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Hey everyone I am posting this question for a friend of mine.

Yesterday after he left school he has not been able to use wifi connections what so ever. The problem is odd because it happened once in a sudden. He has an Acer laptop running Vista 32bit. Now, the laptop is able to connect to networks, see other networks, and when he connects, he does not see the little yellow exclamation point that signals a problem. Once he is connected, he can not open web pages in either IE or Chrome (those are the browsers he has).

We messed with the network settings (making it a public or private network) but that did not help. We have also installed Service Pack 2 from windows update.

I know the problem is vague but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas, perhaps driver issues?

He will be testing the usage of his Ethernet port but I will let you guys know.

Thanks

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Dani AI

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Quick troubleshooting note based on the symptom described by (Wi‑Fi associates normally but browsers cannot load pages). The fastest way to narrow the problem is to separate basic IP connectivity from name‑resolution or application‑level blocking, then run non‑destructive fixes in a safe order so logs stay useful for helpers.

Try these checks in order:

  • From an elevated Command Prompt run ping 8.8.8.8 then ping google.com. If the first succeeds and the second fails, it’s a DNS/name resolution issue; if neither succeeds, the adapter/gateway is the problem.
  • Run ipconfig /all and note the IP, gateway and DNS servers. Use ipconfig /flushdns to clear DNS cache.
  • Check system proxy: Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN settings; make sure “Use a proxy server” is unchecked (Chrome follows the system proxy).
  • Inspect C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for unexpected entries.
  • Reset the network stack: netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt, then reboot.

If those don’t help:

  • Test with an Ethernet cable or another device on the same network to isolate Wi‑Fi vs network/ISP.
  • Boot Safe Mode with Networking and run a full scan with an up‑to‑date anti‑malware tool and your antivirus.
  • As suggested, produce diagnostic logs (a HijackThis log and the ipconfig /all output) but do not use automated “fix” tools until someone reviews the logs.

When asking for more help, paste the ipconfig /all output and the HijackThis log and report the ping results and whether Ethernet works. That information is the fastest way to pinpoint DNS, proxy, stack, driver, or application-level causes.

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Member Avatar for atticusr5

ended up being malware, a simple cnet download and got it back

thanks for all the help

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