no network adapter found under device manager

hi all,

after much research through google, i still haven't solve my problem.

i bought a acer laptop @ bestbuy and it came with preinstall vista home. i used the computer fine and all and the internet connects to my router find and was surfing the internet. i then decided to install a fresh copy of my own vista ultimate because i dont like the preinstall stuff that they did because it just clutters up space. after i finish my install of vista ultimate, my laptop doesn't connect to the internet. i know this is simply but i dont see network adapters under the device manager in the computer management screen. i am worried because if i have to install the driver, then i would see some icons with a yellow exclamation mark, but i dont see NETWORK ADAPTERS AT ALL. i dont know how to solve this? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks all. i've tried to press scan for new hardware changes but still i dont see the network adpaters. i thought if you install vista ultimate, then it will install the wireless drivers for you too.

i'm pretty good with computers but i am stuck with this one.

please help you computer gurus. thanks in advance

i've also tried download tons of acer drivers too with no luck with wireless internet.

acer extensa 4630z

 

Do you see a category in "Device Manager" that has a yellow question mark and says "Unknown Devices"? It's likely that your wireless driver is missing. Are you using this site for drivers? Looks like there are different wireless cards in the laptop (Broadcom, Intel, Atheros or Ralink). I would see if right-clicking on your unknown devices might give you more information about which card you have, and then install the corresponding driver.

 

If you don't know what parts your laptop came with (review the invoice), then it would be easy to restore the laptop to original condition, then review the device manager and write down all of the make/model information for the video, wifi, nic, etc, etc. Once you have that, go to the Acer Euro website and download the drivers.

Did you install all of the drivers, ie: the Intel chipset driver? If not, you must install that before installing any other drivers, since those drivers will tell Vista what built-in hardware exists.

 

man you guys are lighting fast, i wish i can upload pictures so you guys can see what i'm talking about, this forum wont let me, they require 15 post before linking to another site. i tried install the intel chipset but it still wont show the network adapter, on my friend's i can see his network adapter and then 2 other things like intel wireless and broadcom, i've been at this for 6 hours now and have a heache. man i thought vista ultimate would install the built-in hardware wireless but even then at least show me the yellow exclamation marks under network adapters so i can find the drivers and install them. i've gone to acer website and tried so many drivers and no go.

i've never experience this before. thanks again u2 for the quick reply. i might have to give up and return it to them to fix

theres nothing under unknown device.

i have acer extensa 4630z

 

With laptops, you need to install special software in order for the laptop to operate. Vista, just like any other Windows operating system, does not come with every possible driver, so you must install drivers.

You probably need to install some of the software under the "Empowering Technology Framework" for things to work correctly. You need to look in the Acer forum, as there might be a reinstall guide you can follow.

Just do a restore action (there should be a hidden partition you can access during boot via F2/F8/F12 or some other key combination). Just uninstall the junk software, run CCleaner, and do a defrag.

 

it might be too late to restore, because i formatted the hd and did a clean vista ultimate install. my friend just did his laptop with the same disc vista ultimate and he has a compaq and everything went smooth. he can see the network adapters and it automatically installed the wireless for him and now he is surfing. he too is puzzled about this. how do i go about doing the empowering technology framework? i've never heard thought before.

THANKS kegobeer for the help man, i really appreciate your time. have you experience this before?

also, stupid they didn't give me a recovery disc, just a stupid anti virus disc. so if nothing else works, i guess i'll have to mail it in for them to fix.

 

Don't compare your laptop to your friend's laptop - Acer and Compaq are completely different.

Have you contacted the Acer tech support department? I'm certain they can tell you what you need to install to get things working.

 

gonna call it a night and tomorrow i'll give it another go, gonna call them. thanks man for all the input. take care buddy.

 

before you do any upgrade or change make sure you research first; search here in the forums and ask around, so you dont end up with a half way installed operating system and a bunch of problems and questions and yes your problems is nothing but missing drivers, go to acer suport and downloads and get the lates drivers for your model and device type

 

i have the same exact problem as you do, i just reformatted my laptop yesterday now the wireless seems to not work, i cant detect any wireless routers -_____- np5793