Windows 7 Network Adaptor - No Valid IP Configuration

ljcap

New Member
Hi,

I have been using Windows 7 beta (386) with no problems up until a few days ago.

I've run into the The Network Adaptor "Local Area Connection" does not have a valid IP Configuration message. When I go to Network Sharing I see that I am connected to an Unidentified Network but unable to connect to the internet. This has happened all of a sudden.

The computer is an Acer Aspire M1610 and the router is a Dynalink RTA1046VW.

I've tried rebooting the router, changing ethernet cables, uninstalling the network adaptor and reinstalling all with no luck. Going into Device Manager says that all is ok.

No problems with any other computer running Windows 7 in the network. I suspect that my ethernet controller has packed it in.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Laurie
 
Hi,

I have been using Windows 7 beta (386) with no problems up until a few days ago.

I've run into the The Network Adaptor \"Local Area Connection\" does not have a valid IP Configuration message. When I go to Network Sharing I see that I am connected to an Unidentified Network but unable to connect to the internet. This has happened all of a sudden.

The computer is an Acer Aspire M1610 and the router is a Dynalink RTA1046VW.

I've tried rebooting the router, changing ethernet cables, uninstalling the network adaptor and reinstalling all with no luck. Going into Device Manager says that all is ok.

No problems with any other computer running Windows 7 in the network. I suspect that my ethernet controller has packed it in.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Laurie
Hi,

I ran across a similar problem. Even the DM shows no problems to the Network adapters! But believe me there is a problem ; it does not really have the right VISTA compatible x32 driver the Win7 X32 might be able to use. If your MoBo CD does not have the VISTA drivers try this download site Link Removed - Invalid URL and download the VISTA driver to a medium and point that to the Device Manager during the "Right click "> Network adapter >Update driver software> Browse my computer driver software> and point to the drive letter of the optical drive containg Your CD with the downloaded and unzipped software file. I did that and the LAN connected to my Router>Internet with no further efforts. Of course if your Homenetwork is shown as "Public" in the Control Panel> Network and Internet>View Network Status and tasks > you need to change the properties to Home or whatever you want that to be as happened with my Wireless Router connected Win 7 PC.
Hope this helps.
 
Hi,

I'm afraid it didn't work. I tried updating, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling all with no luck. Just doesn't want to see the router at all. Still comes up with an "Unidentified Network".

Cheers
Laurie
 
Hi,

I'm afraid it didn't work. I tried updating, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling all with no luck. Just doesn't want to see the router at all. Still comes up with an "Unidentified Network".

Cheers
Laurie


At this point I would try to change the NIC in this "affected PC" by buying a new one or if you just want to confirm that the NIC has quit working due to its hardware component failure, borrow one temporarily from one of the other functioning PCs in the network and install and use in the network to see if the problem has resolved before going to the shop for a new Network adapter. If you want to 'buy time" in trying to choose between these options and still hoping the NIC has life in it, try to do a Firmware update of the Dynalink RTA1046VW router hoping that the problem is probably in the router and not a failed NIC. You said you have eliminated the problem as being from a damaged Ethernet cable or a good cable not firmly seated on either end on the respective ethernet ports etc and most recently ruled out (sort of) lack of 'proper driver'.
I hope you will post the outcome of your efforts for the benefit of others.
Good luck
 
I had the same problem, took me about an hour and a half to get working.

I happened to have Ubuntu installed as well and internet worked fine so I knew there was nothing wrong with the network adapter, ethernet cable, or modem. So I figured it was a windows 7 software error.

when researching I found that many people having this problem were running virtual machines with (Windows 7 as the host) dunno what guests they were running. so here are a few possible solutions:

1) uninstall an "unknown device" in the device manager(under the "other devices section, name of the device varies") - this did not work for me
2) install the drivers for your NIC that you get from the manufacturer(cd that comes with device or their website), basically do not use Win7 drivers for the device. - this may have worked for me...i did #2 and 3 at pretty much the same time...I have a feeling it was #2 that did it though.
3) uninstall the VM software

tell me what works, I assume #2 is the best bet...and thank god for linux or I'd still be trying to figure this out...or pissibly be lying in a pool of my own blood...

-EDIT- I immediately reinstalled the VM software(Virtualbox 2.2.2) and everything is ok for now, as it was when it was installed before, I don't really know what sparked this "doesn't have a valid IP configuration" error in the first place...

for reference I'm running the Windows 7 RC(7100)
 
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Campus

I also have the same problem where the IP has an incorrect configuration. The computer can connect to the wireless network, but when i try to use an ethernet connection (the cable does work) it is unable to obtain a valid IP configuration. Now being on a college campus I am unable to have direct access to the routers that they are using. any suggestions?
 
Merging Wireless and Wired Networks

Have you tried merging both wireless and wired networks? (It may solve connectivity problems that are caused by connecting to mutiple access points on the same network)

1. Click on Network Icon in Notification Area, click Network and Sharing Center.

2. Next to the Network in question click, Customize.

3. Click Merge or Delete Network Locations.

4. Highlight the Networks In Question and click Merge.

5. Close all Network Windows and you are done.

This may not fix but it may help. Many campus people have a multiple access points problem. Kuzuzili, let me know how it turns out. Some people report a fix.
 
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I've been wrestling with this issue for 2 days now. I've visited a half dozen forums on this with no resolution. I'm running win7 RC and everything was fine until Tuesday morning. It wouldn't connect to the internet and wouldn't connect to the local network. It wasn't able to access the router. I have winXP pro on another drive in the same PC, and it was fine. I finally read about uninstalling the NIC drivers and reinstalling them from the vendor's website. Sure enough, that did the trick and ended two days of headaches. Thanks for the tip!
 
I might suspect that a driver update from Windows Update may have caused this problem.

If that is the case,,, it helps confirm my recommendation of NOT allowing Windows Updates to ever install any drivers at all.
If you notice that WinUpdates has a driver update. Head to the Manufacturers site and get the update from there.

The reason I suspect this is the case is, this is affecting numerous people all at once but not everyone.
 
Hello everyone, I have just experienced this phenomenon today and have just been fighting with it for around 6hrs now. It worked yesterday, now nothing. I just uninstalled the device totally and I'm going to see if I can get it back. Windows didn't/can't install it so I'm going to try to get it from Gigabyte. if antone would have any suggestions It would be apperciated. Thanks!

System notes:

AMD 4200+
GA-M57SLI-S4 r 2.0
Evga GTX 260
Mushkin PC6400 4GB
Seagate 250GB Hdd (OS)
Western Digital 1TB (Storage)
silverstone DA1000 1000W 12V single rail 80A
Silverstone TJ-05
 
Update: I went and uninstalled 7 then installed XP Pro the problem persisted, bought a card and can now connect to the internet without problem but the connection on the board is not working any more. Contacting Gigabyte.
 
I hate it when some one fixes their computer and never reports the fix, so here is what worked for me.

First of all I live in a Best Western Hotel (not a motel) and they have EXCELLENT tech support. The BW tech support guy unblocked me from wherever he lives at the other end of the phone. Here's what happened and what he did.

The Problem
My computer's wireless and Ethernet adapters were physically blocked from the router. I had an Unknown network and got the dreaded 651 error and the message, “Local area connection doesn't have a valid IP configuration.â€Â￾

How'd that happen?
I was using an add-on to Firefox to check my bookmarks for dead links. I can't remember which add-on it was because I reverted to an earlier version of my OS in an attempt to fix it. When it reverted it deleted the add-on. Today when I went to find it again, it is not available. Wonder why??? The kicker to all this is that I was watching my computer when the problem happened. It was like someone flipped a switch turning off my Ethernet adapter. I was on the wired connection (Ethernet) and switched to the wireless with no problems...until I tried to check my dead links again. Again the switch flipped off but for my Wireless adapter. RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Then I was really dead in the water. The problem was that the Best Western firewall saw my computer checking my bookmarks. The computer checked more than 300 websites within 1 minute and the firewall thought my computer had a virus. Thinking it had a virus the firewall blocked the physical address of my Ethernet adapter (first) and my wireless adapter (second) from further connections.

The Fix

  1. Start by running cmd from the start menu
  2. Type “ipconfig /allâ€Â￾ without the quotes
  3. Write down the physical address of which ever connection is/are not working. If you are hard wired to your router, then use the Ethernet adapter physical address. If you are running wireless, then use the Wireless LAN adapter. I had to do this for both.
  4. Go to your router's firewall and find the physical addresses of the connections.
  5. Find the physical address(s) of your blocked adapter(s) and unblock it.

Sorry I can't be more specific for everyone's router but that is the general idea. I'm using Win 7 but I don't think it makes any difference.

YOUR problem
If you did not do anything unnatural that a firewall might have picked up as a virus, then you might have an actual virus that your outbound firewall blocked.
 
wireless network connection doesn't have a valid IP configuration

I have a simular problem, trying windows 7 to connect using wireless router. Connects fine on unsecured linksys but will not connect using privite belkin n wireless with security key.
 
Just to add my own experience here.

I was having same issue as reported above ("doesn't have a valid IP configuration" etc).

Brand new Windows 7 install, day 2, the ethernet adapter stopped working. The ethernet adapter is an intel 82578DM on motherboard. The driver version I installed from the CD that came with the machine was 14.1, and worked for a while after installing it. However, day 2, and the network was totally fubar.

I found the fix was to download the latest Intel Drivers (as i write this it's version 14.7 - go to http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng and type in "intel ethernet drivers windows" in search box), completely uninstall the old ones, and install the latest.

The ethernet adapter was immediately recognised, and the network connection started working again.

The fact it worked first day after install really threw me. I was down to thinking the cats had eaten through the cable.
 
Had exactly same error message. Fairly new PC (3-4 months old), no problems before? The solution on my PC was to update the driver for network adaptor. No problems after that. Before that I could not get any network access, even using the disable/enable network adaptor trick. I have no idea what caused this - can't remember if Windows update included an update to the network adaptor driver, but going back a couple of restore points did not solve the problem.

BR
Kenneth
 
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I hate it when some one fixes their computer and never reports the fix, so here is what worked for me.

First of all I live in a Best Western Hotel (not a motel) and they have EXCELLENT tech support. The BW tech support guy unblocked me from wherever he lives at the other end of the phone. Here's what happened and what he did.

The Problem
My computer's wireless and Ethernet adapters were physically blocked from the router. I had an Unknown network and got the dreaded 651 error and the message, “Local area connection doesn't have a valid IP configuration.â€Â￾

How'd that happen?
I was using an add-on to Firefox to check my bookmarks for dead links. I can't remember which add-on it was because I reverted to an earlier version of my OS in an attempt to fix it. When it reverted it deleted the add-on. Today when I went to find it again, it is not available. Wonder why??? The kicker to all this is that I was watching my computer when the problem happened. It was like someone flipped a switch turning off my Ethernet adapter. I was on the wired connection (Ethernet) and switched to the wireless with no problems...until I tried to check my dead links again. Again the switch flipped off but for my Wireless adapter. RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Then I was really dead in the water. The problem was that the Best Western firewall saw my computer checking my bookmarks. The computer checked more than 300 websites within 1 minute and the firewall thought my computer had a virus. Thinking it had a virus the firewall blocked the physical address of my Ethernet adapter (first) and my wireless adapter (second) from further connections.

The Fix


  1. Start by running cmd from the start menu
  2. Type “ipconfig /allâ€Â￾ without the quotes
  3. Write down the physical address of which ever connection is/are not working. If you are hard wired to your router, then use the Ethernet adapter physical address. If you are running wireless, then use the Wireless LAN adapter. I had to do this for both.
  4. Go to your router's firewall and find the physical addresses of the connections.
  5. Find the physical address(s) of your blocked adapter(s) and unblock it.


Sorry I can't be more specific for everyone's router but that is the general idea. I'm using Win 7 but I don't think it makes any difference.

YOUR problem
If you did not do anything unnatural that a firewall might have picked up as a virus, then you might have an actual virus that your outbound firewall blocked.


Mannnn , i'm gonna send my wifes g/f over to service U. Was actually in the process of logging in to my router because U said to go to my router's firewal (didn't really know how to do that but i figured it starts with logging in to my router). Forgot my router's password and reset the router to the factory defaults (take ink pen, depress the reset button). Turned to look at my LAPTOP and the wireless connection was active as well as my cable. Problem fixed. This after I changed drivers, ipconfig /renew etc. . PROBLEM RESOLVED. Thanx Homie!
 
Re: Merging Wireless and Wired Networks

I have had this problem for a little over a couple of weeks and it has been the most annoying thing. Yes same with others my wireless was still working with the same router so knew there were no problems there. Tried a number of settings and nothing worked. I have just tried to merge my wireless and lan and it was fixed instantly. Will see how long it lasts. If it fails I will post but for now this is a good fix if it works for you.
 
Hi guys!

I have had the same problem for a few days now, and have searched numerous forums and gone through hell and high water to fix it. nothing helped until I found the ultimate solution that will help everyone:

CALL YOUR ISP, TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED AND THEY CAN CONFIGURE A NEW IP ADDRESS FOR YOUR CONNECTION. IT ONLY TAKES ABOUT HALF AN HOUR.

During this time you must keep your router/modem turned off, and after the ISP has fixed the problem (in my case it took half an hour) you must restart your machine with the router/modem on and connected. From then on it should be like nothing ever happened.

Just for the fun of it, here's a list of things I have tried without results:

release/renew ipconfig
restarting modem/router and computer about a zillion times
changing LAN card
creating a static IP
resetting winsock in command prompt
reinstalling Win7
reinstalling XP (I had a dual boot and I did both, losing all installations)
manually entering IP address
disabling/enabling local area connection
plugging and unplugging LAN cable
uninstalling and reinstalling LAN card driver
resetting modem/router using the reset button

And after all this, all it took was just a phone call.
This is because your ISP is THE ONLY authority when it comes to configuring your IP address. In this case, it can only be done from the outside. This is also the reason why Microsoft didn't announce any patches or fixes for this problem, because it is not their problem and responsibility.

Only one question remains, WHY is this happening? Noone has been able to answer this, and I have read tons of forum posts about it. Maybe even the guys that made Windows 7 don't know it.

I am going to copy this post on several other forums because I have seen the trouble that people are having with this problem.

If you find out why this is happening, please post it here.
 
I am on a robotics team and they mess around with my laptop settings for the robot, recently i keep having problems with the local area network adapter having a incorrect ip configuration, how do i fix this?
 
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