Looking for help diagnosing connection problem

[motoxer4533]

Hello,

I've got a puzzling issue happening with my laptop and I need some help figuring out what to do to resolve it. First off, I've got an Acer Aspire 5750 laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate.

My issue is: using a wireless OR wired connection, I cannot connect to a network (let's say home or work). A few days ago I could get access, but I couldn't get internet from the connection. I usually get the "Limited Connectivity" error. There have been a few times where I've restarted the computer and the connection will be OK - I get internet for about 5 minutes, then it drops and I loose internet (but am still connected). Right now, however, I can't connect to the network period.

Here's what I've tried to resolve the issue:

• Disable/Enable the wireless adapter
• Disable/enable the connection
• Restart the computer
• Update driver
• Uninstall/Reinstall driver
• Reinstall Windows

Yea. I've even tried reinstalling windows. However, no matter what I try (restarting, boot into Safe Mode, reinstall drivers, etc), I can't even connect to the network anymore. To make matters worse, I can no longer see my wifi card (Broadcom 802.11n adapter) in the device manager anymore. I did manually install the driver, however, using the setup.exe file that was in the driver download folder from the Acer website.

I'm open to hearing any thoughts or ideas on what I can do. I fear that something might be bad with the motherboard, but it seems odd that both wired and wireless have gone bad. Nothing else (RAM, Hard drive, cpu) are acting improperly.

 

[carnageX]

Before doing anything more to your PC, make sure it's not the network or its devices that's the issue.

Did you hardwire directly into the modem, or did you go from the router?

Or do you have a modem/router combo from your ISP? If you have 2 separate devices, try plugging hardwire directly into the modem. If you get internet, plug the router back into the modem, then plug your PC back into the router and see if your connection persists.

 

[motoxer4533]

Before doing anything more to your PC, make sure it's not the network or its devices that's the issue.

Did you hardwire directly into the modem, or did you go from the router?

Or do you have a modem/router combo from your ISP? If you have 2 separate devices, try plugging hardwire directly into the modem. If you get internet, plug the router back into the modem, then plug your PC back into the router and see if your connection persists.

Crap. Forgot to mention that both mine and my wife's cell phones both connect to the home & work WiFi with no issues. The laptop cannot connect to either.

I tried plugging the laptop into the ports on my WiFi router, which is attached to the modem. I'll try going directly to the modem.