Problems connecting to internet on HP 550

Hi,

Appologies if this should go in the HP forum. I thought here was more appropriate though.

I've just purchased an HP 550 which I'm really pleased with, running Windows Vista. Unfortunately I'm having real problems connecting to the internet.

I start the Connect to the Internet wizard, I click on Connect to the Internet and I only get options for connecting to a wireless network or connecting to a dial-up modem.

The computer has an ethernet socket to which I've plugged in an ethernet cable going to my router. Why can't I connect using this?

Many thanks,

Froskoy.

 

Start > Network (second column)

On the top of the window that appears, choose NETWORK AND SHARING CENTER.

On the left hand side, choose MANAGE NETWORK CONNECTIONS

What is in here? If LAN connection is there, right click and choose ENABLE

If nothing is there, START, right click COMPUTER, choose MANAGE

Choose DEVICE MANAGER on the left side

Go down to NETWORK ADAPTERS. What do you see?

 

Thanks very much for the reply. I really, really appreciate it.

There is no LAN connection under Manage Network Connections, unfortunately so I have gone into Device Manager.

Under Network adaptors I only have something entitled Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN, which I guess is the wireless.

Thanks very much again - rep given,

Froskoy.

 

Does anything show up under the heading of "problem devices"? It sounds like the drivers for your wired ethernet connection didn't install properly.

 

Thanks. How can I find out the correct driver that I need to install?

 

You should be able to download the driver directly from the appropriate _HP support webpage. I made a guess as to your exact model and OS version (I assumed Vista Home Premium), and found the driver download page for the "HP 550 Notebook PC" - the network drivers are here, and the driver for the wired ethernet should be the second driver on the list, entitled "Ethernet Drivers for Microsoft Windows Vista" and which is described in more detail here (it would seem that I didn't need to guess what flavor of _Vista you were running, although I am still guessing you've got the 32-bit version going).

Remember, make sure this is really the right driver for your particular model and OS before you go downloading and installing whatever fool nonsense I may have pointed you to.

Also, before just blindly installing this driver, check under the "problem devices" section to see if the ethernet adapter is showing up there. If it is, that generally means that the driver was improperly installed, in which case you'll have to uninstall that device first, and then install the downloaded driver.

 

Thanks soooo much for your help!

It was under "problem devices". I just uninstalled and installed the correct driver on the page you pointed to and now my internet is working great!

Thanks very much again,

Froskoy

 

You're most welcome.

 

Honesty, plain and simple.

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