USB ethernet adapter does not work

I recently bought and tried to install a Amazonbasics USB ethernet adapter on a friend's laptop. It did not work. no lights on the adapter. Nothing. I went to device manager and updated the driver automatically and it found a newer driver. This time I got some lights on the adapter, but still no internet. I took the device home to my Win10 desktop. I plugged it in to the usb port and it immediately worked.

So, the device is OK. Something about that laptop. Can someone offer some pointers?

The laptop may have decided the adapter was a public network so would not connect.

Railtech said:

The laptop may have decided the adapter was a public network so would not connect.

That is interesting. I cannot remember the error I got . But is may have been something like that. Where can I find info on fixing that?

The PC should be finding a new connection and asking if you would like to make it discoverable on the network. If you answer yes then the connection becomes private if no then the connection becomes public.

You might look here for help: Set Network Location to Private or Public in Windows 10 | Tutorials

Thanks, folks. I did not even look for that. I will try again Tuesday and see what I get. Thank you again.

Railtech said:

The PC should be finding a new connection and asking if you would like to make it discoverable on the network. If you answer yes then the connection becomes private if no then the connection becomes public.

When I inserted the USB ethernet adapter I cannot remember if it did or did not ask for a Network Location.

I have read the tutorial. I will admit to knowing nothing about these settings. What I had thought is that I would be able to reach the internet regardless of which of these settings were selected.

To go further, for simplicity I had stated this was for a friend. This computer is actually for a friend in her small business. Does this make any difference? Could I simply check her working WiFi Network Location and set the USB ethernet adapter to be the same?

If the computer is to be used in an environment where public or free access is available then no. Doing so would make the machine vulnerable. The best way to do that is to establish a VPN between the PC and the network.

Railtech said:

If the computer is to be used in an environment where public or free access is available then no. Doing so would make the machine vulnerable. The best way to do that is to establish a VPN between the PC and the network.

I do not know for sure, but I believe her setup is no different than a home setup with cable internet running to a router.

I am curious, though. With this adapter set for either public or private shouldn't I be able to get an IP address and on to the internet?

The computer in question needs to discover the network to connect to. If it is WiFi it should appear in the network list. You should have the option to connect to the network from the list.

If that is not the case then you might be experiencing a driver problem with the computer. It might be that this computer lacks a driver for the adapter therfore it is not functioning.

If the machine you got it to work on is running Win 10 and the other computer is running Win 7 this might well be the answer. Win 10 supports way more hardware devices than Win 7 does. Most of the time Win 7 needs drivers installed for new hardware.