laptop disconnects from internet constantly, need to restart

[jmarket]

Hi, sorry to keep you busy, but it’s hard for me to do it all at once. So I found the Network Adaptor. This is what I see. I am scared to unistall my wireless adaptor, can I really get it back? How can I download something when I won’t have internet access? I have no issues on any other devices in my house, just this laptop. I got rid of a game I downloaded, Plarium Play/Raid:Shadow Legends, and that seems to have helped a bit, but not fixed it completely. But I’m also scared to get rid of my Norton Antivirus. Can I just get it back?

[jmarket]

It’s all good Chris, we’ve all been there at some stage.
And good news, this MTB report was spot on.

It shows a few things to remove;
[ul]
[li]Norton’s (as already mentioned)[/li][li]Acer Jumpstart[/li][li]Acer Config manager[/li][li]Driver setup utility[/li][/ul]
After uninstalling those, do the other things mentioned in post #13 and let us know how you get on.

I’m only sporadically able to get online with my laptop. I just made this Google account on my iphone. Really sorry

[jmarket]

It’s all good Chris, we’ve all been there at some stage.
And good news, this MTB report was spot on.

It shows a few things to remove;
[ul]
[li]Norton’s (as already mentioned)[/li][li]Acer Jumpstart[/li][li]Acer Config manager[/li][li]Driver setup utility[/li][/ul]
After uninstalling those, do the other things mentioned in post #13 and let us know how you get on.

Would there be any way to have set up some sort of live chat if you have time?

[Bruce]

Let’s address your concerns.

We don’t do live chats, or one on one help, we keep it public in the open forum so others can chime in with assistance.
This way, anything mentioned that helps can be searched for, and accessed by others, later down the track.

As to Norton’s, yes it can always be reinstalled.
Best way is to go to their website and download your product from them.
You would have needed an installation key to install it initially, so you either use the same key, or login with your Norton’s Account, where they already have your subscription details.
But really, the inbuilt Windows Security Centre, running Defender, is all you need these days, been that way for maybe 8-10 years I reckon.
Defender ranks as good, or better, than the paid-for products in any independent test I have seen.

Also yes for the wireless adapter.
Uninstall it and have Windows automatically reinstall it has it discovers ‘new’ hardware when you reboot the PC.
But as a precautionary measure, you can always pre-download the wireless adapter driver from here; https://www.acer.com/au-en/support/drivers-and-manuals
Enter your serial number, or product number, to see the list of drivers for your laptop.
You should do this anyway, because if the uninstall/auto-reinstall doesn’t work, this will be the next straw we clutch - installing the latest driver.

[jmarket]

Hi, OK, I’ve done most of it.

• Norton’s (as already mentioned)

• Acer Jumpstart - DONE

• Acer Config manager - DONE

• Driver setup utility - DONE

So I’ll go ahead and try to remove the Norton’s. So, would you recommend my not bothering to renew my subscription to it next year?

The only other thing is the wireless adaptor, so I’ll do those two things now. Thanks. Updates to follow. It seems like it’s running a bit better, but still kicking me off and then not having any access points for the internet.

[jmarket]

BTW, I notice that my other devices aren’t connected too when this happens, like my iPhone and speakers. Does that mean that maybe it’s not an internet connection thing, but an overall connection thing?

[Bruce]

How do the speaker connect to the PC - bluetooth, 3.5mm jack into the green audio port, wirelessly, or USB?
Same for the iPhone, is it losing connection to the PC or to the internet?

As to Nortons, yes, my recommendation would be not to renew it. But feel free to do what you want. It is a good product, used to use it myself.
But as said, and the reason I ditched it, was it simple is not needed. Windows has an equally good product built right into the system, working at the OS level, created by the same guys who write and maintain the OS. That’s got to be an added advantage.

[jmarket]

How do the speaker connect to the PC - bluetooth, 3.5mm jack into the green audio port, wirelessly, or USB?
Same for the iPhone, is it losing connection to the PC or to the internet?

As to Nortons, yes, my recommendation would be not to renew it. But feel free to do what you want. It is a good product, used to use it myself.
But as said, and the reason I ditched it, was it simple is not needed. Windows has an equally good product built right into the system, working at the OS level, created by the same guys who write and maintain the OS. That’s got to be an added advantage.

Hi, yes I have a bluetooth connection for the speakers and such. Does that help? It loses connection the exact times I lose connection to the internet. I’m not sure if this has changed, but now sometimes when I lose connection, I simply close my computer and let it sleep for a little bit and the connections come back. Thanks for your patience. So I assume it’s simply losing connection to my laptop, since my iPhone stays connected to other things and I have a Chromebook that never has connection problems.

[Bruce]

Since other things are disconnecting as well, it may not be the wireless adapter after all.

Go back to post #13 and in the second paragraph, try those suggested ideas.
Also go to Control Panel, Power Options, and change your power profile to High for a few days to see if that stops things from going to sleep.

The new theory is to make sure the laptop isn’t putting anything to sleep if no activity, or to save power.

[jmarket]

Hmm, ok, sorry I hadn’t provided enough information. Another thing I notice is like the shadow of a couple of boxes appearing and disappearing at startup. Like the vague outline of a box, possibly the size of and from Alexa or something. I typically see two of them quickly flash on the screen.

[Bruce]

It is not unheard of for Windows to flash up a command box as it runs scripts, especially after an update for example.

Also, let’s turn off another sleep function - go to an elevated command prompt window and type in [COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)]powercfg -h off
[COLOR=rgb(255, 255, 255)]That’ll turn off hibernation, see if that makes a difference.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[jmarket]

It is not unheard of for Windows to flash up a command box as it runs scripts, especially after an update for example.

Also, let’s turn off another sleep function - go to an elevated command prompt window and type in [COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)]powercfg -h off
[COLOR=rgb(255, 255, 255)]That’ll turn off hibernation, see if that makes a difference.
[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)][COLOR=rgb(255, 255, 255)]
I went to the command box and entered the prompt. I wasn’t sure if that was it. I pressed enter and it went down and gave me another prompt to fill in, I think. So did it do it just by writing it there? I think I’ve pretty much done everything except get rid of Norton, which I’ll do if this doesn’t work. I am starting to think that my laptop just downloaded some crap with some games that just won’t go away. It’s 8 years old, but I still was hoping it would last longer.[/color][/color]

[jmarket]

It is not unheard of for Windows to flash up a command box as it runs scripts, especially after an update for example.

Also, let’s turn off another sleep function - go to an elevated command prompt window and type in [COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)]powercfg -h off
[COLOR=rgb(255, 255, 255)]That’ll turn off hibernation, see if that makes a difference.
[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)][COLOR=rgb(255, 255, 255)]
Now I’m getting the bluescreen crashes where it restarts itself. It just did it and when it restarted, it had removed my wallpaper, which was a picture I had chosen, and replaced it with a green screen.[/color][/color]

[Bruce]

That powercfg command doesn’t cause any additional fields to be filled in.
Did you copy and paste it?

Maybe it’s time to think about bigger hammers!
Maybe a fresh install of Windows, but you can try a repair install first.
Click Start and literally start typing the word reset, this will find Reset This PC, click that.
Then choose Reset PC, and tell it to keep your files and settings.

Wouldn’t hurt to make sure all your personal files are backed up too, for good measure.

[Bruce]

@Chris M - any progress?