what brand and model "thing" is plugged into the wall that he used with the cable.

Does his computer even have a wireless adapter? It will either be a PCIe card with an antenna on the back or a small USB plug of some sort. (if yes, what model)

The phone is using wireless, so that makes sense -- his wireless router is fine.

If you want to figure out an answer, you will need to post more information. All the stuff you did is meaningless if he has no adapter or a broken adapter. In the device manager do you see either an Ethernet (LAN) adapter or wireless adapter, or both?

Hey man, appreciate the response.

We opened his PC up (it is prebuilt, however he does not have access to the email to the account he purchased it with so I can't find the exact part list). The thing plugged into the wall is a wireless range extender, the Netgear WN3000RP Wireless Range Extender. He said he had it plugged into a power strip under his desk with an ethernet cable connecting through it to his computer. It apparently worked all this time until his old ethernet cable broke.

In device manager, we found "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller" under Network Adapters, nothing else.

Thanks for your help so far.

Edit: We're trying out solutions without the ethernet plugged into his computer.

 

[RealBeast]

So he used an Ethernet cable to plug into something that plugs into the wall -- sounds more like a powerline adapter. Please explain further on what brand and model "thing" is plugged into the wall that he used with the cable.

Does his computer even have a wireless adapter? It will either be a PCIe card with an antenna on the back or a small USB plug of some sort. (if yes, what model)

The phone is using wireless, so that makes sense -- his wireless router is fine.

If you want to figure out an answer, you will need to post more information. All the stuff you did is meaningless if he has no adapter or a broken adapter. In the device manager do you see either an Ethernet (LAN) adapter or wireless adapter, or both?

Hey man, appreciate the response.

We opened his PC up (it is prebuilt, however he does not have access to the email to the account he purchased it with so I can't find the exact part list). The thing plugged into the wall is a wireless range extender, the Netgear WN3000RP Wireless Range Extender. He said he had it plugged into a power strip under his desk with an ethernet cable connecting through it to his computer. It apparently worked all this time until his old ethernet cable broke.

In device manager, we found "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller" under Network Adapters, nothing else.

Thanks for your help so far.

Edit: We're trying out solutions without the ethernet plugged into his computer.

So his computer does not have a wireless card -- the things that you are doing on the computer will do nothing. It is using a cable connection to a wireless extender. The only thing that you will see in the computer device manager is the Ethernet (LAN) port, which is there.

I would read the installation instructions HERE and try resetting the extender and reconnecting it to the router. (the link will auto download a pdf file)

Note that having it under his desk is a very poor place to locate a wireless extender as it is a lower signal area due to all the matter and stuff under there.

In any event after the reset and re-connection check the lights on the extender.