Network interface cards (NICs) are very reliable and rarely fail. But sometimes strange things can happen which prevent the NIC from working properly. If you find your network connections aren't working quite right, then you might find the NIC repair utility helpful. The repair utility is a lot faster than restarting the computer!

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel
2. In the Control Panel switch to Category view and click on the Network and Internet Connections icon
3. On the Network and Internet Connections page, click on the Network Connections icon
4. Right click on your Local Area Connection and click Repair.
5. The Repair Connection dialog box will appear and inform you that the Repair operation has completed. Click OK.

Now try to get to the Internet or another computer on your network. Everything should work OK. If not, restart the computer. You might have to get a computer expert to help if restarting the computer doesn't help!