4 Ways to Fix “Windows Could Not Find a Driver for Your Network Adapter” Error

Quick Tips

• Make sure the Network Adapter is enabled on your computer and prevent Windows from turning it off to save power.
• Consider updating or reinstalling the network adapter driver on your Windows PC.
• If the error persists, consider performing a system restore as a last resort.

Fix 1: Enable Network Adapter

Windows may fail to communicate with the network adapter if you’ve previously disabled it. Hence, the first thing you should do is enable the network adapter.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type in control panel, and press Enter.

Step 2: Change the view type to Large icons and select Network and Sharing Center.

Step 3: Select Change adapter settings in the left pane.

Step 4: In the Network Connections window, right-click on your network adapter and select Enable.

After that, run the network troubleshooter and see if Windows can detect your network adapter driver.

Fix 2: Update or Reinstall the Network Adapter Driver

The “Windows could not find a driver for your network adapter” error can also appear if your PC’s current network driver is old or corrupt. You can update the network adapter driver via the Device Manager.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Device Manager from the list.

Step 2: Double-click on Network adapters to expand it. Right-click your network adapter and select Update driver.

From there, follow the on-screen instructions to finish updating the network driver. After that, run the network troubleshooter again.

If the error persists even after you update the driver, there’s a chance that the network adapter driver is corrupt. In that case, you can uninstall the driver to fix the error message.

Once removed, restart your PC, Windows should automatically install the missing network adapter driver. Following that, you should no longer see the “Windows could not find a driver for your network adapter” error when you run the troubleshooter.

Fix 3: Change Power Management Settings

Windows may turn off your lesser-used devices and drivers if you’ve configured it to save power. When that happens, Windows will fail to communicate with those drivers and trouble you with such errors.

You can prevent Windows from turning off the network adapter driver by configuring its power management settings.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Device Manager from the list.

Step 2: Expand Network adapters, right-click on your network adapter, and select Properties.

Step 3: Under the Power Management tab, uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power, and hit OK to save changes.

Fix 4: Use System Restore

System Restore is a useful utility that creates a backup of your entire system regularly or before making major system changes. You can use it to revert Windows to its earlier state in case the above solutions don’t work. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

Step 1: Open the search menu, type in create a restore point, and select the first result that appears.

Step 2: Under the System Protection tab, click the System Restore button.

Step 3: Click Next.

Step 4: Select the restore point before the error first appeared.

Step 5: Review all the details one more time before hitting Finish.