How to Troubleshoot a Missing Network Adapter in Windows 10
The network adapter plays an important role in your computer because it sends and receives data to and from other devices on both wireless and wired networks. However, you sometimes might notice an error that your network adapter is missing. This can be somehow frustrating as you won’t be able to connect to the internet.
But you don’t need to worry, as I will introduce practical solutions to you.
How to Troubleshoot a Missing Network Adapter in Windows 10
01 Restart the PC and Check Connections
One of the reasons your network adapter may not be detected on your computer could be because an outdated or corrupted network card driver is installed there. There are many useful solutions to this issue. If this is your computer’s first time experiencing the issue, try restarting it and seeing if you can locate the network adapter.
Try a few simple fixes, like restarting your computer, and see whether the network adapter is again visible. Additionally, you should unplug and replug any Ethernet cables that you have attached.
02 Use the Network Adapter Troubleshooter
Microsoft has bundled Windows 10 with a bunch of built-in troubleshooters to solve common system issues and one such troubleshooter is the Network Adapter Troubleshooter. Before diving into the more technical solutions, it will be a good idea to run the Network Troubleshooter to solve the issue.
1. Press Windows+I at the same time to open Settings.
2. Select Update & Security and head to the Troubleshoot tab.
3. Then open Additional Troubleshooters (in the right pane) and expand Network Adapter.
4. Now click on Run the Troubleshooter and apply the suggestions by the troubleshooter.
5. Then check if the network adapter is detected in Windows 10. If the problem isn’t fixed then try the next solution.
03 Check power management settings
1. To open a Run window, just press ”Windows key+R”.
2. Once you open the Run dialog, you need to type ”devmgmt.msc” .
3. Now, double click on Network adapters from the list to expand it.
4. Right click on your network adapter and click on Properties.
5. Now, Click on Power Management Tab.
6. Uncheck Allow the Computer to turn off this device option
Then restart your pc, and check the internet connection. If the problem doesn’t disappear then go for the next fix.
04 Update the network adapter driver
If you can not discover a network adapter driver on your computer, it is maybe because the old or incompatible version of the network adapter is installed. Updating your existing driver may solve the problem.
Let’s see how to update drivers with Driver Talent:
1. The first thing you may do is to download and install Driver Talent on your PC.
2. Open Driver Talent and click on Scan. Then it will search for your computer with any missing, outdated or corrupted drivers, certainly including the one of your network cards.
3. Click on Install All to get all out-of-date drivers updated.
You will then see the pro software update all of your outdated and corrupted drivers for your computer quickly and efficiently.
4. Reboot your computer and see if the drivers are updated.
Otherwise, you can also update your network adapter driver with Device Manager:
1. To open Device Manager, you should press the Windows key and then type devmgmt.
2. Then, click on the Device Manager which appears in the elevated search result.
3. In the Device Manager window, find Network Adapters from the list, and click on it to expand it.
4. Now, from the drop-down select the driver which you are using. Right-click on it and click on Update driver.
5. When you see this prompt has appeared How do you want to search for the drivers.
6. At first, you have to click on the option Search automatically for updated driver software.
7. Wait till Windows searches for the compatible driver for your network adapter, downloads and installs it. Close the Device Manager window. Then, reboot your computer, and check if you can find the network adapter driver.
Bottom Line
Now you discovered how to resolve the network adapter missing problem in this informative post, allowing you to re-connect your computer to the internet.
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