Wireless adapter not found in Device Manager

This is for a Lenovo M90z. Intel Centrino 1000 adapter. All of sudden I lost my internet connection.



Initially it stopped working and did appear in Device Manager with an explanation point. In the properties I was getting a "This device can not start "Code 10" message. When I did a Windows troubleshoot it said there was an issue with the adapter and driver. I downloaded the driver from the Lenovo website but I received an error message that I can not roll back the driver to an earlier version. I had downloaded a more recent version from Intel. It is no longer available.



I did a Power Cycle like this

Completely discharging your PC might fix the unresponsive state of the network adapter. This might shake off any power surges that were registered in the adapter.

1. Unplug your charger, power off your laptop, and remove your battery. If you are using a desktop PC, remove all the power cables.
2. Hold down the power button for at least 30 seconds and then wait around 10 minutes.
3. Put the battery back in, with the charger and reboot or plug back your power cables and boot your PC
4. Check if this fixed it

Then the Adapter did not appear in the Device Manager. Did I fry something with the Power Cycle?

Connect by Ethernet cable temporarily so you have an internet connection.

Instead of Roll back, Uninstall the Device. Restart PC. It should then find a suitable driver from Windows updates or Lenovo and install the driver.

You can upset things by getting drivers directly from Intel as they are not customised for Lenovo.

Helmut said:

Connect by Ethernet cable temporarily so you have an internet connection.

Instead of Roll back, Uninstall the Device. Restart PC. It should then find a suitable driver from Windows updates or Lenovo and install the driver.

You can upset things by getting drivers directly from Intel as they are not customised for Lenovo.

Thank you for the help.

Ok. I was able to uninstall the Intel driver and uninstall the Lenovo Driver. Still not working.

I feel I should give a brief but full progression of the issue. It is a little bizarre.

• Initially in the network connection icon in the Windows taskbar there was a red X. In Device Manager on the icon for the adapter there was an exclamation point. What is weird is in Network and Internet Settings t the adapter was not there. Usually if it appears in Device Manager it also appears in the Network and Internet Settings in the same manner as in Device Manager. It might be a clue as to what is going on.

• After the Power Cycle there was a change in Device Manager. This seems bizarre. Initially the adapter did not appear. Then I selected "Show Hidden Devices" and it appeared but was dimmed. Then I am not sure how but it disappeared and another adapter showed. I do not remember the full name of the adapter. It was "Microsoft ______ Adapter". Then that disappeared. I do not recall the middle word but think it began with T. It is a word I have never seen. I believe it was something like "Targon".

Even though the Troubleshooter indicated it was a hardware issue I still believe it is a Windows issue.

jwblue said:

This is for a Lenovo M90z. Intel Centrino 1000 adapter. All of sudden I lost my internet connection. Initially it stopped working and did appear in Device Manager with an explanation point....
...Then the Adapter did not appear in the Device Manager....

I once got a used laptop that appeared to have no wifi adapter (none showing in Device Manager) though its specs said it should have one. Then once in a while the adapter would appear briefly, then disappear again. Turned out the adapter needed removing and reseating. It has been rock-solid ever since.

bro67 said:

See this about how to enable/disable physically and from the bios, to make sure it is not a faulty card. How to turn wireless WiFi on/off Windows 7, 8, 8.1 10 - US Most likely you just disabled from pressing Fn F5. Hardware manual for your All-in-one. See 5-35 about how to use the diagnostic tools. Table Of Contents - Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z Hardware Maintenance Manual [Page 5]

WiFi does not appear there. That might be part of the issue.

bro67 said:

Follow the troubleshooting steps spelled out in both links.

I ran the Lenovo Solution Center. Network Adapter was not listed in the hardware scanned. Not sure if there is a separate listing for that normally or not.

Ever since I ran a power cycle the adapter has not appeared in the Device Manager.

Does anyone believe removing the adapter and putting it back would solve the issue? I would rather not open my computer if there is little chance of it solving the issue. I am a complete novice doing this.

Not sure if this is relevant but in my Network Adapter in Device Manager there was "Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter". It has since disappeared.

jwblue said:

Does anyone believe removing the adapter and putting it back would solve the issue? I would rather not open my computer if there is little chance of it solving the issue. I am a complete novice doing this.

It is actually an easy job. Removing the cover is just a matter of pressing a couple of buttons and sliding it off.
Removing the computer cover - ThinkCentre M90z - US

To remove the wifi card just undo the two screws that hold it in.
Replacing the WI-FI card - ThinkCentre M90z - US