I just fixed this problem on my Dell XPS, so I decided to share it with the community. After calling Dell and finding out my warranty had expired (little over a year) and finding out it would cost me $129 to get a one time answer, I decided to go searching for solutions. I found a 2009 thread attributing the issue to a Mcaffee network access thing. I knew this not to be the issue since I personally dislike the major anti virus brands (they do tend to pull up stunts like that) so I had ripped off McAfee from my PC as soon as I booted it. But that thread helped me to figure out how to fix it.  The problem seems to be a Network Access Protection Agent on your System Config (your start up programs). Make sure this is disabled. It wouldn't hurt also to try disabling the Internet Explorer ETW Collector Service (Has a shady name so I nuked it too :P ). This fixed my Unidentified Connection problem right away. Follow these steps (Windows 7): 1. Click on Start. 2. Click on the search bar at the bottom. 3. Type: msconfig 4. Press Enter 5. You should have a new window named System Configuration 6. Click on the Services tab. 7. Scroll down the list until you find: Network Access Protection Agent. It will have the Status set as Stopped. This is normal. 8. Uncheck the box next to Network Access Protection Agent. 9. Click okay.  10. Restart your computer. Your internet should be working now. If it is not, repeat the process up to step 6 then do the following: 1. Scroll down the list until you find: Internet Explorer ETW Collector Service. It will have the Status set as Stopped. This is normal. 2. Uncheck the box next to Internet Explorer ETW Collector Service. 3. Click Okay.  4. Restart your computer. If these two steps do not fix your issue, go back to System Configuration (Services Tab) and search it for any other Network Access Protection Agent, such as Macafee named ones or anything similar. Please be aware that unchecking critical services might cause pc problems, so make sure you know what you're unchecking before you do. If unsure, feel free to google it.  Another workaround would be to temporarily deactivate your anti virus and firewall and see if this helps. If it does, then you know where you should focus. Good luck, and hope this works!
Hi, I think I've read enough forums and done enough searching that I'll finally post my question. My other laptop is the Dell Inspiron 1545. It connects to my home network, but says unknown network and no internet access. I've tried by both wifi and ethernet cable. The IP is set to auto detect, I've reset the router, reinstalled the drivers for the wifi adapter, no success. Any ideas? -Taylor
Wifi connected but unknown network and no internet access