Question Internet Access, but unable to download or search ?

[Ellowas]

(Sorry, I wasn't sure if this belonged in 'Wireless Networking', 'Windows 7', or 'Laptop Tech Support'.)


Hi,

I'm having an issue with an old HP Mini 311-1000 (x32-bit) running Windows 7 Home Premium that used to belong to a relative of mine. I factory reset it to start it anew, and I attempted to update it through 'WIndows Update' in the settings for whatever is the latest firmware for Windows 7 before it was discontinued, but I keep encountering errors.

The first error was from Windows Update which is 80072EFE. This one seems to be about the connection or network-related driver issues I'm having which makes sense.

• I tried to share .msu files to this laptop from my other PC via Bluetooth to update it, but it wouldn't take any of the updates I sent as if they weren't compatible. I'm not sure which ones work for it.

The second error is from Internet Explorer 8 which kept showing me 'Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage' for anything I search.

• Strangely enough, it will load anything I type in search engine and will load AOL, but both will have missing elements such as pictures that have 'X' or the missing image/thumbnail icon.
• I am unable to install other browsers such as Chrome or Edge due to being unable to access the internet through this laptop.

I am able to see the Default Gateway when I check via ipconfig, and I am also able to successfully ping it and other DNS servers/websites; I also tried changing the laptop's DNS to other DNS servers to no avail. This also persists when I try to use my other PC (still the same home network) or my phone (carrier's mobile data) as hotspots for this laptop. ipconfig /release,ipconfig /flushdns, andipconfig /renew also did not work.

I tried uninstalling, deleting, and replacing the driver (the wireless adapter is a Broadcom 43224AGN 802.11a/b/g/n 2x2 Wi-Fi Adapter that originally showed up as Broadcom 43224AG 802.11a/b/g/draft-n Wi-Fi Adapter) with one I could find online that I installed via Bluetooth from my other PC, but that did not work either. Lastly, I tried another factory reset, but the problem still persisted.

Every other device in my home is connected perfectly fine to my network (Eero with dual-band network for both GHz frequencies), so I really do not know what is going on with this laptop and I'm at my wit's end with it. I unfortunately don't have an ethernet cable handy to see if the issue persists with a wired connection.

What could be its issue?

 

[bill001g]

Your best bet on old equipment is to try to install linux on it. They support hardware platforms much older.

I would turn off IPV6 support just in case but this looks more like a dns issue which you have already tried.

It could be that the web sites you are using do not support internet explorer. I have seen that on old windows xp machine that only ran older versions of browsers and would not run the newer ones. I have not tried installing something like firefox or chrome from a USB stick lately but you would think it is still possible to install it offline mode.

I don't think your problem is wifi though. You have a very old wifi adapter but if you get any data to pass to the internet at al then it is working. The wifi itself has no concept of what is in the data packets it sends and receives the bits. Generally it either connects and transfers data or it does not.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Start by using an ethernet cable and work from there. Check an old router box for a spare.
Get on the HP site and let it find your drivers.

 

[Ellowas]

Your best bet on old equipment is to try to install linux on it. They support hardware platforms much older.

I would turn off IPV6 support just in case but this looks more like a dns issue which you have already tried.

It could be that the web sites you are using do not support internet explorer. I have seen that on old windows xp machine that only ran older versions of browsers and would not run the newer ones. I have not tried installing something like firefox or chrome from a USB stick lately but you would think it is still possible to install it offline mode.

I don't think your problem is wifi though. You have a very old wifi adapter but if you get any data to pass to the internet at al then it is working. The wifi itself has no concept of what is in the data packets it sends and receives the bits. Generally it either connects and transfers data or it does not.

Start by using an ethernet cable and work from there. Check an old router box for a spare.
Get on the HP site and let it find your drivers.

I managed to fix it by updating it from Windows 7 to Windows 10. It's unfortunately slower with this upgrade, but I'll see if I can figure out how I can make it run faster since disabling all animations, search indexing, and visual effects apparently wasn't enough.

Thank y'all for your helpful responses! 💕

 

[punkncat]

Oh, ouch! Those atom processors weren't ever really good for Windows.

A good friend of mine is in the (home) rental business and takes care of many homes other than what they own. Super common for them to get some old computer or laptop and often will bring it to me to see if there is any use left from it. For some reason they LOVE those little netbook style laptops due to the size and battery life. I have alternately installed Lubuntu or Ubuntu on them according to its age/generation. They still aren't what I would call snappy, but certainly usable for general surfing and whatnot. They typically are not fast enough to run YT video or the like unless you leave it in the default view.

 

[Ellowas]

Oh, ouch! Those atom processors weren't ever really good for Windows.

A good friend of mine is in the (home) rental business and takes care of many homes other than what they own. Super common for them to get some old computer or laptop and often will bring it to me to see if there is any use left from it. For some reason they LOVE those little netbook style laptops due to the size and battery life. I have alternately installed Lubuntu or Ubuntu on them according to its age/generation. They still aren't what I would call snappy, but certainly usable for general surfing and whatnot. They typically are not fast enough to run YT video or the like unless you leave it in the default view.

It's honestly about the cutest and most portable laptop I've ever managed to get my hands on, but from what I'm experiencing with it right now, you're definitely right about it not being able to handle Windows very well because it seems like it's going to keep performing slowly no matter what I disable or enable.

I wish I saw bill001g's response before I went ahead and continued tinkering with it myself. If I can't get it to run smoothly, I'll follow their or your suggestion and install Linux or Lubuntu/Ubuntu on it—whichever one y'all think would run better on it.

This will be my first time ever using a different OS, so this might be a fun experience, haha.

 

[punkncat]

Ubuntu and its variants are Linux based. There are loads of options out there. Lots of good support available as well.