Need Help Please...no Network Access After Windows Update. Network Works In Safe Mode

Hey, everybody! I have a problem that i can't figure out how to fix. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. After my Windows 7 update finished I could no longer get network access and my firefox browser took a very long time to load. However, when I boot to safe mode, my network is fine and I can access the internet with no problems. I tried to restore to an earlier time before the update and upon reboot, I get an error message "System restore failed to extract the file (C:\) from the restore point. An unspecified error occurred during system restore." I've tried multiple restore points prior to the update and I still get the same error message. I'm not sure how to fix the network problem so I tried to just restore it and I'm unable to do that for whatever reason. Im running Windows firewall and Avira antivirus. My startup is bare bones so Im not sure its a conflict problem. Right now Im at a loss as to what to do. Any help would be great. Thank you

 

First off is to install and run Teaking.com Windows Repair All-in-One. Disable all repairs other than Network and run it. Resolves vast majority of problems of this sort.

 

Ok. I have the tweaking windows repair and used it but didnt disable all other repairs besides the network repair. I can try it again excluding everything but network repair

 

As you have already run tweaking.com it isn't likely to fix your problem. Disabling other repairs is just a time saver. The failure of system restore might be due to malware - what protection do you run and what AM/AV scans have you run?

 

i have avira antivirus and use just my windows firewall. i do regularly run scans with iobit malware fighter and malwarebytes am and superantispyware. those three are not enable at startup though. i didnt find anything scanning with them

 

No Avira full scan? Anyway, if you are satisfied it isn't malware then it must be a system problem. Run sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt.

 

i did run an avira full scan and it came up with only 2 or 3 warnings. it could be malware, idk. the network loss only occurred after i did a windows update. in safe mode the network works fine. ill do the sfc scan. should i do that from safe mode?

 

No, normal mode.

 

its running now from normal

 

ok. verification complete. wrp found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. i have the cbs log

 

My bad - I forgot to tell you that you have to run sfc from an elevated command prompt, see HERE.

 

i believe i did run it as an admin

 

Two other suggestions - run chkdsk c: /r from an elevated command prompt and then try system restore in safe mode. If it's still the same I'm out of ideas I'm afraid. Looking at the log I don't think the MS suggested method would be practical.

 

i tried to run chkdsk but it says "cannot lock current drive". chkdsk cannotrun becausethe volume is in use by another process. i scheculed it to be checked on the next restart. doing that now

 

That's entirely normal.

 

manually replacing the files would not work as ms suggests?

 

If you have the means and the patience yes, it should. Personally I'd reinstall before going through that palaver.

 

there must be a lot of corrupt files in the log then

 

There are - read it - but chkdsk might just put it to rights.

 

chkdsk is almost complete.

 

ok. chkdsk completed and rebooted. message came up that volume is clean. do i now go into safe mode and try to restore to an earlier point.

 

I booted back to safe mode and tried to restore from there but after restarting again i get the same error message "SR failed to extract file...". I suppose my only option now is to reinstall windows, right? I do have the option of upgrading to Win 10. Would just upgrading to 10 take care of the problem?

 

Pity you haven't been taking system images from time to time as you would have solved this problem in no time by stepping back to the pre-update position. As it is yes, reinstalling does seem your best bet, or upgrading to 10 if you are happy to do so. No guarantee that upgrading will fix the issue though.

 

yeah that would have made things much easier. if i do reinstall i would have to do it from an image since i dont have the original windows cd. i am going to wait to get a large flash drive first since i have more than 200 gb of important files i want to keep. i would just upgrade to 10 but im not sure it will start the update since the network doesnt work in normal mode. any suggestions as to go about with this?

 

So you do have an image?
If so, grab the filles off the computer and load up the image.

If you don't have an image and don't have a Windows 7 DVD then I'm not sure how you expect to get back to a working computer.

I think, Windows 10 will not upgrade while you are running in safe mode.

 

I do have an image on a flash drive that I made a little after I got the computer. Im not getting my bigger flash drive until tomorrow so i have to wait to try a recovery until then.

 

OK, so you may have a way back to 7, but it will be a long haul getting it updated. In the meantime, and going back to the original question, are you able to access your router in normal mode, by ethernet or wifi? In fact have you actually tried both methods for the internet?

 

I can try accessing my router in normal. i have just ethernet with my dekstop. I have no wireless card for it.

 

just attempted to access my router in normal but couldnt do it. shows connection has timed out. I can access it from another device if that helps

 

Can you ping your router by IP?

Disappearing for a while now

 

How would i do that?

 

Thats no problem. You have been a huge help so far, Earthling. I greatly appreciate it.

 

ok. I went into a command prompt and pinged my IP. it sent 4 pings and all 4 were received.

 

Good. Now try ping 212.58.244.23

 

pinging that address was successful. all 4 received

 

That address is the BBC website in the UK so this is really good news for you. I want you now to try pinging bbc.co.uk and my betting is that it will fail. If it does fail it means your problem is nothing more than a DNS issue and I'm pretty sure we can fix that.

 

just sub bbc.co.uk in place of the ip?

 

yes

 

ok. ping couldnt find the host

 

Open an elevated command prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns Then try your internet. Good luck!

 

ok. flushed the dns. I tried to open my firefox browser but its takes a long time to open and then shows server not found. however, the network icon in my taskbar shows that the network is working and I have internet access

 

Have you tried a different browser?

 

yes. internet explorer opens right away but doesnt connect

 

I'm a bit stumped now. Can you ping bbc.co.uk again to see if we still have a DNS issue.

 

ping request could not find the host

 

only upon those successful pings does my network icon change to show that I have internet access. if i right click on it to troubleshoot problems it says it couldnt identify the problem

 

I can think of a couple of possible reasons your DNS still isn't working, either your Hosts file is causing it or your router may have lost its DNS settings. Let's look at your Hosts file first. In Windows Explorer enable viewing of hidden files and folders and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc. You will see a file named hosts, no extension. Open it with Notepad and attach it here or copy and paste its contents.

 

ok here it is.

 

i went into safe mode and uploaded the txt file. internet works fine there

 

OK, forget that, it's fine. I assume your LAN adapter settings are set to auto and that you have not entered the IP and DNS servers yourself? If auto I need you to access your router configuration pages and find the primary and secondary DNS settings it is using.

EDIT - no, forget that. The router DNS settings are OK, as safe mode proves.

It's definitely a DNS issue but I've just about exhausted the possibilities I know about. We need some help here guys!