[SOLVED] Newly-built PC not recognizing Wireless Adapter (can't install drivers)

PrVonTuckIII

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Aug 22, 2019
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First time posting, so my apologies if this is the wrong sub-forum or anything.

Just built my new PC today - everything else went off without a hitch. Assembly, wiring, BIOS flashback - perfect. Installed Windows 10, and all the requisite drivers/utilities, and everything seemed good.

Until I got to installing the drivers for my TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 Wireless Adapter. When I ran the setup for said driver, it said "Wireless network adapter not detected".

I checked everything I know about. The card is inserted correctly (it also has a status LED, which is currently green, so its definitely connected). I tried both of my PC's PCI slots, but nothing changed. TP-Link support had nothing for me other than "try it with another computer then contact us again".

I'm beginning to think I got a faulty card from Amazon, but before I do anything, I'd like to see if anyone here knows a work-around.

Thanks!

Specs:

AMD Ryzen 3600
MSI B450 Tomahawk
Zotac Gaming RTX 2060
G Skill Trident Z RGB (2x8 GB)
Windows 10 Home

TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 Wireless Adapter
 
Solution
Just booted up, entered BIOS, and disabled the Onboard LAN controller. Saved and restarted, and... device manager is still not displaying anything. No "unknown" devices, no "other devices"... honestly, it seems like it's defective or something, except for the fact that it's clearly recieving power.
Yeah, I have no idea mine had that same issue but your best bet is to return it and avoid getting a TP-Link network adapter. Besides trying to get the thing to be recognized in the first place dealing with the drivers is a pain. My Netgear a6100 even gets a stronger signal than it. Got the T6E to try to replace it.

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Just to be sure, which BIOS version are you working with on that MSI board? Which version of the OS are you on? If the device comes up in Device Manager, might want to uninstall it, then manually install the drivers you've sourced from TP-Link's support site.

Might also want to share a picture to show us which slot on the board you're populating the card on. It needs a PCIe x1 slot, not a PCI slot.
 

PrVonTuckIII

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Aug 22, 2019
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4,510
Just to be sure, which BIOS version are you working with on that MSI board? Which version of the OS are you on? If the device comes up in Device Manager, might want to uninstall it, then manually install the drivers you've sourced from TP-Link's support site.
I had to flashback the BIOS in order to get the mobo compatible with the 3rd gen Ryzen, so I'm currently running BIOS version 7C02v1A off of the MSI website (the latest one).

I'm on Windows 10 Home version 1809.

For what it's worth, I swear I saw the adapter pop in earlier on under "other devices", but as of now, no "other devices" are showing up in my device manager. Or anywhere else, for that matter. As to the TP-Link support - that's where I got the drivers from.

Hold on... I've already installed the standard Realtek LAN ethernet drivers from MSI... would that possibly interfere?

Edit: I found 2 people on this forum earlier on who had the exact same issue. One suggestion was to plug the card into a PCI x16 slot. Lemme try that and get back to you guys.
 
Last edited:
Aug 23, 2019
5
4
15
I had to flashback the BIOS in order to get the mobo compatible with the 3rd gen Ryzen, so I'm currently running BIOS version 7C02v1A off of the MSI website (the latest one).

I'm on Windows 10 Home version 1809.

For what it's worth, I swear I saw the adapter pop in earlier on under "other devices", but as of now, no "other devices" are showing up in my device manager. Or anywhere else, for that matter. As to the TP-Link support - that's where I got the drivers from.

Hold on... I've already installed the standard Realtek LAN ethernet drivers from MSI... would that possibly interfere?

Edit: I found 2 people on this forum earlier on who had the exact same issue. One suggestion was to plug the card into a PCI x16 slot. Lemme try that and get back to you guys.

I had the same issue. I had to disable the onboard LAN to get it to show up in device manager.
 
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Aug 23, 2019
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You mean disable the "Realtek Family Controller"? I saw that suggestion, and tried it, but nothing happened.

I mean disable the LAN in your MB's BIOS. You can also try uninstalling the Ethernet drivers (removing them so they won't auto install on boot). My first suggestion would be your best bet though. I had this same issue just yesterday.
 
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PrVonTuckIII

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Aug 22, 2019
11
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4,510
I mean disable the LAN in your MB's BIOS. You can also try uninstalling the Ethernet drivers (removing them so they won't auto install on boot). My first suggestion would be your best bet though. I had this same issue just yesterday.
Would you be able give me a step-by-step? My BIOS doesn't seem to have any such option. For reference, my computer is using MSI's Click BIOS (not Click 5).
 

PrVonTuckIII

Reputable
Aug 22, 2019
11
0
4,510
Just booted up, entered BIOS, and disabled the Onboard LAN controller. Saved and restarted, and... device manager is still not displaying anything. No "unknown" devices, no "other devices"... honestly, it seems like it's defective or something, except for the fact that it's clearly recieving power.
 
Aug 23, 2019
5
4
15
Just booted up, entered BIOS, and disabled the Onboard LAN controller. Saved and restarted, and... device manager is still not displaying anything. No "unknown" devices, no "other devices"... honestly, it seems like it's defective or something, except for the fact that it's clearly recieving power.
Yeah, I have no idea mine had that same issue but your best bet is to return it and avoid getting a TP-Link network adapter. Besides trying to get the thing to be recognized in the first place dealing with the drivers is a pain. My Netgear a6100 even gets a stronger signal than it. Got the T6E to try to replace it.
 
Solution

PrVonTuckIII

Reputable
Aug 22, 2019
11
0
4,510
Yeah, I have no idea mine had that same issue but your best bet is to return it and avoid getting a TP-Link network adapter. Besides trying to get the thing to be recognized in the first place dealing with the drivers is a pain. My Netgear a6100 even gets a stronger signal than it. Got the T6E to try to replace it.
Yeah, I'll probably just set up Ethernet. Seems to be much cheaper and much less of a hassle (I didn't realize there were Ethernet ports near my room when I bought the T6E, so I guess it's on me for wasting money on something I didn't really need at all).

My thanks for the help, in any case.