Shannon writes in with a networking question
Q. Somehow I have lost my network device there is nothing showing in the network tray other than my wireless connection , I’m trying to connect my Netgear router and the router has to connect to a regular device first our it cannot be installed please help I’m stuck with no help and windows wants to change me 80.00 that I don’t have and the computer is out of warranty. This could have happened after the system restore.
A. I would first look at your network connections under Control Panel. See if you have a Local Area Connection icon there. If you do then right click it and choose properties. Then check the box that says Show icon in notification area when connected. I have seen cases where the box has been checked and you still don't see the connection in the system tray.
You should also check Device Manager to make sure you have a network card listed and Windows knows about it. Look for a yellow question mark or exclamation point on the network card under the Network adapters section. Click on the plus sign to expand it. If you have a question mark or exclamation point that means there is a problem with your network card. It usually indicates a problem with the driver. You can try to reinstall the driver or roll back the driver to an older version just in case Windows Update installed a newer one without you knowing about it.
If everything looks good there then make sure you are getting a connection light on the back of your network card when it’s plugged into the router. In most cards a green light is a connection and an amber light means there is no connection. In some cards an amber light can also mean there is a connection so check and see if you have 2 different colored lights on the card. Also check the connection indicator on the router to make sure that port is light up as well.
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