"Local area connection doesn't have a valid IP configuration" on Windows 7; Why?

Asked by osmoticgouger (55

) August 23rd, 2009

I recently upgraded my desktop computer from Windows XP SP3 to Windows 7 RC 7100. Prior to the upgrade, my internet connection was perfectly fine. Now when I try connecting to the internet on Win. 7, I get said error from the troubleshooter.

I have no modem or router, for I live in a university-affiliated apartment where one can connect a computer directly to a wall jack via ethernet. I was considering buying one but it seems silly to if Win. XP worked flawlessly without it before.

The connection comes up as a public, unidentified network.

So far I’ve tried installing the network drivers for the mobo, using the Windows troubleshooter countless times, changing the network from public to home, changing the ethernet cable, and googling to see if anyone has had the same problem and found a solution. No results.

Any help is greatly, greatly appreciated.

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4 Answers

Have you tried disabling and enabling the LAN connection in control panel > network connections? This is the first thing I would try. Then if that doesn’t work it might be a faulty Ethernet cable. Lastly, the drivers you are using for you NIC card might be incorrect since you let windows pick them.

styfle (362

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Ah yes, I forgot to mention I disabled/enabled the LAN connection. The Ethernet cable doesn’t seem to be the problem, as it gives my netbook a working internet connection (which is running Windows XP). And the drivers are possibly incorrect, only because I was unable to find any network drivers for Win. 7 from the manufacturer’s website. I settled with the Win. XP drivers instead, and they seemed to have installed successfully. I’ll try the Vista drivers next to see if they do the trick.

osmoticgouger (55

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Well see if you can make a connection at all. Open up console (start > run > cmd) and type “ping google.com” without quotes. After it runs a bit hit ctrl + c to stop it. If nothing happens then its probably a driver issue.

styfle (362

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