Total Networking Info Gone MISSING!

Ironfang84 · Guest

My PC is about 5 years old now but I have kept it in fairly good shape. I had
regular Windows updates and both an antivirus and spyware protection. In
October my monitor died and I was unable to find a new one until last week. I
connected a new monitor and updated my antivirus and spyware and all worked
fine until I recieved a Windows update which restarted my PC over-night.
During the next day my PC froze completely (mouse pointer included) and after
rebooting all listings of my network connections were erased.

Since then I have been unable to reconnect to the internet as my PC can no
longer find any network cards. I have manually removed and replaced my
wireless card and also physically connected to my router via ethernet cable.
My PC does not recognize any of this and the device manager does not have any
listing of my wireless network card at all. I have utilized both System
Restore and a drive reformat with no success. My wireless card is a Buffalo
Air Station and is less than a year old. I have had no other problems with it
before. If I attempt to install the card driver from the CD I must manually
find the specific file on the disk and then I recieve an error message that
the device cannot be started [code 10]. Add Hardwear cannot detect the card,
even if I shut down and remove or replace it. It is as if my entire PC forgot
everything about networking.

Some of the steps I have tried are from self-help tips online, this seemed
like it would help http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/825826 (I
only completed up to step 10 as more than just the dial-up connection is
missing). Nearly everything I have tried relies on the card being detected by
the system, which it suddenly refuses to do now. I can see no physical damage
to the card itself or the area it connects to the rest of the board. Should I
continue with the steps in the guide? How can I reconnect my wireless card so
it cna be detected?

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