My PC was fine for months, but now almost every time I boot it, websites won't load even though Windows says I'm connected through both Ethernet and Wi‑Fi. Running Network Diagnostics immediately restores internet access, although the diagnostic only reports that the connection is working and doesn't identify a problem. I've already reset my network settings, flushed DNS, restarted the router, and reinstalled Windows. Could using both network adapters be causing this, or is a driver or startup issue more likely?
3 Answers
Power-cycle the router by unplugging it for about a minute, then plug it back in and wait for it to finish starting up. If that doesn’t help, focus on the PC’s adapter configuration and drivers, since reinstalling Windows makes a basic corrupted system install less likely.
Try using only one connection type at a time. Disable either Wi‑Fi or Ethernet completely—not just disconnect from the network—and reboot to see whether the issue continues. You can disable the unused adapter through Network Connections or Device Manager, then re-enable it later if needed.
Check the full result from Network Diagnostics, including any expanded details or event logs. Even if it says everything is fine, the repair action it performs may reveal whether Windows is restarting an adapter, refreshing DHCP, or fixing a DNS-related startup problem.
I already tried disabling Wi‑Fi and using only Ethernet, but the problem still happened. I haven’t completely disabled the adapter itself yet, so I’ll test that next.