Why is my network adapter not working after a Vista Business upgrade?

Why is my network adapter not working after a Vista Business upgrade?

The wireless network adapter on my Toshiba Satellite laptop doesn't work after a Vista Business upgrade. Why did this happen?

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It is rather common for older peripherals -- including wireless network adapters -- to experience difficulty after operating system upgrades. In some cases, peripheral manufacturers are still working on an updated or replacement driver for the new operating system. However, for older discontinued products that have reached end-of-life, drivers for the new operating system may never be developed.

I recommend that you visit the Toshiba Support website , search for the Satellite model you own, and look for a driver for your laptop's Wi-Fi adapter which supports Vista Business. Note that some Satellite models (for example, the L500-ST2521 and L500D-ST2531) support Vista Ultimate but not Vista Business. In addition, a conflict has been documented between many Toshiba laptop Wi-Fi adapters and Vista Service Pack 1. To learn more, search Support Bulletins on the support website for "Update Intel Wireless LAN Driver to prevent / fix lock-ups after installing Vista Service Pack 1." The steps required to fix that problem are detailed in that Support bulletin.

This was first published in November 2009