What to do if your Linksys Wireless PCI Network Card Won't Connect to the Internet
Try to Fix it Yourself First!
Network problems can happen for a lot of reasons and can be incredibly frustrating. Fortunately you don’t need to know the exact reason it isn’t working to fix it most of the time! There are a lot of things you can do without too much knowledge that could get it to work. Linksys routers and Windows 7 both make it relatively easy for you to do a few things yourself.
To do this you need to get to know the way Windows operates a bit but its not too complicated. To get started let’s try some simple things.
Where to Start
The first thing you want to do is to make sure your hardware is actually connected physically where needed. If you’re running on a wireless router check the router to make sure it is hooked up to the internet provider (probably the cable). Also, if you installed the PCI adapter yourself, be sure that you pushed the card in firmly.
Next, boot up your computer and find the internet icon on your task bar. It looks like a classic wireless measurement icon (the same sort you find on cell phones). When you left click this it will give you a list of networks to look at. If it does then find the network you want to connect to and select it. If it is a secured network it will ask you to insert your security key. You can get this from whoever set up your wireless router.
If you’re getting a low signal from that network it might be the reason why you are having trouble connecting to the Internet. Try moving the network router of moving your computer to get a better signal. Even though it is wireless things can still block the signal.
If the wireless icon is not showing any networks then either you don’t have a router setup or there is a problem with your network card. Let’s see if we can find it.
Turn off Your Linksys Program
If your computer is having a hard time connecting to the network itself then the first thing I would check is to see if you installed a Linksys program that is also trying to manage the internet connection. There is no need to have two programs manage this connection. Windows 7 manages the network card, your network group, and the internet connection. So if there is another program up trying to manage it as well go ahead and shut it down. If your card is connecting then disconnecting frequently this is most likely the problem. Try closing the program and see if it helps. If it does, then just uninstall the program (which should uninstall the software not the driver) and you should be good.
Run the Troubleshooter
Windows 7 has a built in network troubleshooter that occasionally can be helpful in figuring out what is wrong. To open this up right click on the Windows 7 network icon and select “Troubleshoot problems.” The computer will then analyze your network card to see if it can find any immediate problems. If it does find any it will give you steps to solve the problem. The good news is, if it can detect the problem with the troubleshooter then they are most likely things that you can fix. Just follow the steps and hopefully it’ll get you working.
Update and Reinstall the Driver
If you’re still having problems you might want to try reinstalling the driver. This is pretty easy to do. First off, head over to the Linksys website to make sure you find the most up to date drivers. Sometimes your network problems may be because of new issues involved in the new operating system, particularly if you are running Windows 7 64-bit. Normally companies will release new drivers to fix these issues however.
To find your driver type in the model number of your network card. This number should be on your card’s box or on the receipt from wherever you bought it. Type that into the “Start Here” box and your card should come up. Then you can go over to the Downloads section and select the most up to date driver. Download this and follow the install instructions. This should replace your driver with the most recent.
Even though it may not be required it is a good idea to reset your computer at this point. Oftentimes it can take a restart for the network card to start working properly.
Connecting to Network but No Internet?
If you are getting onto the network but not the internet then the problem most likely isn’t related to your network card but rather with your internet provider. It is possible that you have some wireless settings on your network router that is messing it up but these will require some more advanced troubleshooting. I’d recommend contacting your router’s support to guide you through it.
A Few Last Things
If you’re still having trouble it may be time to contact Linksys. Linksys has good support and a lot of information on their website. They also have 24/7 live support chat. On there you can go through what you’ve done already and explain the problem. They will give you some more options for advanced troubleshooting that will hopefully get you up and running.
