Apparently, many users who tried to set up a connection to the Internet or local network know that some important options are not automatically installed, and you need to change them in a special section of changing the adapter settings (of course, the network). But when installing some options very often there is confusion and problems associated with the fact that the user is not too clearly oriented in such settings. The following is a detailed instruction that allows you to not only properly configure the network card and connection, but also get rid of possible problems associated with the inability to establish communication or the inoperability of the adapter itself.
View installed network adapters
Before proceeding directly to setting the necessary options, you need to make sure that you have a network device on your computer or laptop that will be involved in the process of creating the connection, and it is in working condition. There are several ways to do this. The easiest option is to view the adapters installed on the computer in the list of network equipment directly in the “Device Manager”.
You can also use the "Network Control Center" in the "Control Panel" and go to the point of changing the adapter settings, and then select the properties item on the selected connection via RMB. The name of the active network module that can be configured will immediately appear in the settings window (it will be redirected to the “Device Manager” settings window.
You can quickly call up the connection section, bypassing the "Control Panel" and the point of changing adapter settings in Windows 7 and newer versions, through the "Run" console by running the ncpa.cpl command.
Check for driver availability
However, the “Device Manager” is good in that it can immediately determine whether the driver of the selected network card or wireless module is installed correctly (and installed at all). If problems are observed, the device will be marked with a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark. Sometimes even the name of the adapter will not be shown, and in the dispatcher it will be among unknown devices.
You can install the driver directly from the disk, which, in theory, was supplied with the network card at the time of purchase (or bundled with a laptop). If there is no such media, you can use fully automated applications like DriverPack Solution, which, according to most experts, contain the most extensive driver databases for almost all known devices.
In extreme cases, if you don’t have anything at hand, install the control software using the system’s tools through the “Device Manager” using the update button on the driver tab.
The best option is to identify the VEN and DEV identifiers, followed by a search for the latest driver on the Internet based on them.
Two ways to turn on network equipment
Now you need to check if the device is turned on at all. Running a little ahead, we note that it is the disconnection of the network card that often leads to the fact that the adapter settings item is empty (neither the card nor the options are displayed at all). First, in the “Device Manager”, select the adapter you want, and then open the RMB menu.
If the point of its inclusion is active, it means that the card is not involved. Turn it on and continue to the next step.
Please note that if you cannot turn on the adapter using this method, you will have to restart the computer system, enter the BIOS settings and activate the network equipment there. Typically, the section containing the necessary settings is called Integrated Peripherals, and the adapter activation point is called Onboard LAN Controller or something like that. To activate it, you need to set the value Enabled.
Change adapter settings in Windows 10 and below for static (permanent) IP addresses
Now that the main equipment is turned on and working, you can go to the basic settings. First, select the adapter settings in the network management section or navigate to the desired section through the Run console, as described above, and then call the IPv4 properties section. Now attention!
If the provider provides you with a static address, you will need to set the parameters yourself by filling in the IP address, gateway, subnet mask and, if necessary, DNS servers. All information is usually indicated in the contract. For the most part, such actions are only necessary if you are setting up a wired connection.
Change network adapter settings for dynamic addresses
But when connecting via a local network or creating a connection based on routers (routers or ADSL modems operating in the wireless broadcast mode), it is not necessary to prescribe the above options.
All points should be set to receive addresses automatically (for a wireless network, this is a prerequisite).
Nuances of proxy network settings
But, let's say, you performed the adapter settings change, but the connection is still missing (for example, in the local network). In this case, you need to pay attention to another important option - activation of the proxy server for local addresses.
This option is usually recommended to be disabled if the provider does not use such servers when connecting your computer, laptop or even the entire network. If a proxy is required, you must enter the correct data regarding the address of the corresponding server and port number. Sometimes it is also necessary to add an activated port to the Windows Firewall exception list, using the creation of a new simple rule for outgoing connections.
Change DNS server addresses
If, after this, there is no connection or the Internet connection is unstable, you can try changing the addresses of the DNS servers by disabling their automatic assignment and entering addresses in, say, Google from the corresponding fields, as shown in the image below.
These parameters are optional. You can use any other sets of free addresses that are freely available on the Internet (for example, from Yandex).
What to do if network device options are not available?
Finally, we consider the most unpleasant situation when the section for changing adapter settings in Windows 7 is empty, that is, neither the network card itself nor the options available for its settings are shown at all. Most experts attribute this to several possible reasons:
- missing, outdated, or improper installation of adapter drivers;
- disabled state of the device;
- Damage to important system components
- "Gathering" of network settings.
The first two situations are corrected quite simply (as described above). But to check the system files, you will have to run the command line as administrator and execute the sfc / scannow command in it . If the results indicate that no file integrity violations have been detected, you can try to perform a complete reset of all network parameters. To do this, on the same command line, you must run the following two commands (without punctuation at the end):
- netsh int reset all;
- netsh winsock reset.