Network and Sharing Center shows not connected, but computer is connected to wireless network

Anonymous
2009-11-06T21:59:55+00:00

When I open the Network and Sharing Center, or hold my mouse pointer over the internet connection icon on the bottom right of the taskbar, it shows that I am not connected to a network. However, I know I am connected to the internet. My internet and email are working fine. Also, when I click the option "Connect to a network," the list of available wireless networks come up, and it shows that I'm connected to my home network. How do I make Windows recognize everywhere that I'm connected to the internet, instead of just on the wireless-networks-available list?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2011-08-23T06:30:04+00:00

Had exactly the same issue running Windows 7 (win7). Connected to the Internet but status showing no connections and a red cross on the network icon. Problem also caused problems connecting to Lync and Office365 as well as VPN, which apparently uses the status to check if connectivity is available.

Found the solution here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itpronetworking/thread/df17c593-e78f-4878-97b0-7569307934c5

Apparently some permissions gets wrong in the Registration Database and needs to be fixed using RegEdit. The solution is a step by step and might be solved just by deleting a cache folder using RegEdit and potentially setting some permissions.

Hope it helps.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

56 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
  1. Anonymous
    2010-09-17T07:26:12+00:00

    What devices are you facing issues with?

    can you explain further.

    did you try this article http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2009/06/19/missing-network-map-under-network-and-sharing-center-in-windows-vista-or-windows-server-2008.aspx 

    before reinstalling Windows 7?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2010-09-08T21:54:31+00:00

    I had tried all of the solutions here and none worked, what i ended up doing is reinstalling Windows, which was a pain, and i now have problems installing some device drivers, the price I had to pay to see the stupid icon mark correctly on network and sharing.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2010-09-08T16:38:48+00:00

    The resolution to your question is here

    http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2009/06/19/missing-network-map-under-network-and-sharing-center-in-windows-vista-or-windows-server-2008.aspx 

    also check the permission of nlasvc in the registry path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Nla

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2010-08-25T15:35:04+00:00

    For what it is worth -

    I have the same problem with a Lenovo laptop running Windows 7 with the additional information.

    1.) Manually starting the NLASVC service fails with an ERROR 1075 - the depending service does not exist or has been marked for deletion. The two depending services are RPC Endpoint mapper (verified it is running) and DCOM Server Process Launching (also verified it is running).

    2.) Network connections all work but the connections come back as failing - and as having limited access.  Also, if you go into the Network and Sharing option - the normal map showing the connections lists the connection as UNKNOWN

    3.) Under Administrator - under Event Viewer - I see a ton of "The Network List Service service depend the following service: nlasvc.  This service might not be installed.  With an event ID of 7003.   The event log online help sends you to: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd349426%28WS.10%29.aspx

    In this document it mentions removing the dependencies for the  service - but the service is not listed. 

    My plans are to reinstall the wireless drivers and see if it re-establishes the service "Network Location Awareness" which also doesn't appear in my service list - but does appear on a different machine.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments