# Wireless Network Disappeared



## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

Its actually my fault it didnt disappear by itself. For whatever stupid reason in the Network Connections window on my HP laptop i decided to bridge my wired and wireless connections. Both were working fine at that time. Well i highlighted both and clicked bridge. Both stopped working. After quite a few futile efforts to un-bridge them I figured I'll delete them in Control Panel and they will just come back when I reboot. They did but only in the Control Panel. In Network Connections window only the ethernet connection came back the wireless didnt even though device manager says all is working fine. 

I tried reinstalling the drivers. Several different ones and still the wireless connection is missing in the Network Connections window. The wireless adapter is Ralink RT3290 802.11bgn. Suggestions pleaseeeee!


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

Have you done system restore to a date prior to messing with the adaptor?


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

no i dont have it. never turned it on until after I did this.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Hm .. since your wired adapter was found again (& I'll assume that it works OK) ... look for a key on your HP laptop that looks like an old broadcasting antenna, with radio waves spreading out to the right & left. It might toggle your wireless on and off. Most laptops have the special function icons in light-gray or light-blue, so that they are impossible for old people like me to read at all. Let's hope you are young, with good eyes.

(Some older laptops even have mechanical switches [yes! Dark Ages stuff, but true] that toggle the wireless on/off).

Depending on your model laptop, you might have to press the Fn button at the same time as you press your laptop's wireless button.

If it's not that, let us know.


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, have a read through this:-

How to set up and manage a Network Bridge connection on Windows 10 | Windows Central

Or what can work is to power cycle both router and computer, to do this turn off computer and remove the power lead (laptop remove battery as well) hold down the start button for a sec to remove residual power, now turn off the router and remove the power lead, hold down the start button for a sec. Next power on the router and wait until it has acquired all led connection lights. Now start computer check your wireless connection now.


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

Thanks, already did some of this and not other of it but will try all of it again and let you know.


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

OldGrayGary said:


> Hm .. since your wired adapter was found again (& I'll assume that it works OK) ... look for a key on your HP laptop that looks like an old broadcasting antenna, with radio waves spreading out to the right & left. It might toggle your wireless on and off. Most laptops have the special function icons in light-gray or light-blue, so that they are impossible for old people like me to read at all. Let's hope you are young, with good eyes.
> 
> (Some older laptops even have mechanical switches [yes! Dark Ages stuff, but true] that toggle the wireless on/off).
> 
> ...


Unfortunately not, it toggles flight mode message on and off but the adapter its still missing. Your assumption is correct the wired adapter works fine. Using it now!




jenae said:


> Hi, have a read through this:-
> 
> How to set up and manage a Network Bridge connection on Windows 10 | Windows Central
> 
> Or what can work is to power cycle both router and computer, to do this turn off computer and remove the power lead (laptop remove battery as well) hold down the start button for a sec to remove residual power, now turn off the router and remove the power lead, hold down the start button for a sec. Next power on the router and wait until it has acquired all led connection lights. Now start computer check your wireless connection now.


Unfortunately powering off completely as per your advice didnt work either. Adapter still missing.

Thanks for the link but that doesnt help either. I no longer have a bridge and when I originally tried to remove it I googled and came across the same instructions but the Remove from Bridge was greyed out which was the reason I decided to delete in Device Manager.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Try removing the wireless from Device Manager again, and if HP has a Windows 10 driver for it on their support webpage for you model, give that one another try - and reboot.

After everything boots up, make sure that the Airplane mode icon in "Notifications" (the icon on the far lower right of the screen, that produces the Notification bar) is not highlighted (in other words, "off"). Unplug the ethernet cable, and then see if the wireless icon shows up, and gives you a list of wireless networks to choose from when you click on it.

Kind of like reshuffling the deck ... we'll hope for a pair of aces.


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

no luck with the pair...


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, how did you remove the bridge? Typically open device manager network adapters, find bridge and right click "uninstall". After this the adapter protocols may be missing, right click on the adapter (wireless) and select properties make sure TCP IpV4 is checked.


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

jenae said:


> Hi, how did you remove the bridge? Typically open device manager network adapters, find bridge and right click "uninstall". After this the adapter protocols may be missing, right click on the adapter (wireless) and select properties make sure TCP IpV4 is checked.


Typical removal was not possible. In Network Connection remove bridge was greyed out. I uninstalled in device manager > network adapters by uninstalling both adapters not the bridge. After reboot both adapters are back in device manager but the wireless is still missing in Network connections which means properties are not accessible.


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, go to search and type command prompt right click on the returned command prompt and select "run as administrator" at the prompt copy paste all below in red:-

wmic nic get AdapterType, AutoSense, Name, Installed, MACAddress, PNPDeviceID,PowerManagementSupported, Speed, StatusInfo /Format:list >0 & notepad 0 (press enter)

Please post the notepad outcome here.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

I don't usually fuss with bridging networks, but from what little I've read - it seems that the preferred way to remove a bridge in Windows 10 is to first remove each connection, one at a time, from the bridge. After all the connections in the bridge are removed, Windows 10 is supposed to automatically remove the bridge. [ I took a brief look in the Network Bridge section of this article, and a few others -- Managing Your Network Connections | Windows 10 Tips and Tricks: Connecting to Networks and the Internet | Que ]

*Network Reset - Windows 10*
Since things might be somewhat still half-installed and half-removed, seems that you could try a network reset. (It's rather like a clean install for your network). It might be faster than frustrating troubleshooting (if, of course, it works! ... not so much if it doesn't).

I've attached a screen-shot of Microsoft's how-to for the reset.

If you try the network reset, and that doesn't fix things, let us know. (And ... make sure to read the note in MS's guide about setting your networks up the way you like them: Public, Work, Home.... after the reset)


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

@OldGrayGary
Cant do the network reset, still on Win version 1511 and couldnt get the Win update manually either. it says my system is up to date.

@jenae
Thanks for taking the time to help.


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=00:FF:31:B5:6F:90
Name=Anchorfree HSS VPN Adapter
PNPDeviceID=ROOT\NET\0000
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=10000000
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=A0:48:1C:22:F2:8C
Name=Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
PNPDeviceID=PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8136&SUBSYS_196F103C&REV_07\4&16610810&0&00E1
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=100000000
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=00:FF:2B:87:A2:07
Name=Anchorfree HSS VPN Adapter
PNPDeviceID=ROOT\NET\0001
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=10000000
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=00:FF5:28:8F:33
Name=TunnelBear Adapter V9
PNPDeviceID=ROOT\NET\0002
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=10000000
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter
PNPDeviceID=ROOT\KDNIC\0000
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=Ralink RT3290 802.11bgn Wi-Fi Adapter
PNPDeviceID=PCI\VEN_1814&DEV_3290&SUBSYS_18EC103C&REV_00\4&34D12257&0&00E0
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
PNPDeviceID=
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Wide Area Network (WAN)
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=20:41:53:59:4E:FF
Name=RAS Async Adapter
PNPDeviceID=SW\{EEAB7790-C514-11D1-B42B-00805FC1270E}\ASYNCMAC
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Tunnel
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
PNPDeviceID=SWD\IP_TUNNEL_VBUS\TEREDO_TUNNEL_DEVICE
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=100000
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
PNPDeviceID=
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Driver
PNPDeviceID=
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=WAN Miniport (SSTP)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_SSTPMINIPORT
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=WAN Miniport (IKEv2)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_AGILEVPNMINIPORT
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=WAN Miniport (L2TP)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_L2TPMINIPORT
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=WAN Miniport (PPTP)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_PPTPMINIPORT
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=
Name=WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_PPPOEMINIPORT
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=94:C6:20:52:41:53
Name=WAN Miniport (IP)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_NDISWANIP
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=96:81:20:52:41:53
Name=WAN Miniport (IPv6)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_NDISWANIPV6
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


AdapterType=Ethernet 802.3
AutoSense=
Installed=TRUE
MACAddress=96:C2:20:52:41:53
Name=WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)
PNPDeviceID=SWD\MSRRAS\MS_NDISWANBH
PowerManagementSupported=FALSE
Speed=
StatusInfo=


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

You can get the Anniversary update from here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12387/windows-10-update-history


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, yes the upgrade may resolve your problem, you could also open an elevated command prompt (as admin, as shown) and type- 

netsh winsock reset (press enter) restart computer.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Take a look at this tutorial http://www.askvg.com/fix-network-co...in-windows-not-showing-network-adapters-list/ especially method 1. It's not exactly identical to your problem, but it just may set things right.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

jenae said:


> Hi, yes the upgrade may resolve your problem, you could also open an elevated command prompt (as admin, as shown) and type-
> 
> netsh winsock reset (press enter) restart computer.


In addition to Jenae's command, you could also run:

*netsh int ip reset reset.log*

Press Enter and reboot.


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

This is getting to be fun! Thanks all for making it so and taking the time to help.

@jenae
netsh winsock reset - didnt't work

@Stancestans
netsh int ip reset reset.log - didnt work
method1 at the link not applicable, the registry entry "Config" doesnt exist

@OldGrayGary
I will sometime soon try to update to Anniversary to see if that does it.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

P.S. .... (I always forget something! .....)

I forgot to mention that you can manually grab the Anniversary Update if you'd like. You do need to have at least 20 GB of free space on the system drive (or it will refuse to install). 

Go to Start > Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update ... and if it reports "Your system is up to date" (but your Windows version is still 1511], you can click on the blue-highlighted link "Learn More" next to "Looking for info on the latest updates?" ... that will take you to the Microsoft website that allows you to download the Windows Upgrade Assistant, which can install the Anniversary Update for you. 

It takes a while to install, and restarts your computer a time or two, so you'll want to have some time set aside when giving it a go....


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## MutantWizard (Jul 31, 2016)

After days of broken and restarted downloads the anniversary update finally installed and the wireless adapter is back! :grin:

Thanks to all of you for your time effort and the solution! The help is really appreciated!:bow:


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Sorry it took a while to get it right ... nice work on your part to stick with it. Windows 10 is a constantly evolving creature [providing us with new challenges now and then  ]

Congrats!


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