"No internet"...but there is.

[el_mechacontext]

Hey guys,

 

My desktop running windows 10 just started exhibiting a really strange issue: I am getting a "no internet' message in Windows' built-in networking manager despite having full access to the internet through a browser. This, despite the adapter settings in the Control Panel showing everything working just fine. Now, I could totally ignore it all, but it turns out that any application that reads the Windows 10 settings for networking, including the Windows Apps and Spotify, think that there is no internet connection.

Weirder still, it seems like the windows networking manager detects just about anything as an Ethernet device, including my Xbox Wireless Controller adapter. Every time I plug it in, it creates an "Ethernet 2" device and says that it's not connected to the internet (obviously!). 

 

Anyway, this is all deeply puzzling and I've tried the basic networking reset commands and restarting stuff. I've been using PIA, but I also uninstalled that and cleared my registry to make sure that wasn't the culprit, and it's not. Any ideas as to what might be going on?

Thanks everyone!

[Windows7ge]

I wanted to wait and see if anybody had any ideas but over 30 views and nobody has replied to you.

 

An issue like this is something I've not heard or seen in a very long time and about the only quick fix I've ever implemented was to just re-install the OS. For the OS to look at USB devices and think they're Network adapters is an issue well beyond anything I've had to troubleshoot. Usually an issue like this is a problem so deep and unknown within the OS that most people just re-install.

 

But, we can wait for the off chance anybody has explored how to fix a bug like this without a re-install.

 

Was there anything in particular you were doing when it started? Install anything new? Download anything sketchy? Anti-virus pop off saying it's blocking things?

[Yohello_1]

This is an issue which happens to me a lot.

[el_mechacontext]

14 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

I wanted to wait and see if anybody had any ideas but over 30 views and nobody has replied to you.

 

An issue like this is something I've not heard or seen in a very long time and about the only quick fix I've ever implemented was to just re-install the OS. For the OS to look at USB devices and think they're Network adapters is an issue well beyond anything I've had to troubleshoot. Usually an issue like this is a problem so deep and unknown within the OS that most people just re-install.

 

But, we can wait for the off chance anybody has explored how to fix a bug like this without a re-install.

 

Was there anything in particular you were doing when it started? Install anything new? Download anything sketchy? Anti-virus pop off saying it's blocking things?

I appreciate the reply. It does look like I'm going to need to reinstall, because nothing I'm doing is working. 
 

There is a possibility that it began when I first (re)installed PIA and I didn't notice it until later when I tried to play something off of Spotify. I also weirdly got it working for a short period of time by just randomly disabling, unplugging and replugging my Ethernet connection. But on the next restart, it was back to square one. 

 

I'll update here if I do a reinstall and something changes!

[el_mechacontext]

Hey hey, there's been an update. A weird one. 

I haven't reinstalled yet (it's such a pain I'm just avoiding it), but I did find out some new things:

 

1. The Xbox Controller Adapter *is* meant to show up in the Network Adapters section of the Device Manager. It still shouldn't register as an Ethernet device, but that's one minor mystery solved. 
2. Downloading the configuration utility for my specific onboard ethernet adapter (the Intel i211 Gigabit Network Controller) allows me to run something called a "connection test," along with a few others that pass. The connection test always fails, and gives me this error: This adapter does not have link.  Make sure the cable is connected and the speed and duplex settings are configured correctly on the adapter and link partner. I don't know what that means and Google searching is giving me all sorts of strange responses.
3. Running the third test in the utility, the "Hardware Test," has restored my OS's ability to tell that my Ethernet connection is working...once...
4. However, in this state, my computer exits sleep mode on its own every 5 minutes. There is clearly some kind of packet being sent (or something....) that is waking the computer. The Windows Event Viewer logs show that the wake source is the "Power Button" which is of no help. Under the Network Adapter properties, I turned off the ability for the Adapter to wake the computer from sleep unless presented with a Magic Packet. (I think this is how consoles and some other types of devices on the same network are able to wake the computer to download a game.) 
5. In any case, restarting the computer or leaving it for long enough just reverts it to the state it was in before. 

[el_mechacontext]

*sigh* and finally, anyone somehow still following this nonsensical saga...

 

I bought a USB ethernet adapter to just bypass the onboard adapter, and it worked for a time. 

 

For a time.

 

Now it's back to its old terrible self. I guess the only thing would be to reinstall Windows, and maybe not even that...

[beersykins]

What happens when you change DNS to something like 8.8.8.8?  Usually that message is a DNS lookup failure.