Yellow triangle with exclamation mark on internet connection

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nntn
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Yellow triangle with exclamation mark on internet connection

Post by nntn »

When my laptop was using the wireless, it says the wireless signal was excellent but no internet connection. I was advised to connect the laptop to the modem using the Ethernet cable, I did that and I was able to connect to the internet.

My wireless seems to work because I have 2 other systems that are able to connect to the wireless and connect to the internet. So it is not the router at all per my ISP suggested so.

I updated the latest version of the adapter device, and that still doesn't work.

BTW, does using the modem only to get to the internet is more secured. My computer gets hacked in so many times. I am thinking of just using only the modem to do online transactions.

What do you think the problem is with my laptop?
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Philip
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Post by Philip »

Seems the driver of your Wireless Adapter is corrupt. This could be result of malware trying to replace it, or something like that.
I would first scan and clean the Laptop from any possible malware using the built-in "Windows Defender" and Malwarebytes Antimalware. I would make sure to uninstall any unnecessary/possibly malicious software.
Then, you can try uninstalling the wireless adapter driver from "Device Manager", and installing a fresh one after reboot.

To answer your other question, using a modem is no more secure than using a wired network. If your laptop is compromised and has some type of malware, the type of connection to the internet doesn't really matter.
nntn
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Post by nntn »

Thank you for the response.

I did everything you had specified, but it still says unidentified network No internet connection.

Connection-specific DNS Suffix is empty when I used ipconfig. The default gateway is also empty.

I tried to disable IPv6 and only enable IPv4 by selecting "use the following IP address" and "use the following DNS server addresses.

That didn't seem to work either.

There is some missing link about the "Connection-specific DNS suffix", it is empty; whereas, my other desktop has the string with my ISP name or address.

How do I set this suffix?
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Philip
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Post by Philip »

It is not about a setting. If your laptop is clean of viruses/malware, you may want to try to uninstall the driver and reinstall it. In Control Panel > Devices and Printers > Device Manager, right-click on the adapter and "Uninstall" its driver, choose to remove it from the hard drive too. After rebooting, Windows may find a driver, or you may have to guess which is the correct one based on your Laptop specs. If no driver works, the Wi-Fi adapter may be corrupt, but those are rare cases. If it is corrupt, they are usually replaceable too.
nntn
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Post by nntn »

The system had been scanned using Windows Defender, Webroot, and Malwarebytes.

Uninstalled driver and rebooted several times but still not able to connect to the network.

It gets the signal from the WiFi but no internet connection.There is no yellow triangle on the network adapter from Device Manager, so I think it is not corrupt?

I think it has to do with the DNS Suffix. For testing, how would I set this DNS suffix from ipconfig?

If I am not hard coding the ip addresses, then ipconfig should list the DNS suffix and the default gateway.
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Philip
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Post by Philip »

You are right, if the Device Manager driver has no yellow exclamation point, the driver is likely to be working ok.

The DNS suffix depends on whether you are in a domain/Active Directory environment (where it may be set by the server/group policy), or a simple workgroup. It is normal for it to be empty in a workgroup environment, I wouldn't worry about that. (the setting is Network Adapter properties -> TCP/IPv4 -> Properties -> Advanced -> DNS).

The Default Gateway should not be empty. That means your adapter wouldn't know where to route packets, that should be your modem/router/gateway's IP. Is "DHCP Server" enabled on it?

If your Router/Modem is at 192.168.1.1, for example, your Network Adapter should have an IP address in the 192.168.1.* range, and the default gateway IP should be 192.168.1.1
This is most often done by enabling DHCP server on the router, and the client automatically gets an IP from it, subnet mask, etc.
Alternatively, you can set your IP/Subnet mask and gateway automatically in the Network Adapter Properties, if you know your router/modem's LAN IP address.

If your DHCP server is unavailable, your network adapter would use an IP in the 169.254.*.* range, meaning it is not able to automatically obtain an IP address.

I hope this helps.
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