Finding Ethernet in Device Manager

[Stan Brown]

Today I was connected to the school's LAN without a problem. I
unplugged the Ethernet cable, worked for a couple of hours, plugged
in the cable. No connection! The troubleshooter said that "Local
Area Connection 2" was disabled, but I'm quite sure I didn't disable
anything in those couple of hours.

I couldn't find anything with "Local", "Ethernet", or "LAN" in Device
Manager, so I figured this was just Windows 7 getting flaky because
it hadn't been rebooted in a week. (I considered the possibility
that the school's LAN had gone down, but in that case why would
Troubleshooter tell me that my adapter was disabled?

I shut down the computer, came home, and cold booted. I'm using the
very same Ethernet connector right now, via a wire to my router. And
it's just fine.

However, I still can't find "LAN", "Local", or "Ethernet" in Device
Manager. Where should I look for it? Thanks!

 

[Drew]

Today I was connected to the school's LAN without a problem. I
unplugged the Ethernet cable, worked for a couple of hours, plugged
in the cable. No connection! The troubleshooter said that "Local
Area Connection 2" was disabled, but I'm quite sure I didn't disable
anything in those couple of hours.

However, I still can't find "LAN", "Local", or "Ethernet" in Device
Manager. Where should I look for it? Thanks!

Did you look under network adapters?

 

[BobbyM]

Did you look under network adapters?

Device Manager will let you enable/disable your network adapter but you
won't find that other stuff there. I think what you're looking for is
not in Device Manager but in control panel's "Network & Sharing Center".
If you don't see what you're looking for on the main page, try the
menu on the left side of the page, particularly "change adapter settings".

 

[charlie]

Device Manager will let you enable/disable your network adapter but you
won't find that other stuff there. I think what you're looking for is
not in Device Manager but in control panel's "Network & Sharing Center".
If you don't see what you're looking for on the main page, try the
menu on the left side of the page, particularly "change adapter settings".

Device manager should allow a user to disable, and re-enable the network
adapter. This usually cures the problem.

 

[BobbyM]

Device manager should allow a user to disable, and re-enable the network
adapter. This usually cures the problem.

Yes, it will, but the OP said he couldn't find "lan" etc. He won't find
that in device manager.

 

[charlie]

Yes, it will, but the OP said he couldn't find "lan" etc. He won't find
that in device manager.

True, however, the way I read the thread,the LAN settings had already
been made, and were working prior to unplugging the LAN.
Some network adapters will hang under similar circumstances, until reset.

 

[G. Morgan]

However, I still can't find "LAN", "Local", or "Ethernet" in Device
Manager. Where should I look for it? Thanks!

Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections

 

[Stan Brown]

Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections

Thanks, but I don't have that. I do have Network and Sharing
Center » Change Adapter Settings, and that seems to be what I want.

This is Windows 7 Home Premium; I wonder if that's the difference.

 

[charlie]

Thanks, but I don't have that. I do have Network and Sharing
Center » Change Adapter Settings, and that seems to be what I want.

This is Windows 7 Home Premium; I wonder if that's the difference.

Yes.

 

[Wolf K]

Yes.

For reasons that are impossible to fathom, MS decided to "simplify" the
Control Panel. Made everything harder to find. But there's a solution.

To can get the old Control Panel if you use Classic Shell or similar 3rd
party app to restore the older desktop/shell.

 

[Roy Smith]

For reasons that are impossible to fathom, MS decided to "simplify" the
Control Panel. Made everything harder to find. But there's a solution.

To can get the old Control Panel if you use Classic Shell or similar 3rd
party app to restore the older desktop/shell.

You can also change the view
used. Instead of using category view,
change it to small icons and you'll get the classic control panel
view back.