subject: How To Fix An Atheros Adapter Driver For A Laptop [print this page] Atheros Communications develops products related to network and wireless communications, including the network adapters found in many laptop computers. If your Atheros adapter stops working, you have systems within your Windows-based computer that will help you fix the HP laptop adapter so your communications will run smoothly again. Your computer will search for updated drivers and help you download and install a working driver. If you are unable to download a new driver through the Windows device manager as instructed, visit your computer manufacturer's website and use their support pages to locate the appropriate driver.
Click "Start," then "Control Panel." In the upper right corner of the control panel window, click "Small Icon View" to reveal each individual choice within the panel.
Click "Device Manager."
Click the small triangle or arrow next to "Modems" and IBM AC Adapter to expand these two menus. Locate your Atheros device under one of these menus. Note that the device, not the driver itself, will be listed.
Click the "General" tab, and then click "Troubleshoot" if that option is available and follow the onscreen prompts to fix the software. If that option is not available or you have followed the onscreen prompts and they did not fix the problem, click the "Driver" tab.
Click "Update driver" to allow your computer to search for updated drivers on the Internet. If the Atheros driver is affecting your primary connection to the Internet, use a wired Ethernet or dial-up connection that the driver does not affect. Follow the onscreen prompts to update and fix your Atheros driver. If you cannot connect your laptop to the Internet while the driver is not working properly, click "Uninstall Driver" from the "Driver" tab and locate another computer with Internet access that allows downloads, such as a friend's or public computer.
Plug a USB drive into any open USB port and allow the computer to recognize it. Click "View Files" or the similar option to open the drive if the computer asks you to choose what to do with the drive on your secondary computer.
Visit the Atheros driver download page (see Resources) and locate the proper driver for your device.
Click the driver name, then read the agreement and click "Accept" on the details page. Your driver will download automatically when you click "Accept."
Locate the downloaded driver file on the computer--usually in the "Downloads" folder under "My Documents" or "Documents"--but do not open it.
Drag the downloaded driver to the folder or icon that represents your USB drive and wait for it to copy over completely, and then eject the USB drive.
Plug the USB drive into your laptop and drag the driver file into your laptop's "Downloads" folder or another folder of your choice. Eject the USB drive once the driver has finished copying.
Double-click the driver file on your laptop and follow any onscreen prompts to install the driver, including any prompt to restart your Sony laptop ac adapter.
