Windows 7 Cannot Connect to Internet

Having problems connecting to the Internet on your new Windows 7 machine? Windows 7 is great and can automatically fix a lot of common problems related to connecting to the Internet, but not all!
The first thing you should try if you having Internet problems is to try and connect from both a wireless and wired connection. You first want to try and narrow down the problem to Windows 7, to your network setup, or to your Internet provider.
Here are some possible solutions you can try that will hopefully get your Internet connection up and running in Windows 7.

Method 1 – Turn Off Firewall/Anti-Virus Programs

One common reason why this problem occurs in new installations of Windows 7 is because of a third-party firewall or anti-virus program. Just to make sure it’s not that, go ahead and uninstall any of these types of programs.
You might be wondering why it would matter, especially if you have the same program running on another computer like XP or Vista. The problem could be that if the firewall or anti-virus program is not compatible with Windows 7, it can accidentally block connections to the Internet.

Method 2 – Install Drivers in Emulation Mode

So if you didn’t buy a new computer and are instead installing Windows 7 on a slightly older machine, you problem could be because of incompatible drivers.
You can fix this in two ways. First, try going to the computer manufactures website and download the latest drivers for your wireless card. Install it and see if the problem is fixed.
If not, it might mean you need to install the driver in compatible mode. You can do this by right-clicking on the executable file, choosing Properties, clicking on the Compatibility tab and checking the box that says “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and then choose the OS.