How to install drivers for Wifi adapters in Windows 7?
In the process of writing various articles on the topic of how to install Wifi driver in Windows 7, there are many incomprehensible moments and questions with the Wi-Fi adapter driver. For example, you write about connecting to a wireless network, but a person does not find Wifi on his computer at all.
The same thing happens when trying to distribute the Internet from a laptop, if the driver for the Wi-Fi adapter is not installed, then the virtual network cannot be started. Many simply do not understand what to do next when the information from the article differs from what is happening on the monitor.
On how to install Wifi driver in Windows 7, look, there is a laptop, it must have a built-in Wi-Fi adapter. Even take laptops that are already 5 years old or more, not to mention modern models. If you have a desktop computer and want to connect to the Internet wirelessly, then you can do this via a USB or PCI adapter. Windows 7 was installed on your laptop or desktop PC. Masters, or you – it doesn’t matter.
The main thing about how to install Wifi driver in Windows 7, is that Windows 7 itself does not install the driver on the Wi-Fi adapter (I did not notice such cases, Windows 10 already installs it automatically). It turns out that if the masters who installed your operating system did not install the driver for the Wireless adapter, then Wi-Fi will not work for you. And if the network cable is not connected to the laptop, then the connection status will most likely be like this:
In the settings: Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections, you most likely will not see the “Wireless Network Connection” adapter, and in the device manager, on the network adapters tab, there will be only one adapter – a network card. You will not find a wireless adapter there.
All these are signs that the correct driver is not installed. The solution is very simple, install the wireless adapter driver yourself. Below, I will try to tell you in detail, using an example, how to do this.
Windows 7: Self Install Wi-Fi Driver
It doesn’t matter if you have a laptop or a desktop PC with an adapter, the necessary driver can be on the disk that comes with the same laptop or adapter. As practice shows, there may not be such a disk with a laptop, but with an adapter, it most likely comes with it. With Tp-Link adapters – there. So, you can try to install the driver from this disk. Just insert the disc into your computer drive and follow the instructions (usually a window prompting you to install the software will appear automatically).
We need a driver for the Wireless adapter. Therefore, the best way is to navigate by the word “Wireless”, or “WLAN”. There may be something like Wireless Network Adapter and the like.
How to download the correct driver for the Wireless adapter from the Internet?
Through the process of how to install Wifi driver in Windows 7, In the case when there is no disk, or you cannot deal with it, then the necessary driver can be downloaded from the Internet. You may not be connected to the Internet, Wi-Fi is not working. Do not forget that you can connect via a network cable. Both through the router and directly from the provider. Or, you can download the driver on another device (even on a smartphone, or tablet) and download it to your computer.
I can’t show how to do this for all laptop manufacturers (maybe I’ll prepare such articles later): Lenovo, HP, Asus, Acer, etc. I’ll show you in detail using my Asus K56CM laptop as an example. The procedure will be the same for everyone. If you have a PC with a USB / PCI adapter, then you need to download the driver from the official website of the adapter manufacturer.
I advise you to download drivers only from the official websites of manufacturers. Therefore, first of all, we need to go to the website of the manufacturer of our laptop (adapter). In my case, to the Asus website. You can just google. I type “Asus” in the search, and the official site is the first in the list. I think you will immediately understand this when you open the site. And if you know the address of the site, then you can go directly.
Further, through the search on the site, or through the menu, we need to find a page with the model of our laptop. Or, find the section with driver downloads. Typically, this is the “Support” menu item. In my case, with an Asus laptop, I specify the Asus K56CM model in the search on the site and select it in the search results.
I go to the tab Support – Drivers and Utilities. From the list, I choose my operating system – Windows 7.
I search and open the Wireless tab, and download the driver for my adapter.
We save the file on a computer, preferably on the desktop, so as not to lose it.
It may be that you will see several drivers for different adapters (different manufacturers). As in my case, there is a driver for “Intel” adapters, and “Atheros Wireless Lan Driver and Application”. How to find out which adapter is on your laptop? To do this, there is a small program HWVendorDetection. which you can download from the internet. Download HWVendorDetection and just run it. The manufacturer of the Wireless LAN adapter will be listed there.
Installing the downloaded driver
And then everything is very simple. If you have a driver in the archive, as in my case, then just open the archive and run the installation file. Most likely, this is the setup.exe file. Just follow the installation instructions.
That’s all, after installing the driver, it is advisable to restart the laptop, and you can connect to Wi-Fi. As simple as that, on how to install Wifi driver in Windows 7.
Let me remind you that I showed the example of Asus laptops on how to install Wifi driver in Windows 7. Your process may be slightly different. If you can’t find the required driver, or you can’t install it, then write in the comments, and I’ll try to suggest one. And one more thing, if you just want to update the driver to a newer one (reinstall), then I advise you to do everything according to this instruction. The manufacturer’s website always has the latest drivers.