Reformatted laptop, now can't find network adapter.

[jtelander]

Thanks I'll try it out! Also, How do I know which is which ?? I'm a complete idiot when it comes to this

Here is another link that may help...
Alienware M17x R3: Initial Drivers Installation | Dell

[jtelander]

i have gone in my device manager etc, and i have tried to download the drivers off the alienware website

Did you open and execute the drivers after you downloaded them?

And what do you mean when you say you have "tried" to download the drivers?

Do. Or do not There is no try.... Yoda

[tommyxv]

I had a similar prob with the FPR on my M6600, I had to follow the install order that dell recommended to fix my prob. I am so used to Windows finding a temp driver to get it to work until you get the correct one.

[Angeleye]

Did you open and execute the drivers after you downloaded them?

And what do you mean when you say you have "tried" to download the drivers?

Do. Or do not There is no try.... Yoda

I did execute all network drivers available on the dell website, and none of em have worked, tried to install em in the order it says and its a no go aswell =(

[daveatx]

I did execute all network drivers available on the dell website, and none of em have worked, tried to install em in the order it says and its a no go aswell =(

Ok, follow my steps to find the drivers needed.

Type in Device manager on your start bar and open it
Your network adapter or anything else without drivers will be under a tab and I forget what its called, "Other devices" sounds familiar.

You're going to right click on one, (You'll likely have multiple things without drivers)
Hit properties
Goto the details tab
Then to Hardware ID
Often times it will show multiple ids but the last one will suffice, simply copy it with a right click and paste it into google.

If for some reason the Dell website hasn't delivered the correct driver for your device this is your starting point.

[jtelander]

Again, to make sure we are on the same page, you downloaded the driver on the drivers page for your computer (not the drivers that are on the link that I sent you, but the drivers that you found when you entered your service tag number on the Dell Driver Support page), then when they were downloaded, you executed each one, then when it opened, you went into the folder where it unzipped and executed the setup file..and ran the setup for each and every driver starting with the chipset drivers. Is that correct?

[Alienware-L_Porras]

Just try this:

Go to Device Manager
Go to Network devices
Right click on the nVidia Ethernet controller // Hit Properties.
Go to the Advanced Tab.
Disable the option that says "DEVICE SLEEP ON DISCONNECT"
Reboot and and it should be fine!

Hope it helps

[Angeleye]

Ok, follow my steps to find the drivers needed.

Type in Device manager on your start bar and open it
Your network adapter or anything else without drivers will be under a tab and I forget what its called, "Other devices" sounds familiar.

You're going to right click on one, (You'll likely have multiple things without drivers)
Hit properties
Goto the details tab
Then to Hardware ID
Often times it will show multiple ids but the last one will suffice, simply copy it with a right click and paste it into google.

If for some reason the Dell website hasn't delivered the correct driver for your device this is your starting point.

So i looked at the hardware id's, looked online but couldnt find much

here is what it says, are these drivers that i need also ??
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&SUBSYS_11018086&REV_35
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&SUBSYS_11018086
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&CC_0280

[Alienware-L_Porras]

So i looked at the hardware id's, looked online but couldnt find much

here is what it says, are these drivers that i need also ??
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&SUBSYS_11018086&REV_35
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&SUBSYS_11018086
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_422B&CC_0280

Did you try my suggestion? Didn't it work?

[Angeleye]

Just try this:

Go to Device Manager
Go to Network devices
Right click on the nVidia Ethernet controller // Hit Properties.
Go to the Advanced Tab.
Disable the option that says "DEVICE SLEEP ON DISCONNECT"
Reboot and and it should be fine!

Hope it helps

nope, no network devices are found yet, only network controller with a yellow exclamation mark on it.