Member Avatar for bgrimwade

My Relink netork card has disconnected
It is a USB type with a remote aerial Type RT2571 USB WLAN Adaptor according to the information on the aerial
I have tried the following so far
Changed WZC to automatic - no change
Checked system hardware for faults under Network adaptors and there are none shown
Run ipconfig /all
with the following response for the particular network card

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection
Media state.............Media disconnected
Description .............RT73 USB Wireless LAN Card
Physical Address.......00-0C-43-A0-D2-6B

Can someone advise what is the next thing I vneed to check or do please - I am at the limit of my low knowledge on this. Thanks

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Dani AI

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Following ’s report and ’s suggestion to remove/reinstall the driver, here are focused, practical steps to confirm whether the fault is software or hardware and what to try next.

  • Try a different USB port and a different PC. Older USB Wi‑Fi sticks can misbehave on some ports (try a USB 2.0 port if available) or be restored by using a short USB extension to move the stick away from metal/other electronics.
  • Do a clean driver removal: open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc), enable View → Show hidden devices, uninstall the wireless adapter and choose to delete the driver if offered, then reboot and install the vendor/chipset driver that exactly matches your OS.
  • Check USB power settings: under Universal Serial Bus controllers in Device Manager open each USB Root Hub/Host Controller and on Power Management uncheck the option that lets Windows turn the device off. Also disable USB selective suspend in Power Options.
  • Inspect logs for clues: open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) and look in System and Application around the times the adapter drops for driver, USB or power-related errors. Those entries often point to the real cause.
  • Physical inspection: if the adapter uses a cable or external aerial, check the cable, connector and antenna for damage or a loose crimp. A broken cable is a common silent failure.
  • Cross-check with another OS: boot a Linux live USB and see whether the adapter is detected and can scan networks. If it fails there too, it’s almost certainly hardware.

If none of the above restores reliable operation, the adapter is likely failing and should be tested with a known-good unit or replaced/RMA’d. If the clean reinstall did fix it, keep the vendor driver and monitor stability for a day before assuming the problem is gone.

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Member Avatar for rubberman

The card may be broken. You can remove the entry for the card from your hardware management page and then restart the computer (a full shuntdown and then power it back on). When the operating system starts it will scan for new hardware and reinstall the driver for the card. If it is still showing this problem after you do that, then the card itself is probably at fault.

Member Avatar for bgrimwade

Many thanks - I reinstalled the driver as per your suggestion

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