Most times when you install a fresh OS, quite a number of your PC functionalities become disabled. You might be unable to change your PC resolution to the higher resolutions and even when you are able to, it might not be the right way. Another function which might get affected is your network adapter driver. A driver to put simply is an interface that facilitates communication between the OS and the adapter (hardware). When the network adapter driver is not found by the OS, you will be unable to use the internet.
This may be solved by either of these two methods.
Method 1: installing a new driver
- Download the network drivers compatible with your PC on your system manufacturer’s website. You may need another system to access the internet to download the driver and will be required to enter your PC serial number and product key in most cases to download the right drivers.
- Send the drivers to an external storage device and connect it to your PC to access the drivers.
- You can then install the drivers directly from the setup.exe of the downloaded file (you may want to copy the files to your system in case of another time. It will be in the windows.old folder in case you install a new OS at another time). Or you could
- Open device manager (type device manager in the windows search dialogue box) and click on Network adapters
- Right-click on the network adapter to be updated and click update driver
- Then select Browse my computer for driver software and click browse to select the location where the driver is and follow the steps to complete the installation.
Method 2: Using the System Restore Option
If you had previously created a restore point or have a recovery drive before installing the new OS, you can either reinstall the old OS through the recovery drive created on your system or restore windows from one of the restore points previously created by following these steps.
- Back up all important files before starting the restore process to be safe in case something goes wrong
- Type restore in the windows search dialogue box and select Create a restore point
- Then select System Restore
- A wizard will then pop up containing all the steps required to restore your PC. You can either select the recommended restore point or choose from the other restore options.
- Click Next and follow the additional instructions following it.
- Then select your preferred restore point from your previously created restore points.
- Click Next and the restore process begins.
Whichever method you choose, restart the system, and check to confirm that the problem has been resolved.
