Windows XP Reinstall - No Network Adapter Found

Hopefully this will be an easy one - and go easy on me - not too technical… My Dell crashed and I reinstalled WIndows XP with the Recovery disc that came with it. I plugged in my ethernet cable from the adapter to the router, just like it used to be, turned it all on, and Windows XP evidently doesn't recognize it being there. I've turned it off and on many times, connected it directly to the cable, bypassing the router, and it still didn't recognize it. When I opened Network Connections, there was no icon. I installed through Add Hardware a Microsoft Loopback Adapter, but have no idea what that is. Anyway, it doesn't connect to the internet. I open IE and it doesn't connect. So, how do I get Windows to find the network adapter (I don't know what kind it is)? It should find it, because it was there before… How do I make it connect to the internet through the router? I have two other computers that work through the same router. Thanks so much for your help!

You need to go to the http://support.dell.com/ web site, click on Drivers and Downloads then click on Enter a tag and enter the Service Tag for your system, then find the network driver, download and install it.

If you have problems with this, provide the Dell model (like Inspiron 6000 or XPS 520) and I can help you find what you need.

I'm very surprised this is necessary though since you used the Recovery CD that came with the computer so it hsould have the correct device drivers already installed.

Please check Device Manager. Network Adapters and see if there are any yellow marks. To do this, click on Start then Run, type devmgmt.msc and press Enter.

Has anyone found a resolution to the network adapter "not found" issue. I did the same thing and have the same problem. After Windows XP Professiona Service Pack 3 reinstall (fresh), my network adapter and wireless LAN adapter and PCMCI board is not detected and are not show in the device Manager of the Hardware. They are also not show as unknown devices. I have loaded all the right drivers and resolved all unknown hardware peripherals. like audio card, PCI modem. The USB interface work though. Please help. This is a Compaq Presario V2000 series with AMD processor. I loaded all drivers from hp.com support website. I dont think the network adapters have faulted (hardware) issue as it worked before I did a reinstall. Only option left with me that I can think of is that I can order a recovery disc from Hp.com for this product and try my luck, but my gutt feeling is that it will not work. Please help

Hi ajook, welcome to WhatTheTech.

Which of the laptops on this page is yours: Select a product or category from the list below - Presario V2000

My laptop is
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product…st_page=product

Need more info then please.

• Open Device Manager - (Control Panel, System, Hardware tab, Device Manager)
• Expand Network Adapters
• Double click on your network adapter
• Click on the Details tab
• Make sure Device Instance Id is selected in the drop down box
• Click on the line that starts with PCI\Ven_ then press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard
• Start a reply here and paste the copied data in it.

It will look something like this: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2449&SUBSYS_30138086&REV_01\4&2B96F39&0&40F0

I suspect you have a RealTek network adapter but need to be sure.

After this fresh XP install, I dont see a tab for Network adapter. in Control Panel, System, Hardware tab, Device Manager So I cannot proceed to Step 2.

After this fresh XP install, I dont see a tab for Network adapter. in Control Panel, System, Hardware tab, Device Manager

Have you installed the software after your XP install?

Cheers,
Lee

Lee, What software are you talking about? After the fresh XP install, I go to "•Open Device Manager - (Control Panel, System, Hardware tab, Device Manager)" and dont see any unkown hardware related to Network adapter or a tab in network adapter. I have 4 unknow devices and I have resolved all the four of them by installing drivers from HP.com for this model. The drivers I installed were Intel Chipset PCI Modem SMB Bus controller (ATI's Graphic chipset) Audio Controller All unknown devices were resolved after that but no Network adapter tab was created.

Hi ajook, 1 Did you use the HP/Compaq Restore disc? 2 or access the Recovery Partition to reinstall Windows? ( partition D labelled Recovery) 3 Please advise which method you used. 4 f you used a non Compaq, non HP disc ie a Microsoft XP installation disc did you use the 25 character alphanumeric product serial key from the Certificate of authenticity on the bottom of the computer to activate it? 5 Have you installed SP3 and all critical/important Windows updates? It's unlikely that both your network adapters failed at the same time, so I suspect that the reinstall of Windows was not completed correctly or 6 the incorrect chipset and other drivers were installed. 7 If your machine is otherwise working Ok it might be worthwhile borrowing a USB network adapter, install it and see if this enables you to connect. to the Internet Maybe the simplist thing would be for you to consider doing the reinstall of Windows again… Regards paws

Paws, Thanks for post, here are some answers. I have not used a recovery disc or used any recovery partition to recover to factory default. Actually this PC was infected with Virus, as i did not have any worthwhile data on it, I decided to upgrade with XP Professional (factory default was XP home). I used XP professional SP3 OEM software. The install seem to have gone smoothly except this network adapter issue. My other options going forware are in the order below. 1. Use another XP Professiona SP2 CD to again install fresh Windows and see if I see something. 2. Use recovery disc from HP that I have to purchase from hp 3. Use a USB Wifi/ethernet connection to connect this to network. I was hoping to get some insight from other people who might have got into a similar situation.

Hi

Actually this PC was infected with Virus, as i did not have any worthwhile data on it, I decided to upgrade with XP Professional (factory default was XP home).

1 Did you buy this OEM version of XP pro with SP3 and did it come with a Certificate of Authenticity? ( COA) and has it been installed on any other computer?
2 Which Product serial key did you use (25 character alpha numeric..with 5 groups of five..was it the one for for XP home or Pro and is it the same one as is on the COA for XP Pro?
3 Did you format the complete hard drive when you installed?
4 Did you remove the Recovery Partition?
5 Can you access the Recovery Partition?
6 Did you do the reinstall from within Windows or did your boot from the install disc and then install ?
Post back with the answers and we'll take it from there:
Regards
paws

Lee,
What software are you talking about?

I was referring to your Modem driver.

Cheers,
Lee

Lee,
What software are you talking about?

I was referring to your Modem driver.

Cheers,
Lee

Lee, I did install the modem driver.

Hi

Actually this PC was infected with Virus, as i did not have any worthwhile data on it, I decided to upgrade with XP Professional (factory default was XP home).

1 Did you buy this OEM version of XP pro with SP3 and did it come with a Certificate of Authenticity? ( COA) and has it been installed on any other computer?
ajook: I am not sure abt Certificate of Authenticity, I just got it from a friend who had it.

2 Which Product serial key did you use (25 character alpha numeric..with 5 groups of five..was it the one for for XP home or Pro and is it the same one as is on the COA for XP Pro?
ajook: 25 character alpha numeric key.
3 Did you format the complete hard drive when you installed?
ajook: No, I made a partition and then only formatted the C drive on which I installed windows XP
4 Did you remove the Recovery Partition?
ajook: Yes.
5 Can you access the Recovery Partition?
ajook: No.
6 Did you do the reinstall from within Windows or did your boot from the install disc and then install ?
ajook: Installed from a disc and then installed.

Post back with the answers and we'll take it from there:
Regards
paws

Paws, see the answer above.