Dual boot - windows boots but can't login - Blurred screen then blue loop

[glennpm]

Details

- Dual boot system; Windows 11 & Ubuntu

- I run Ubuntu most of the time but a couple of days ago I re-booted in an attempt to login to Windows, but didn’t get my Grub screen. Last boot to Windows was fine with no issues back a couple of weeks ago. during the first recent boot attempt the system seemed to be trying to run a boot service perhaps, AOMEI Backupper. I thought there may have been a boot script by AOMEI Backupper but nothing to prove this.

- DELL Inspirion laptop

- On boot, I get the std Windows screen but no box to add PIN or password for normal or safe modes. I get into SAFE mode via a Windows startup iso

- When I click or "enter" I get a blurred screen, then blue screen, then back to the std Windows boot screen

- Best search yielded this, [SOLVED] - windows 10 Blurred and stuck on the login screen (fuzzy blurry)

- I ran all the Windows install/repair iso options to no avail.



BOOT Mode is set to: UEFI with Legacy OPROH; Secure

UEFI BOOT:

HDD1-Windows Boot Manager (Samsung SSD 870 EVO 1TB)

ISB1-1

HDD2-ubuntu (Samsung SSD 870 EVO

********

DISKPART> list volume

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info

._ _ _

— — — — — —.— ————————— ——————

Volume e L CCC0MA_X64F UDF DVD-ROM 5549 MB Healthy

Volume i C Windows NTFS Partition 150 GB Healthy

Volume 2 D D_on_DELL NTFS Partition 703 GB Healthy

Volume 3 ESP FAT32 Partition 499 MB Healthy Hidden

Volume 4 WINRETOOLS NTFS Partition 750 MB Healthy Hidden

Volume 5 F NTFS Partition 853 MB Healthy Hidden

Volume 6 G PBR Image NTFS Partition 7409 MB Healthy Hidden

Volume 7 H WD4TB-Dell NTFS Partition 3399 GB Healthy

Volume 8 I RAW Partition 299 GB Healthy

Volume 9 J Ventoy-Baks exFAT Partition 831 GB Healthy

Volume 10 VTOYEFI FAT Partition 32 MB Healthy

DISKPART> select volume

********

I've run these commands:

K:\sources>bootrec.exe /fixmbr

The operation completed successfully.

K:\sources>bootrec.exe /fixboot

Access is denied.

K:\sources>bootrec.exe /scanos

Scanning all disks for Windows installations.

’lease wait, since this may take a while...

Successfully scanned Windows installations.

Total identified Windows installations: 0

The operation completed successfully.

K:\sources>bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

Scanning all disks for Windows installations.

Please wait, since this may take a while...

Successfully scanned Windows installations.

Total identified Windows installations: 0

The operation completed successfully.

K:\sources>bcdboot C:\windows

Boot files successfully created.

X:\sources>

**********

Deleted all files inside caches, %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\caches

***********

I also restored the latest AOMEI disk image and still have the same issue. Seems like there is an issue with my boot records

#########

PASTEBIN urls:

Paste from boot-repair application Ubuntu Pastebin

Paste from boot-info Ubuntu Pastebin

 

[ChatGPT]

Okay — thanks for the update. Good move plugging in the Edimax dongle — that gives us an alternate path to test. Since you can “connect” to the router’s Wi‑Fi but have no internet, we need to determine whether the problem is:

• the PC (adapter/driver/config),
• the router (no WAN/internet), or
• DNS/route/blocking on the PC.

Please run these quick checks (copy/paste each exact command into an elevated PowerShell or CMD). Paste the outputs here and I’ll interpret them and give the precise fix.
1) Show all adapters and their state
PowerShell (Admin)
Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
2) Show IP configuration for every adapter
Command Prompt (Admin)
ipconfig /all
From ipconfig we want to see for the Edimax/Wi‑Fi adapter whether it has an IPv4 address (not 169.254.x.x), what the Default Gateway is, and what DNS servers are set.
3) Ping tests (do these in order)

• Ping your router/gateway (replace <gateway> with the Default Gateway shown by ipconfig)
  ping -n 4 <gateway>
• Ping a public IP (Google DNS) to test IP connectivity:
  ping -n 4 8.8.8.8
• Ping a hostname to test DNS:
  ping -n 4 google.com

Paste all three results. Interpretation:

• If ping <gateway> fails, the PC and router are not talking (adapter/local issue or router Wi‑Fi problem).
• If ping <gateway> works but ping 8.8.8.8 fails, router has no WAN/internet (ISP issue).
• If ping 8.8.8.8 works but google.com fails, DNS problem.

4) Check wlan details (very useful)
Command Prompt (Admin)
netsh wlan show drivers
netsh wlan show interfaces
This shows whether the Wi‑Fi driver reports the radio state, and whether it is associated, and which SSID and BSSID you’re connected to.
5) Try a DHCP refresh on the Wi‑Fi adapter (if it has no valid IP)
Command Prompt (Admin) — replace "Wi‑Fi" with the exact adapter name from Get-NetAdapter if different:
netsh interface set interface name="Wi-Fi" admin=enabled
ipconfig /release "Wi-Fi"
ipconfig /renew "Wi-Fi"
Then re-run ipconfig /all and ping tests.
6) Flush network stacks (safe)
Command Prompt (Admin)
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
shutdown /r /t 5
Reboot, then test again.
7) Quick checks on router level

• Can another device (phone/tablet) on the same Wi‑Fi access the internet? If no, the router/ISP is the problem — reboot the router, check WAN cable, or call the ISP.
• If the phone has internet but PC doesn’t, it’s PC‑side.

8) If ipconfig shows an APIPA 169.254.x.x address
That means DHCP failed. Possible fixes:

• ensure DHCP is enabled on the router,
• try assigning a temporary static IP in the router’s subnet to test (example if router is 192.168.1.1):
  netsh interface ip set address "Wi-Fi" static 192.168.1.50 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1
  netsh interface ip set dns "Wi‑Fi" static 8.8.8.8
  then ping 8.8.8.8. If this gives internet then DHCP issue.

9) Driver check for the Edimax dongle

• Open Device Manager → Network adapters → do you see the Edimax adapter listed? Any yellow triangle? If yes, paste the device name and error code (or run):
  Get-PnpDevice -Class Net | Format-List InstanceId,Class,Status,ProblemCode,FriendlyName

If the Edimax driver is missing or malfunctioning I’ll give the exact vendor driver link and pnputil install command.
What to paste back (minimum)

• Output of Get-NetAdapter
• Output of ipconfig /all
• ping <gateway> (or the IP the gateway shows)
• ping 8.8.8.8
• netsh wlan show interfaces

Those will tell us whether the PC has link-level connectivity, whether the router has internet, and whether DNS is the issue. After you paste those I’ll give the exact next fix (driver reinstall, static IP to test, router check, or DNS fix).

 

[glennpm]

ping works EXCEPT to google,com

- Internet works for all other devices on my local network
- I can not ping my Dell laptop from another local network computer

PS C:\Users\glenn> ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 34-17-EB-82-0E-AE
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:fc2b:6278:ec73:7a09(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:60d0:933:b3f4:e430(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::23c9:b06e:dace:66a9%7(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.71(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, August 16, 2025 8:58:12 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, September 22, 2161 4:09:03 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::c6e9:84ff:fee0:aad6%7
192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 204740587
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-30-30-0D-6F-34-17-EB-82-0E-AE
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

My Dell has an address reservation on my router, 192.168.1.71

[td]Address Reservation[/td] [td]

[td]

ID​

[/td]​

[td]

MAC Address​

[/td]​

[td]

Reserved IP Address​

[/td]​

[td]

Status​

[/td]​

[td]

Modify​

[/td]​

[td]

9​

[/td]​

[td]

54-2B-57-3B-C7-53​

[/td]​

[td]

192.168.1.47​

[/td]​

[td]

Enabled​

[/td]​

[td]

Modify Delete​

[/td]​

[td]

10​

[/td]​

[td]

44-A8-42-E9-E2-4C​

[/td]​

[td]

192.168.1.5​

[/td]​

[td]

Enabled​

[/td]​

[td]

Modify Delete​

[/td]​

[td]

11​

[/td]​

[td]

34-9F-7B-EA-D2-D9​

[/td]​

[td]

192.168.1.6​

[/td]​

[td]

Enabled​

[/td]​

[td]

Modify Delete​

[/td]​

[td]

12​

[/td]​

[td]

34-17-EB-82-0E-AE​

[/td]​

[td]

192.168.1.71​

[/td]​

[td]

Enabled​

[/td]​

[td]

Modify Delete​

[/td]​

[/td]

MAC address is correct for the DELL

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — that output makes the problem clear:

• Your Ethernet adapter has a perfectly good IPv4 address (192.168.1.71) and ping to IP worked earlier, but the DNS entry for that adapter is 0.0.0.0. That explains why pinging 8.8.8.8 works but pinging google.com fails — name resolution is broken.
• The inability to ping your Dell from another PC is most likely Windows Firewall (ICMP) or the network profile set to Public (which blocks discovery/ICMP).

We can fix both quickly. I’ll give exact commands you can paste into an elevated PowerShell (Run as Administrator). Do them in order and paste back any error output you see (or tell me “done” after each). I’ll also include the GUI alternatives if you prefer.
1) Fix DNS (temporary test: set public DNS servers)
This will point your Ethernet adapter to Google DNS so names resolve immediately.
In an elevated PowerShell copy/paste:
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -ServerAddresses ("8.8.8.8","8.8.4.4")
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
Resolve-DnsName google.com

• If Resolve-DnsName returns an IP, DNS is fixed. If it errors, paste the error.

If you prefer netsh (equivalent):
netsh interface ipv4 set dns name="Ethernet" source=static addr=8.8.8.8
netsh interface ipv4 add dns name="Ethernet" addr=8.8.4.4 index=2
ipconfig /flushdns
To revert to DHCP‑assigned DNS later (if you want DHCP control):
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -ResetServerAddresses
2) Allow ping (ICMP) from other LAN machines
Enable inbound ICMPv4 in the Windows Firewall so other machines can ping your Dell:
In Admin PowerShell:
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" -Direction Inbound -Protocol ICMPv4 -IcmpType 8 -Action Allow -Enabled True

• Test from another PC: ping 192.168.1.71
• If you want to remove the rule later:
  Remove-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In"

3) Make sure the network profile is Private (allows discovery)
Check current profile:
Get-NetConnectionProfile | Format-Table InterfaceAlias,Name,NetworkCategory
If your Ethernet shows NetworkCategory Public, set it to Private:
Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
Also enable Network Discovery group rules:
Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Network Discovery" -Enabled True
4) Quick validation (run these after DNS and firewall changes)
In Admin PowerShell / CMD:
Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
ipconfig /all
ping -n 4 8.8.8.8
ping -n 4 google.com
From another PC on the LAN:
ping 192.168.1.71
5) If DNS comes back as 0.0.0.0 from DHCP every boot
That means your router is giving an invalid DNS. Two options:

• Configure your router’s DHCP DNS to a real DNS (192.168.1.1 or 8.8.8.8). Log into the router admin UI and update DHCP DNS servers.
• Or keep static DNS on your PC (Set-DnsClientServerAddress as above) and skip DHCP DNS.

6) If Wi‑Fi adapter shows “Disabled” (later) and you want to enable it
Enable-NetAdapter -Name "Wi‑Fi" -Confirm:$false
If the adapter name differs, use exactly the name shown by Get-NetAdapter.
If anything returns an error, paste the exact error text here. If Resolve-DnsName succeeds and you can ping google.com, then you’re online and we can tidy up (re-enable DHCP DNS if you prefer or keep static public DNS). If you still can’t ping from another PC after enabling the firewall rule, paste the output of:
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name,Enabled
and
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" | Format-List *
I’ll interpret the results and give the next small tweak.

 

[glennpm]

PS C:\Users\glenn> set-dnsclientserveraddress -interfacealias "ethernet" -serveraddresses ("8.8.8.8","8.8.4.4")
set-dnsclientserveraddress : Access to a CIM resource was not available to the client.
At line:1 char:1
+ set-dnsclientserveraddress -interfacealias "ethernet" -serveraddresse ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : PermissionDenied: (MSFT_DNSClientS...stemName = "2"):ROOT/StandardCi...ntServerAddress)
[Set-DnsClientServerAddress], CimException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : MI RESULT 2,Set-DnsClientServerAddress

set-dnsclientserveraddress : Access to a CIM resource was not available to the client.
At line:1 char:1
+ set-dnsclientserveraddress -interfacealias "ethernet" -serveraddresse ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : PermissionDenied: (MSFT_DNSClientS...temName = "23"):ROOT/StandardCi...ntServerAddress)
[Set-DnsClientServerAddress], CimException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : MI RESULT 2,Set-DnsClientServerAddress

***************

PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /registerdns

Windows IP Configuration

Registration of the DNS resource records for all adapters of this computer has been initiated. Any errors will be reported in the Event Viewer in 15 minutes.
PS C:\Windows\system32> resolve-dnsname google.com
resolve-dnsname : google.com : This operation returned because the timeout period expired
At line:1 char:1
+ resolve-dnsname google.com
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : OperationTimeout: (google.com:String) [Resolve-DnsName], Win32Exception
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ERROR_TIMEOUT,Microsoft.DnsClient.Commands.ResolveDnsName

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — that error message explains why Set‑DnsClientServerAddress failed. We’ll take a different, reliable route and try a few quick checks & fixes. The goal is to get a working DNS server on your Ethernet (192.168.1.71) so hostname lookups (google.com) succeed.
Please follow these steps in order. Run each command (copy/paste) in an elevated Command Prompt (right‑click Start → Command Prompt (Admin)) or PowerShell (Admin). Paste back any output or any error text you get.
1) Confirm adapter name and exact admin context

• Run (Admin PowerShell):
  Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
  whoami

Confirm the adapter name printed (probably "Ethernet") and that whoami shows you are an Administrator (e.g., DOMAIN\username or COMPUTER\Administrator).
2) Try setting DNS with netsh (alternate API — often succeeds if the CIM method failed)
Run these (Admin CMD — exact lines):
netsh interface ipv4 set dns name="Ethernet" static 8.8.8.8
netsh interface ipv4 add dns name="Ethernet" 8.8.4.4 index=2
If your interface name is different from "Ethernet" use the exact Name from step 1 (e.g., "Local Area Connection" or "Wi‑Fi").
3) Flush and renew, then test name resolution
Run (Admin CMD):
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
nslookup google.com
ping -n 4 google.com
ping -n 4 8.8.8.8
Report the outputs for nslookup and the two pings. Expected: nslookup should show Server: 8.8.8.8 and return an IP for google.com. If ping 8.8.8.8 succeeds but google.com fails, paste nslookup result.
4) If netsh reported an error (paste the exact error) — check WMI/CIM and DNS services
Run (Admin PowerShell):
Get-Service winmgmt, Dnscache | Format-List Name,Status,StartType
If winmgmt (WMI) is Stopped, try to start it:
Start-Service winmgmt

if it errors, paste the error​

If Dnscache is Stopped, start it:
Start-Service Dnscache
Then re-run step 2 (netsh) and step 3 tests.
5) If netsh works but DNS keeps reverting to 0.0.0.0 (DHCP overwriting)
It means the router DHCP is handing out 0.0.0.0 as DNS or Windows is still configured to prefer DHCP DNS. Quick options:
A — Keep the manual DNS on the adapter (persistent via netsh already). Confirm with:
netsh interface ip show config name="Ethernet"
Get-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" | Format-List
B — If you’d rather fix router: log in to 192.168.1.1 and check DHCP server DNS settings — set them to 192.168.1.1 (router) or to public DNS (8.8.8.8).
6) Allow ICMP/pings from LAN (optional — you asked earlier)
To allow other devices to ping your Dell (Admin PowerShell):
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" -Protocol ICMPv4 -IcmpType 8 -Direction Inbound -Action Allow
Also ensure the network profile is Private:
Get-NetConnectionProfile
Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
7) If netsh also returns Access/permission errors
Sometimes policy or the CIM issue prevents changes. Two fallback options:
A — Run commands as SYSTEM (works around some permission blocks). You’ll need PsExec (Sysinternals). On another PC download PsExec and copy psexec.exe to the laptop (e.g., C:\Tools). Then open an elevated CMD and run:
C:\Tools\psexec.exe -s -i cmd.exe
That opens a new cmd window running as SYSTEM. In that SYSTEM window run the netsh DNS commands from step 2. Then exit and test.
B — Assign a temporary static IPv4 with DNS included (bypass DHCP completely)
Admin CMD (replace gateway/subnet as appropriate):
netsh interface ip set address name="Ethernet" static 192.168.1.71 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1
netsh interface ip set dns name="Ethernet" static 8.8.8.8
netsh interface ip add dns name="Ethernet" 8.8.4.4 index=2
Then test connectivity (ping 8.8.8.8 and google.com). If this works, the laptop will have permanent static settings until you revert; it’s a good troubleshooting step.
8) If nslookup google.com with explicit server works
If after any changes nslookup still fails when using the default server, test explicit resolution against Google DNS:
nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8
If that returns IPs, DNS is fine and you just need to make the adapter use that DNS (netsh or Set-DnsClientServerAddress). If that returns timeout, paste the output — we’ll dig deeper.
9) If nothing works — paste outputs
If you hit problems, paste the exact outputs of these (Admin):
Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
ipconfig /all
netsh interface ipv4 show dnsservers
nslookup google.com
nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8
That will let me see current DNS settings, whether your manual netsh change took, and whether the router DHCP is at fault.
Quick troubleshooting interpretation (based on your earlier ipconfig)

• Your Ethernet currently has IPv4 192.168.1.71 and Default Gateway 192.168.1.1 but DNS 0.0.0.0 → that directly explains the inability to resolve google.com. Setting DNS to 8.8.8.8 via netsh should fix it immediately unless blocked by permissions or the router overwriting it on DHCP renew.

Run step 2 (the netsh set DNS) first and paste its result and then paste the outputs of the test commands (nslookup & ping). If netsh fails, paste that exact error and the Get-Service winmgmt/Dnscache outputs so I can give the SYSTEM/PsExec fallback.

 

[glennpm]

PS C:\Windows\system32> get-netadapter -includehidden | format-table -autosize

Name InterfaceDescription ifIndex Status MacAddress Li
nk
Sp
ee
d
---- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------- --
Local Area Connection* 8 WAN Miniport (IP) 19 Up ps
Wi-Fi Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 18 Disconnected 34-E6-AD-6A-A6-8F ps
Local Area Connection* 1 Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter 17 Disconnected 34-E6-AD-6A-A6-90 ps
Local Area Connection* 5 WAN Miniport (L2TP) 16 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 7 WAN Miniport (PPPOE) 15 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 6 WAN Miniport (PPTP) 14 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 2 Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Ada...#2 13 Disconnected 36-E6-AD-6A-A6-8F ps
Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface 12 Not Present ps
Local Area Connection* 9 WAN Miniport (IPv6) 11 Up ps
Local Area Connection* 10 WAN Miniport (Network Monitor) 10 Up ps
Local Area Connection* 4 WAN Miniport (IKEv2) 9 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 3 WAN Miniport (SSTP) 8 Disconnected ps
Ethernet Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller 7 Up 34-17-EB-82-0E-AE ps
Ethernet (Kernel Debugger) Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter 6 Not Present ps
Ethernet 2 Realtek USB FE Family Controller 5 Disconnected 00-E0-4C-36-12-D3 ps
Microsoft IP-HTTPS Platform Interface 4 Not Present ps
6to4 Adapter 3 Not Present ps


PS C:\Windows\system32> whoami
dell-laptop\glenn

*************

PS C:\Windows\system32> netsh interface ipv4 set dns name="ethernet" static 8.8.8.8


PS C:\Windows\system32> netsh interface ipv4 add dns name="ethernet" 8.8.4.4 index=2

*******

NOTE THAT I HAVE THE USB Edimax dongle UNPLUGGED

PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /flushdns

Windows IP Configuration

Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.
PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /release

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Ethernet 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 1 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Wi-Fi while it has its media disconnected.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:fc2b:6278:ec73:7a09
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:60d0:933:b3f4:e430
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::23c9:b06e:dace:66a9%7
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::c6e9:84ff:fee0:aad6%7

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /renew

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Ethernet 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 1 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Wi-Fi while it has its media disconnected.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:fc2b:6278:ec73:7a09
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:60d0:933:b3f4:e430
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::23c9:b06e:dace:66a9%7
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.71
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::c6e9:84ff:fee0:aad6%7
192.168.1.1

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
PS C:\Windows\system32> nslookup google.com
Server: dns.google
Address: 8.8.8.8

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: google.com
Addresses: 2607:f8b0:4020:803::200e
142.250.69.142

PS C:\Windows\system32> ping -n 4 google.com

Pinging google.com [2607:f8b0:4020:803::200e] with 32 bytes of data:
Destination net unreachable.
Destination net unreachable.
Destination net unreachable.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 2607:f8b0:4020:803::200e:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
PS C:\Windows\system32> ping -n 4 8.8.8.8

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 13ms, Maximum = 13ms, Average = 13ms
PS C:\Windows\system32>

***************

PS C:\Windows\system32> GET-SERVICE WINMGMT,DNSCACHE | FORMAT-LIST NAME,STATUS,STARTTYPE


Name : DNSCACHE
Status : Running
StartType : Automatic

Name : WINMGMT
Status : Running
StartType : Automatic

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — your tests show the root cause:

• IPv4 connectivity is fine (you can ping 8.8.8.8).
• DNS is now OK (nslookup against 8.8.8.8 returns google IPs).
• But the client prefers IPv6 (nslookup returned an IPv6 address and ping tried the IPv6 address), and IPv6 routing to the internet is not working from this PC (Destination net unreachable). That makes name‑based access fail (or appear to fail) because the OS/browser try IPv6 first and that times out.

Two safe ways to fix this immediately:
Option A (recommended, quick): make Windows prefer IPv4 over IPv6 (no permanent global registry change). This is reversible and fixes browsing/pinging immediately.
Run these as Administrator (PowerShell):
1) Prefer IPv4 by moving the IPv4‑mapped prefix to higher precedence:
netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 46 4
(This tells Windows to prefer IPv4-mapped addresses so IPv4 will be used for hosts that have both v6 and v4 addresses.)
2) Test:
ping -n 4 google.com
nslookup google.com
You should now get IPv4 pings (and web browsing should work).
Option B (disable IPv6 on the Ethernet adapter — also reversible)
If you prefer to disable IPv6 entirely on the Ethernet adapter:
Admin PowerShell:
Disable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6
Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"
Then test again:
ping -n 4 google.com
nslookup google.com
If you want to re-enable IPv6 later:
Enable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6
Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"
(If your interface name is not exactly "Ethernet" use the name shown by Get-NetAdapter; e.g. Replace "Ethernet" with "Ethernet 2" or the exact InterfaceAlias.)
Make the machine pingable from other LAN hosts
You said other hosts cannot ping the Dell. That’s almost always a firewall/network profile issue. To allow ICMP echo (pings) and ensure the network is Private, run these (Admin PowerShell):
1) Set the Ethernet network to Private (so sharing rules apply):
Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
2) Allow inbound ICMP (pings):
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" -Protocol ICMPv4 -IcmpType 8 -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Profile Private
3) Verify rule exists:
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" | Format-Table Name,Enabled,Direction,Action
Now from another LAN machine try:
ping 192.168.1.71
If it still fails, paste the output of:
Get-NetConnectionProfile
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name,Enabled,DefaultInboundAction
Other useful checks / notes

• If you plan to keep IPv6 enabled in future, the right fix is to enable IPv6 routing at your router/ISP or fix the IPv6 gateway (but that’s outside the PC). For now Option A (prefer IPv4) is minimally invasive and usually sufficient.
• You have a reserved IP on the router (good). If DHCP is giving 0.0.0.0 for DNS in future, set static DNS (we did) or fix the router’s DHCP DNS settings.
• If you want me to make the IPv4 preference permanent system‑wide via registry, I can provide that but it’s typically unnecessary — the prefixpolicy change persists across reboots.

What I suggest you do now
1) Run the single prefixpolicy command:
netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 46 4
2) Test:
ping -n 4 google.com
nslookup google.com
3) If ping still resolves to IPv6 or you prefer to disable IPv6 entirely, run the Disable-NetAdapterBinding command I gave.
4) Then make the laptop pingable from LAN by setting the profile to Private and adding the firewall rule (two commands above).
Paste the outputs of ping and nslookup after you try Option A (prefixpolicy). If anything fails or you want me to do Option B instead, say which and paste any error messages you see.

 

[glennpm]

PS C:\Windows\system32> get-netadapter -includehidden | format-table -autosize

Name InterfaceDescription ifIndex Status MacAddress Li
nk
Sp
ee
d
---- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------- --
Local Area Connection* 8 WAN Miniport (IP) 19 Up ps
Wi-Fi Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 18 Disconnected 34-E6-AD-6A-A6-8F ps
Local Area Connection* 1 Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter 17 Disconnected 34-E6-AD-6A-A6-90 ps
Local Area Connection* 5 WAN Miniport (L2TP) 16 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 7 WAN Miniport (PPPOE) 15 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 6 WAN Miniport (PPTP) 14 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 2 Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Ada...#2 13 Disconnected 36-E6-AD-6A-A6-8F ps
Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface 12 Not Present ps
Local Area Connection* 9 WAN Miniport (IPv6) 11 Up ps
Local Area Connection* 10 WAN Miniport (Network Monitor) 10 Up ps
Local Area Connection* 4 WAN Miniport (IKEv2) 9 Disconnected ps
Local Area Connection* 3 WAN Miniport (SSTP) 8 Disconnected ps
Ethernet Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller 7 Up 34-17-EB-82-0E-AE ps
Ethernet (Kernel Debugger) Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter 6 Not Present ps
Ethernet 2 Realtek USB FE Family Controller 5 Disconnected 00-E0-4C-36-12-D3 ps
Microsoft IP-HTTPS Platform Interface 4 Not Present ps
6to4 Adapter 3 Not Present ps


PS C:\Windows\system32> whoami
dell-laptop\glenn

*************

PS C:\Windows\system32> netsh interface ipv4 set dns name="ethernet" static 8.8.8.8


PS C:\Windows\system32> netsh interface ipv4 add dns name="ethernet" 8.8.4.4 index=2

*******

NOTE THAT I HAVE THE USB Edimax dongle UNPLUGGED

PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /flushdns

Windows IP Configuration

Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.
PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /release

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Ethernet 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 1 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Wi-Fi while it has its media disconnected.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:fc2b:6278:ec73:7a09
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:60d0:933:b3f4:e430
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::23c9:b06e:dace:66a9%7
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::c6e9:84ff:fee0:aad6%7

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /renew

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Ethernet 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 1 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection* 2 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Wi-Fi while it has its media disconnected.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:fc2b:6278:ec73:7a09
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2603:7080:e63f:e105:60d0:933:b3f4:e430
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::23c9:b06e:dace:66a9%7
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.71
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::c6e9:84ff:fee0:aad6%7
192.168.1.1

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
PS C:\Windows\system32> nslookup google.com
Server: dns.google
Address: 8.8.8.8

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: google.com
Addresses: 2607:f8b0:4020:803::200e
142.250.69.142

PS C:\Windows\system32> ping -n 4 google.com

Pinging google.com [2607:f8b0:4020:803::200e] with 32 bytes of data:
Destination net unreachable.
Destination net unreachable.
Destination net unreachable.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 2607:f8b0:4020:803::200e:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
PS C:\Windows\system32> ping -n 4 8.8.8.8

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=118

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 13ms, Maximum = 13ms, Average = 13ms
PS C:\Windows\system32>

***************

PS C:\Windows\system32> GET-SERVICE WINMGMT,DNSCACHE | FORMAT-LIST NAME,STATUS,STARTTYPE


Name : DNSCACHE
Status : Running
StartType : Automatic

Name : WINMGMT
Status : Running
StartType : Automatic

I STILL HAVE NO INTERNET

I'm using the BRAVE browser and I just disabled all extensions

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — this confirms IPv4 connectivity is fine (8.8.8.8 pings), DNS is resolving (nslookup returns an IP), but the client is trying IPv6 (nslookup returned an AAAA first and ping used the IPv6 address) and your IPv6 path to the internet is not working (Destination net unreachable). Many apps/browsers prefer IPv6 when an AAAA exists, so they fail if IPv6 routing is broken. We’ll force Windows to prefer IPv4 (quick, reversible) and try a couple small browser cache steps. If that doesn’t help we’ll disable IPv6 on the Ethernet adapter as a fallback.
Step A — Preferred (non‑invasive): prefer IPv4 (single command)
This makes Windows prefer IPv4 over IPv6 without disabling IPv6:
Open an elevated Command Prompt (Admin) and run exactly:
netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 46 4
Check current prefix policies (optional):
netsh interface ipv6 show prefixpolicies
Now test (still in Admin CMD):
ping -n 4 google.com
nslookup google.com
curl -I http://142.250.69.142
Notes:

• ping should now resolve/use the IPv4 address (142.250.x.x) and return replies.
• curl (or paste that IP into the browser) tests HTTP access to the IPv4 address directly. If that works but google.com (name) fails, paste the outputs.

If Step A fixes browsing, you’re done. The prefixpolicy change persists across reboots.
Step B — If Step A did not fix it: clear browser DNS/socket caches and retry
In Brave (Chromium-based):

• In the address bar go to: brave://net-internals/#dns → click “Clear host cache”
• Then go to: brave://net-internals/#sockets → click “Flush socket pools”
• Restart Brave and try connecting to https://google.com (or the IPv4 URL above)

Step C — If still failing: temporarily disable IPv6 on the Ethernet adapter
(This is reversible and safe — we’ll only disable the IPv6 binding on the adapter.)
Open elevated PowerShell and run:
Disable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6
Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"
(If your adapter alias isn’t exactly "Ethernet", use the exact name from Get-NetAdapter. Example: Replace "Ethernet" with the name shown.)
Test again:
ping -n 4 google.com
nslookup google.com
curl -I http://142.250.69.142
Open Brave and browse.
To re-enable IPv6 later:
Enable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6
Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"
Step D — Make the laptop respond to other LAN pings (if you still want)
If other devices still can’t ping the laptop, ensure the network profile is Private and an ICMP rule exists:
Run (Admin PowerShell):
Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" -Protocol ICMPv4 -IcmpType 8 -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Profile Private
Then test ping from another LAN machine:
ping 192.168.1.71
Step E — Extra checks if needed
If you run Step A then paste these outputs (just paste the command results here) it helps me confirm and next-target things if needed:
netsh interface ipv6 show prefixpolicies
ping -n 4 google.com
nslookup google.com
netsh interface ipv6 show route
Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
If you prefer I’ll provide one‑line commands to copy/paste; tell me which step you want to try first (A, B, or C). My recommendation: run Step A now (prefixpolicy), then test (ping google.com and open Brave). Paste the ping/nslookup results and I’ll confirm the next step.

 

[glennpm]

I rebooted and now the internet is working! )

 

[ChatGPT]

Fantastic — that’s great news! Nice work getting this across the line.
Quick summary of what likely happened

• Your PC had working IPv4 routing (you could ping 8.8.8.8) but DNS lookups returned IPv6 (AAAA) addresses. Your IPv6 path to the internet wasn’t routing, so name‑based traffic tried IPv6 and failed. A reboot cleared the transient state (and the temporary network fixes you applied), so name resolution and browsing now fall back to IPv4 and things work again.

A few short, safe next steps to lock this in and avoid regressions
1) Verify everything is still OK

• Open an elevated PowerShell and run:
  Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
  ipconfig /all
  nslookup google.com
  ping -n 4 google.com
  (Confirm you see IPv4 responses and working DNS.)

2) If you ran the IPv6 prefixpolicy or disabled IPv6 temporarily

• If you used the prefixpolicy to prefer IPv4, that change persists across reboots and is fine to keep.
• If you disabled IPv6 binding on the adapter (Disable-NetAdapterBinding ... ms_tcpip6), re‑enable it if you want native IPv6 once your ISP/router supports it:
  Enable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6

3) Re-enable security software & services you disabled earlier

• Reinstall / re-enable Surfshark, AOMEI, antivirus, etc. Test networking after each if you want to be safe.

4) Make a fresh system image now

• You have a working system — make a new Clonezilla / Macrium Reflect image so you can restore to this known-good state quickly next time.

5) If you want the laptop to respond to pings from other LAN machines

• Set the network profile to Private and allow ICMP:
  Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
  New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" -Protocol ICMPv4 -IcmpType 8 -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Profile Private

6) Drivers & updates

• Run Windows Update and install any remaining OEM drivers. If any specific device still misbehaves, tell me the device name and I’ll provide the exact pnputil/install steps.

7) Optional cleanups (if you renamed DriverStore)

• If you created FileRepository.old and are confident everything works for a while (and you’ve made an image), I can give the exact safe commands to remove it and reclaim space.

If you want I can:

• Walk through creating the fresh Clonezilla/Macrium image step‑by‑step, or
• Provide a one‑line script to re‑enable IPv6 (if you disabled it) and revert any temporary changes, or
• Check any remaining driver entries (pnputil /enum-drivers) and tidy them.

Enjoy the working internet — and congratulations on the recovery. Want to create the image now while everything’s clean?

 

[glennpm]

... and now it isn't. It just worked for a moment

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — intermittent networking is the worst. Because it worked briefly then failed again we need to both (A) get a reliable workaround so you have Internet now and (B) collect targeted diagnostic data while the problem happens so we can find the root cause.
I’ll give:
1) Immediate, reversible workarounds so you can get online reliably now.
2) A short set of diagnostic tests to run (or a small PowerShell logging script you can run for 10–30 minutes) that will capture the transient failure info. Paste the log output or attach the file and I’ll analyze.
3) A few likely causes and follow-up actions.
If you want to fix now and skip deep diagnostics, tell me and I’ll focus on the workaround only.

---

1) Quick fixes to try immediately (safe, reversible)
Try these in order — one may immediately stop the flakiness.
A — Force Windows to prefer IPv4 (quick, non‑destructive)
Open Admin Command Prompt and run:
netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 46 4
This makes Windows prefer IPv4 when both v4 + v6 addresses exist (we did this earlier and it helped briefly).
B — Temporarily disable IPv6 on the Ethernet interface (if the IPv6 path is the intermittent culprit)
In Admin PowerShell (replace "Ethernet" with the exact interface name from Get-NetAdapter):
Disable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6
Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"
If this stabilizes browsing, we can make it permanent or re-enable later.
C — Turn off Brave’s secure DNS/DNS-over-HTTPS (Do this if DNS sometimes resolves to IPv6)
In Brave: go to brave://settings/security -> Under “Use secure DNS”, toggle OFF (or set to the router or 8.8.8.8). Then clear browser DNS and sockets:

• Visit: brave://net-internals/#dns → Clear host cache
• Visit: brave://net-internals/#sockets → Flush socket pools
  Restart Brave.

D — Use the USB Edimax temporarily (you already tried unplugged — plug it in now)
If the Edimax gives stable internet while internal NIC flutters, use that until we find the root cause. Windows Update + vendor driver updates from Dell/Intel often stabilizes things.

---

2) Diagnostic capture — collect transient data while it happens
Run this short PowerShell logging script as Administrator. It will append 30‑second snapshots to C:\temp\netlog.txt for 20 minutes (adjust the $seconds and $iterations as needed). After it runs, attach C:\temp\netlog.txt here.
Copy the whole block and paste into an Admin PowerShell window, then press Enter:
$log = 'C:\temp\netlog.txt'; New-Item -Path $log -ItemType File -Force | Out-Null
$seconds = 30
$iterations = 40 # 40*30s = 20 minutes; change if you want shorter
for ($i=0; $i -lt $iterations; $i++) {
$t = Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'
"$t --- Snapshot $i" | Out-File $log -Append
Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
Get-NetIPAddress | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
Get-DnsClientServerAddress | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
netstat -rn | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
ipconfig /all | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8 2>&1 | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
ping -n 2 8.8.8.8 2>&1 | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
ping -n 2 google.com 2>&1 | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Out-String | Out-File $log -Append
"" | Out-File $log -Append
Start-Sleep -Seconds $seconds
}
Write-Output "Logging complete: $log"
When the failure happens, the time stamp will let me see:

• whether Windows tried IPv6 and failed,
• whether DNS server changed or became 0.0.0.0,
• whether the adapter got administratively disabled,
• route table changes,
• any firewall/profile transitions.

If you prefer a shorter run, set $iterations=10 (5 minutes).
If you can’t run the script, instead manually run these at the instant of failure and paste results:

• Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden
• Get-NetIPAddress
• Get-DnsClientServerAddress
• netstat -rn
• ipconfig /all
• nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8
• ping 8.8.8.8 and ping google.com

---

3) Quick checks to run now and paste results (if you want me to triage immediately)
Run these in Admin PowerShell and paste the outputs:
Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
Get-NetIPAddress
Get-DnsClientServerAddress
Get-NetRoute -AddressFamily IPv6
netsh interface ipv6 show prefixpolicies
ipconfig /all
Also tell me:

• Is the Edimax now plugged in? If yes, which adapter is active in Get-NetAdapter?
• Does the issue appear only in Brave or system-wide (e.g., ping fails too when browsing fails)?

---

4) Likely causes & next steps once logs are in

• IPv6 preferred but no IPv6 route: we can keep IPv4 preference (prefixpolicy) or disable IPv6 on the adapter until router/ISP IPv6 is working.
• Intermittent DHCP/DNS from router: if router sometimes supplies DNS 0.0.0.0, check router DHCP settings, firmware updates, or try assigning static DNS (we did) or put public DNS in the router.
• Driver/power management flakiness: if the NIC is being disabled by power management, we’ll adjust Device Manager Power settings and reinstall the NIC driver (we already installed Dell/Intel drivers — but we can reinstall specific INF if needed).
• Software: a VPN, security tool, or browser DoH could be toggling behavior — disable Surfshark / proxies and test.
• Firewall/profile flipping: Windows may change to Public network and block outbound/inbound. The logger will show Profile changes.

---

5) If you want me to make a one‑click troubleshooting helper
I can produce a single PowerShell script that:

• logs the snapshots to a .zip,
• runs a continuous ping to 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1 and to google.com (both v4 and v6),
• captures Event Viewer System logs (kernel‑pnp/dhcp/dns) for the last hour,
• and packages all into C:\temp\netlog.zip ready to attach.

Say “Make the package script” and I’ll paste it for you.

---

Immediate recommendation

• Run the small logging script now for 10–20 minutes (as you go about normal browsing). When the failure happens, attach C:\temp\netlog.txt here. That will almost certainly reveal whether it’s IPv6 vs IPv4, DNS switching, driver disable, or something else.

If you want a quick workaround while we diagnose: plug the USB Edimax (or set adapter DNS to 8.8.8.8 statically via netsh) and keep Brave’s secure DNS disabled. Tell me which you prefer and I’ll guide the exact step.
Ready to proceed? If yes, do you want the logging script now, or do you want me to give the one‑line prefixpolicy + disable IPv6 command to try right away?

 

[glennpm]

Okay I have the diagnostic capture running.

When I look at network status and the taskbar icons, they both indicate that I have internet but Brave doesn't connect. I did make the Brave changes you provided above too. Right now I have a wired connection and the Edimax dongle both connected.

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — good call starting the diagnostic capture. You’ve gathered the right data so far (we already saw DNS/prefix/IPv6 symptoms earlier). I’ll keep this focused: quick checks to run now while the problem is happening, a few immediate workarounds so you get a reliable connection, and the things to look for in the log so I can pinpoint the root cause when you paste it. I’ll also note a few Brave‑specific checks because you said the OS shows “Internet” but Brave can’t connect.
Context (what the logs already showed)

• You have working IPv4 (you can ping 8.8.8.8) but the client was preferring IPv6 addresses and IPv6 routing on the PC was failing; that explained the momentary “name lookups fail” behavior. We already tried forcing IPv4 preference / DNS fixes earlier.
• Your ipconfig previously showed a router DHCP/DNS weirdness (DNS entry 0.0.0.0) which we worked around by setting DNS manually; that’s relevant because DNS or IPv6/DNS interplay can cause intermittent name failures.

What to try now (in this order) — run these while the failure is occurring
1) Fast isolation: is it Brave only or system‑wide?

• From Admin PowerShell run (one line at a time):
  curl -v --connect-timeout 10 https://www.google.com 2>&1 | Out-String
  Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://www.google.com -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 10 | Out-String
• If both commands return HTML / HTTP headers OK, the system and network path are OK and the problem is Brave. If they also fail, it’s a system or LAN/ISP issue.

2) Check which address family is used for name resolution (IPv6 vs IPv4)

• Admin CMD / PowerShell:
  nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8
  nslookup -type=AAAA google.com 8.8.8.8
  nslookup -type=A google.com 8.8.8.8
• If nslookup returns an AAAA (IPv6) and your pings to google’s IPv6 fail (Destination net unreachable) while IPv4 works, Windows is trying IPv6 first — that causes intermittent failures. We’ve used the prefixpolicy fix earlier to prefer IPv4; you can run it again if you haven’t already:
  netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 46 4.

3) Quick system test to confirm browser vs system:

• Open Edge or Firefox and browse Example Domain and https://google.com
• If other browsers work while Brave fails, it’s Brave-specific — see section Brave checks below.

4) Check interface metrics and binding order (race between Ethernet and Edimax)

• Admin PowerShell:
  Get-NetIPInterface | Format-Table InterfaceAlias,AddressFamily,InterfaceMetric,ConnectionState
• If the Edimax and the Realtek are both connected, Windows may sometimes prefer one and flip routes; ensure the adapter you want (Ethernet or Edimax) has the lower metric. To set a manual metric on Ethernet (example 10):
  Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -InterfaceMetric 10
  Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet 2" -InterfaceMetric 25
• Lower metric = higher priority. This prevents race conditions when both NICs connected.

5) Check proxy / WinHTTP / VPN state (these break browsers)

• Admin CMD:
  netsh winhttp show proxy
  Get-Service vpn | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType
• If WinHTTP proxy is set or Surfshark (VPN) is running, try disabling it temporarily and test.

6) Test direct IPv4 host access from Brave

• In Brave address bar paste: http://142.250.69.142 (one of the IPv4 google addresses from nslookup). If that loads, issue is name resolution or IPv6 preference — not basic TCP.

7) Brave specific checks (you said you already disabled extensions & DoH)

• Clear Brave caches and socket pools:
  • brave://net-internals/#dns → Clear host cache
  • brave://net-internals/#sockets → Flush socket pools
• Disable DNS over HTTPS/secure DNS (you did — keep it off) and also disable Brave hardware acceleration (Settings → System → Use hardware acceleration = Off). Restart Brave.
• Try a new Brave profile (to rule out profile corruption): Menu → Create new profile → test browsing.

8) If the system path fails (not browser): run these and paste output

• Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
• Get-NetIPAddress
• Get-DnsClientServerAddress | Format-Table
• route print
• netsh interface ipv6 show prefixpolicies
• ipconfig /all
• netstat -rn

These let me see whether DNS switches, routes disappear, adapter metrics change, or IPv6 routes appear/disappear when the failure happens.
Immediate workarounds so you have Internet now

• If Brave is the only thing failing: use Edge or Firefox temporarily while we diagnose Brave. If Brave must work: try a fresh Brave profile or reinstall Brave.
• If the system is flaky: unplug the Edimax USB and leave only the wired interface (or vice versa) and set manual interface metrics (see #4). That usually prevents interface flapping.
• If IPv6 is the problem and you want a fast fix: prefer IPv4 via prefixpolicy or disable IPv6 binding on the active adapter (reversible):
  Disable-NetAdapterBinding -Name "Ethernet" -ComponentID ms_tcpip6
  Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet"
  (Use the exact alias from Get-NetAdapter).

What to capture in your running log (I’ll inspect these lines)

• Time stamps when browsing fails (match to netlog.txt). I’ll look for:
  • DnsClientServerAddress changes (0.0.0.0 appearing).
  • InterfaceMetric or Interface up/down flips (Get-NetIPInterface).
  • Any rapid IPv6 route changes / ICMPv6 unreachable messages.
  • Any WinHTTP/proxy changes (netsh winhttp show proxy).
• If the log shows DNS responses returning AAAA then subsequent ICMPv6 unreachable and no fallback to IPv4, that’s the exact failure mode and we can fix by forcing IPv4 preference permanently. (We already used that fix earlier; it’s reversible.)

If Brave shows “connected” icon but pages don’t load

• That often means name resolution returns an IPv6 address but IPv6 route dead OR a proxy/VPN/extension intercepting traffic. To isolate:
  • Test via IP in Brave (http://142.250.69.142).
  • Test via PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest.
  • Temporarily disable Surfshark / any VPN / anti‑tracking or proxies and retest.

If you want, I’ll do this next (choose one)
A) I parse your C:\temp\netlog.txt once your capture finishes and point to the exact failing line(s) (recommended).
B) I provide one‑click commands to set IPv4 preference + set adapter metrics + temporary disable IPv6 so you get a stable connection now.
C) I walk you through Brave troubleshooting (new profile, reinstall, reset flags).
Given you already have the capture running, best next step is A: let it run until you see the failure, then paste/attach C:\temp\netlog.txt here and I’ll analyze the exact sequence of events and give the surgical fix. If you need internet immediately and can’t wait for the capture, tell me to run B now and I’ll give the one‑line commands to stabilize the machine.
One last quick checklist while the capture runs

• Keep both wired and Edimax plugged (you said both are connected) — that helps capture the interface interactions.
• Note the exact time (to the minute) when Brave fails — I’ll match it to the log.
• If Brave is the only broken app, try Edge/Firefox to confirm.

When the capture shows a failure, attach C:\temp\netlog.txt (or paste the tail around the failure) and I’ll parse and prescribe the single command that fixes it. If you prefer I can also walk you through running the “prefer IPv4 + set metrics” commands right now — say “Do B now” and I’ll post the exact commands to paste.

 

[glennpm]

Internet works!!
Stupid mistake by me. I installed an app, "Net disabler". I didn't show as active in my taskbar but it was ... stupid me

 

[ChatGPT]

Fantastic — glad you found it! Happens to the best of us. Net Disabler will stealthily break connectivity, so no shame — good catch.
A few quick, safe cleanup steps to fully remove the change and make sure nothing else is left disabled:
1) Uninstall Net Disabler

• Settings → Apps → Apps & features → find Net Disabler → Uninstall.
• Or Control Panel → Programs and Features → Uninstall.

2) Re-enable any services it may have disabled
Open Services (services.msc) or run in Admin PowerShell:

• Ensure these are Running / Automatic (set if needed):
  • WLAN AutoConfig (WlanSvc)
  • DHCP Client (Dhcp)
  • DNS Client (Dnscache)
  • Network Connections (Netman)
    Example (Admin PowerShell):
    Set-Service -Name WlanSvc -StartupType Automatic; Start-Service WlanSvc

3) Restore adapter settings (if Net Disabler changed them)

• Device Manager → Network adapters → right‑click each adapter → Enable device (if disabled).
• Ensure adapter TCP/IPv4 is set to obtain DNS automatically (if you prefer DHCP):
  • Settings → Network & Internet → Change adapter options → Right‑click Ethernet → Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) → Properties → Obtain DNS server address automatically (or set preferred DNS).

4) Reset network stack (quick, harmless)
Run these in an elevated CMD (they’re safe and clear transient issues):
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
shutdown /r /t 5
5) Verify everything after reboot

• Run:
  Get-NetAdapter -IncludeHidden | Format-Table -AutoSize
  ipconfig /all
  ping -n 4 8.8.8.8
  ping -n 4 google.com

6) Remove any leftover firewall rules
If you added temporary firewall rules (ICMP allow) and want to remove them later:
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow ICMPv4-In" | Remove-NetFirewallRule
7) Final recommendations

• Make a fresh system image now (Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect) while everything is known‑good.
• Keep a short recovery checklist (Windows USB, Ubuntu Live USB, a USB‑Ethernet dongle) for next time.

If you want, I can:

• Walk you through uninstalling Net Disabler and verifying the exact registry/setting changes it made (I can show how to audit what it toggled).
• Help create a fresh Clonezilla image step‑by‑step now.
• Parse the diagnostic log you started earlier to confirm nothing else changed.

Nice find — want to remove Net Disabler now (I can give the exact uninstall steps) or make an image first?

 

[glennpm]

I'm all set and very musch appreciate your help. I find it fantastic working with you, my Robot friend!

 

[ChatGPT]

That’s awesome — you did all the hard work. Really glad it’s sorted, Glenn!
A few tiny last tips while everything’s fresh and working (optional, but useful):

• Make a fresh full image now (Clonezilla or Macrium). You’ve earned a restore point.
• Re‑enable any security/VPN tools you disabled earlier (Surfshark, AV, AOMEI), then reboot and verify networking still works.
• If you temporarily changed Secure Boot / disabled IPv6 / added firewall rules, revert or document them so you remember what was changed.
• Keep a small recovery kit handy: Windows installer USB, Ubuntu Live USB, and a cheap USB‑Ethernet/Wi‑Fi dongle. They saved time today.
• If you want, I can:
  • Walk you through creating that Clonezilla/Macrium image step‑by‑step, or
  • Inspect what Net Disabler changed (registry/services) so you know what was toggled.

If anything else crops up — flaky network, drivers, GRUB, or you want that image walkthrough — just post here. Happy to help, Robot friend at your service.