No internet connection, secure setup on laptop.
No internet connection, secure setup on laptop.
I received my brother's old laptop after he got a new one. It was left unattended for three months and he mentioned it had been acting odd before—no internet, secure mode—but when I tried to fix it, it still worked but now it’s not. I restarted it several times (it has an HDD and takes too long) and connected to other networks, but the issue persists. I changed network adapters, toggled Wi-Fi on/off, and checked Chrome for DNS errors. It showed no DNS server, so I added 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as IPs. After running network diagnostics, it said DPS wasn’t running despite tutorials showing it was active. I uninstalled and reinstalled network drivers, used the command prompt to flush DNS, and tried network troubleshooting again. It still reported problems finding issues.
If you can access the Internet on other devices but not on the laptop, the issue likely lies with the laptop itself. If the problem extends to Ethernet too, it may point to a slow CPU or a failing hard drive, as the network eventually becomes available again. Since the CPU appears to be recent, consider replacing the HDD with an SSD. Crucial MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (CT500MX500SSD1) - PCPartPicker How to Upgrade Your Computer: Migrating from HDD to SDD (backblaze.com)
Choose any Linux distribution you prefer, such as Ubuntu or Mint. Generate an ISO file and install the OS from a USB drive. Ensure the connection works seamlessly over WiFi without problems. If both your new laptop and your current one have M.2 WiFi cards, it might help to test using the other device for troubleshooting. A solid storage solution won’t fix issues caused by faulty hardware or software for such a simple task.