Annoyances.org
Home » Networking, Internet, & Administration » Article 04-500 Search | Help | Home
  
Tip: Run a free scan for common Windows errors ad

Eliminate 'Multiple Networks' and Get Your Internet Back in Windows Vista

Intended For
Windows Vista only
From time to time in Windows Vista, particularly after waking up a PC from standby mode, you may be without Internet access. The problem is often caused by Vista's poorly-implemented named networks feature in the Network and Sharing Center, in which an esoteric entity known as Multiple networks appears to be blocking communication with the rest of the outside world, like this:

The fix for the problem is relatively simple, but requires that the steps be performed in a very specific order:

  1. Open the Network and Sharing Center page in the Windows Control Panel.
  2. Confirm that it says Multiple networks immediately underneath the middle icon, just like the screenshot above.
  3. Click the Customize link to the right of the first network shown, found directly under the Internet icon, to show the Set Network Location window:
  4. Move the Set Network Location window out of the way, but leave it open. (You'll need it in a minute, but at a time when it's otherwise inaccessible.)
  5. Back on the Network and Sharing Center page, click the Manage network connections link (in the lefthand Tasks pane).
  6. In the Network Connections window, highlight the network adapter through which you get your Internet. (From the Views drop-down, select Details; the one you want likely says something like Network, Unidentified network in the Status column.)
  7. Click the Disable this network device button above (next to the big red X). Wait a couple of seconds for the graphic on the Network and Sharing Center page to reflect the change.
  8. Return to the Set Network Location window you opened in step #3, and click the Merge or delete network locations link at the bottom.
  9. Despite Vista's earlier assertion that it detected "multiple networks," you'll likely see only one network in the Merge or Delete Network Locations window:
  10. Highlight the lone entry and then click Delete. (If there's more than one, you can delete them all.)
  11. When you're done, close the Merge or Delete Network Locations window and then close the Set Network Location window.
  12. Return to the Network Connections window, and with the disabled network adapter still highlighted from step #6, click the Enable this network device button (next to the big orange arrow).
  13. After a 10-15 second delay, your Internet should now be working, signified by the absense of the treacherous Multiple networks entry on the Network and Sharing Center page:

This article has been recently supported by and featured on this Internet Webhosting Guide

Written by: Annoyances.org
Last updated: Saturday, June 21, 2008

Care to discuss this article with other Windows users? Select your operating system here, and click Continue to post your question.

Previous discussions about this article:
(open a message to see applicable responses, if any)

Return to "Networking, Internet, & Administration"


All content at Annoyances.org is Copyright ©1995-2012 Creative Elementtm All rights reserved.
Please do not plagiarize; redistributing these pages without permission is strictly prohibited.