Troubleshoot Network & Internet Problems in Windows 7 & Windows 8             

When you have problems with your network and/or Internet connection, don’t hesitate to use the troubleshooting wizards bundled with Windows 7 and Windows 8. They are easy to use and they can help you identify what’s wrong and how to fix your problems. In this tutorial I will show how to start these network and Internet troubleshooting wizards and how to work with them in order to fix problems

How to Find the Network & Internet Troubleshooting Wizards

One of the easiest ways to access the network and Internet troubleshooting wizards is to open the Network and Sharing Center and click or tap the "Troubleshoot problems" link.

.This is how the Network and Sharing Center looks like in Windows 7

In Windows 8, the Network and Sharing Center is a bit different. However, the "Troubleshoot problems" link can still be found at the bottom of the window

This opens the list of Network and Internet troubleshooting wizards available in Windows

As always, you can also use search to launch these wizards. In Windows 7, type the word"trouble" in the Start Menu search box. Then, click the Troubleshooting search result

In Windows 8, go to the Start screen, type the word "trouble" and filter the results by Setting

Then, tap the Troubleshooting search result.

Another way is to type the word "trouble" in the search box found on the top right of the Control Panel

Clicking or tapping or Troubleshooting reveals the Troubleshooting window, where you find all the troubleshooting tools included in Windows

How to Use the Network & Internet Troubleshooting Wizards in Windows 7 & Windows 8

Each troubleshooting wizard is a bit different because it solves the specific problems it is supposed to solve. To help you understand how to use a troubleshooting wizard, I ran the Network  Adapter wizard in order to understand what is wrong with the wireless network connection on my Windows 8 laptop. Using other wizards works the same way, using the same principles

At the beginning of the troubleshooting wizard, before you press Next look for a link named Advanced

Click or tap on it. This reveals some interesting options. For example, the Network Adapter wizard can automatically apply repairs. Check the appropriate box to enable this feature and click or tap Next

The troubleshooting wizard detects that I have several network adapters and asks me to select the one I want to troubleshoot. In this case, I selected WiFi and pressed Next

NOTE: The Network Adapter troubleshooting wizard displays also virtual network adapters, if you have installed virtualization software that uses such devices e.g. VirtualBox

The troubleshooting wizard starts the diagnostics process and displays a progress bar like the one shown below

When it detects problems, it also tries to apply the fixes it believes are appropriate and then verifies if the problem still exists

At the end of the whole process, the troubleshooting wizard shares details about the problem and its status

In my case, the problem remained unfixed. The Network Adapter wizard proposes additional options via the "Explorer additional options" button. If you want to view detailed information about the problem(s) it identified and what it has done to fix things, click the small link that says "View detailed information"

To close the wizard, click or tap Close

Click on Close and you are done

by : Njood AL-Nufaei