Network adapters/drivers disappearing from my computer

One theory is that Windows upgrades are doing something to hide them. Does anyone else have this problem? I've checked that network adapters are not disabled, they just are not connected, so I reset them, and then not even on the list any more. So I have no wifi on my computer.

How can I get adapter/drivers back onto my computer? Printer driver disappeared too but I just found the CD so maybe I can add it back on.

I have an ethernet cord so I tried plugging it into the modem but got nowhere, except IPV4 and "leasing for 2 days." How can I get the computer to work with the ethernet cord if I can't get wifi back? There is a wall jack but it isn't even giving me those messages, so it's useless. I have a tech coming to check the wall jack.

I'm trying to avoid buying a new computer but beginning to believe that Windows 11 is forcing us to do just that.

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

What do you mean the drivers are disappearing? Where are you looking? can you show a screenshot? when did this start and what happened around then. What operating system do you have? 10?

Also this is in no way a Cox issue so I'm not sure why you are posting here. I can try to help but you should probably ask either someone on a Windows forum or if still under warranty whoever you bought your computer from. Cox has something called Cox complete Care that may be able to help but you have to call them up for that because they are outsourced third party and they cost money per month for the service.

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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Duplicate post because first one didn't show up.

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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Please delete this comment. Forum was having technical difficulties.

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Darkatt

Honored Contributor

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Verify on your computer BIOS, that the hardware is active. If the bios is upgraded in an update, it can sometimes turn off hardware. After that, your drivers will disappear, because windows will not be able to see the hardware, and have drivers loaded for it.

Also, look in your device drivers list and see if you have a line item for OTHER. If so, try deleting it, and reloading drivers and see if that addresses the issue.

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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I had some other suggestions that were lost with the issue with the forum. What you see after the 3rd time writing the post so I shortened it.

One thing they should do is look in the device manager(Windows key + X > Device Manager). Any missing drivers should show up as a yellow exclamation point. The first one to get is the driver for the adapter you will be using to connect to the internet. Assuming this is a retail PC, the drivers should be on the website of the manufacture. Go to their support site and search for the model of the computer then go to drivers/download section. They will need to download the driver from another device and transfer it to the broken computer via USB. Once the internet is restored, hopefully windows update should be able to handle everything else.

What I want to know is how/when this happened. Drivers don't disappear. They become corrupted or they can be uninstalled, both of which you need to investigate. Did the computer come this way? If not, what happened? Fixing the issue is only half the problem. The other half is figuring out why it happened so it doesn't happen again.

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hjmeenachhome

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I use wired ethernet to my HP Elitebook most of the time. Every now and then I will need to go on WiFi and I will notice that my WiFi adapter is just missing completely. This is related to Windows updates and nothing to do with Cox internet.

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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What do you mean the adapter is missing? Are you talking about the wifi icon in the bottom right or the driver under device manager? How do you fix it? What OS version do you have and are you up to date? Any signs of malware? I had a Windows 10 desktop for several years that had a wifi adapter and never had any issues.

I agree this isn't a Cox issue, but am just curious what the problem is. Need more technical data on the issue to fix it though. Might help to look at the logs in the event viewer. That may say what is going on.

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Darkatt

Honored Contributor

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Make sure your WiFi adapter is ON. Some computers have a wifi ON/OFF switch, There is a function key also, but it just turns wifi on/off) the switch however will turn off the wifi adapter, and when it's OFF, then it won't show in device manager.

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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Good idea. I was thinking of mentioning that too but then they said other things like printer drivers were also disappearing. OP might want to try sfc /scannow from command prompt. Hopefully they found help elsewhere.

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AllisonL

Moderator

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Hi LisaDiane5230, I'm truly sorry for your trouble. This issue appears to be with your computer and not your internet connection. Might I suggest reaching out to the manufacturer for your computer for additional support with this issue. However, this article may be of some use Update drivers manually in Windows - Microsoft Support .

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Network adapters/drivers disappearing from my computer

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