Wired/Wireless NICs Not Working - Services Set to Auto Won't Start

[NYJimbo]

a nuke and pave (with us eating the cost) was the only real way forward.

Yes, sometimes you just eat it, get that damn machine out of your shop and move on to making money. I know some people hate the idea of eating any cost, but the sooner you can push that thing back at the customer, the sooner you can get back to being productive and enjoying the job.

 

[Markverhyden]

First thing I would have done was boot from a Linux Live disk and verify they worked in that OS. Then move onto the Windows repair stuff.

 

[Appletax]

I think this particular repair job is one of those where you feel you are so close so you keep on it hoping for a repair.

I had one on Monday, Win 7 laptop, boots almost all the way, gets to WELCOME screen with spinning wheel but then freezes.

I will always try to put in more when I can, its the only way to really master this stuff, but sometimes even the stuff that's looks easy cant be fixed without spending more time than its worth.

I think it's important as troubleshooters to not give up easily if we can't get something fixed quickly, but it's also important to not spend so much time trying to fix a problem that we waste too much of our time. Why spend days trying to fix an issue when a super fast N&P can make it like new? I've spent two days now working on this laptop and I cannot charge the customer for all the time I spent diagnosing the issue.

I feel like a N&P is warranted after coming to these forums and having other more seasoned techs tell me that there's nothing else they can suggest. That's when I feel like I've done my best and it's time to let the issue go.

I'm going to run Malwarebytes as my final attempt to fix the issue. It likely won't help so after that I'm going to call the customer and explain the situation. I'll offer to nuke the system, backup all his data, and even install some of his programs. I normally charge $75, but it'll have to be $100 since this is a big job.

 

[Appletax]

First thing I would have done was boot from a Linux Live disk and verify they worked in that OS. Then move onto the Windows repair stuff.

Excellent idea. That would have been much faster than installing Windows on a 2nd HDD. I didn't think about the fact that a Linux live CD can use the wireless card and connect to a network all without installing anything permanently.

 

[Appletax]

Yes, sometimes you just eat it, get that damn machine out of your shop and move on to making money. I know some people hate the idea of eating any cost, but the sooner you can push that thing back at the customer, the sooner you can get back to being productive and enjoying the job.

Amen

 

[NYJimbo]

First thing I would have done was boot from a Linux Live disk and verify they worked in that OS. Then move onto the Windows repair stuff.

Most Linux disks do not have the proper drivers for many newer network devices. As a matter of fact the number one fail for test boot disks is network drivers followed by video drivers. For example the popular Kaspersky Rescue disk cant talk to most popular WIFI hardware on boot up. Even something like the Win8.1 PE boot
disk supports very few WIFI cards.

 

[Appletax]

Most Linux disks do not have the proper drivers for many newer network devices. As a matter of fact the number one fail for test boot disks is network drivers followed by video drivers. For example the popular Kaspersky Rescue disk cant talk to most popular WIFI hardware on boot up. Even something like the Win8.1 PE boot
disk supports very few WIFI cards.

I remember my Kaspersky Rescue CD not being able to use the NICs. I wonder if Linux Mint would be the best choice?

 

[Markverhyden]

Most Linux disks do not have the proper drivers for many newer network devices. As a matter of fact the number one fail for test boot disks is network drivers followed by video drivers. For example the popular Kaspersky Rescue disk cant talk to most popular WIFI hardware on boot up. Even something like the Win8.1 PE boot
disk supports very few WIFI cards.

My experience has been they work fine with wired NIC's. Wireless generally needs to be setup manually as that is still a weak point with Linux. But in the OP's situation I would just want to check the wired connection. If that worked, coupled with the services not starting issue, I would say it's a Windoze problem.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

Maybe I missed it but I see no mention of what was in the event logs.

 

[Appletax]

Maybe I missed it but I see no mention of what was in the event logs.

I am very inexperience with event logs. All I see is a trillion complicated things.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

I am very inexperience with event logs. All I see is a trillion complicated things.

look for warnings or errors in the system log perhaps theres some clues

 

[Appletax]

look for warnings or errors in the system log perhaps theres some clues

I did look at some of the errors, but none looked helpful. The system is nuked right now and working like a brand new machine