Acer Aspire X3475 Problems After Repair

After I recieved back my computer (also an Aspire X3475) from the Acer repair team 3 days ago, I'm also no longer able to connect to the internet.
I especially find it annoying as I've spent many painful hours looking for the answer; but none of the "solutions" work, and Acer still hasn't responded to my message. And the live chat doesn't even work.

I might as well show the message I sent them here:

Klant Via webformulier  - 16/10/2013 04:44 NM
Yesterday UPS brought back my computer from the Acer repair team (referencenr. 8304827G), and besides that it froze on me right when I got into Windows, my main problem now is that I can no longer connect to the internet.

I already found it very unsettling when the screws nearly unscrewed themselves out of the computer as I screwed on the internet antenna(s) at the back, as this really didn't happen before, but I recon I managed to do it right, as my computer does recieve all the internet connections I'm familliar with. 
I just can't connect to mine anymore.

The computer had a defective HDD, and even though the staff didn't leave a note telling what exactly they fixed, I'm assuming they followed my instructions and installed a new hard drive. And now I'm messing about on an unregistered Windows copy with no internet.

I'm out of options.
It doesn't make any sense, I was able to connect just fine before all this. What on earth did the Acer staff do and why can't I fix it.

[edited title for clarity and issue]

Accepted answers

All comments

Tommy-Acer

Based on what you're saying above:

The system was sent in for a defective hard drive.
You should have received documentation with the system indicating what was done. Do you have that?
Where did you send it and do you have a ticket number that I can reference?
You are having difficulty accessing the internet.
What troubleshooting have you done for this?
Is the card visible and working properly in Device Manager?
What specific issue are you seeing?
Unregistered copy of Windows? I'm not sure how this relates. Do you mean Activated?
Where are you seeing this, please?

ananas

What I'm saying above:
1. Yes.
2. No, sir. I just wrote "..and even though the staff didn't leave a note telling what exactly they fixed, I'm assuming they followed my instructions and installed a new hard drive". No summary in the e-mail, no summary in the returned box. Very strange.
3. I sent it to the Acer Group Customer Service in 's Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. I also mentioned that, it was "8304827G".

I sure do have difficulty accessing the internet.
1. I tried to reinstall the Atheros driver, install the latest BIOS for my computer from the Acer site, manually type in the IP adress/gateway/etc, change the settings of my router, try to assign a new IP to my computer through command prompt, and probably some more stuff I forgot to mention.
2. Yes.
3. Basically, it looks like I don't have an IP address (anymore). My computer finds all the nearby internet connections just fine, but it won't let me connect. If I try to connect to my familiar internet connection, it'll try for a few seconds, but then it'll say it can't connect to this connection. When I tried the ipconfig command in command prompt, it says "Media disconnected" to everything in the list.
(http://i43.tinypic.com/inv3ph.jpg)

It doesn't relate.
Every time Windows takes me to a section that's usually personalized by the user, like the Windows login screen, I instead get a big blue screen telling me I need to activate Windows. I can skip it and go back to the desktop, but it's a good/annoying reminder.

Tommy-Acer

Repair

Thank you. I will have to forward the request to our European service, and it will take some time to investigate things for you on the repair.

Internet

Can you connect via ethernet cable?

Strange that it's not even giving you a 164.x.x.x Windows allocated IP. I do note that there is no DNS entry on any of those adapters. I will assume that you've attempted IPCONFIG /RELEASE and /RENEW.

Which driver version do you have installed for the Atheros?

Windows activation

Have you attempted to activate via phone?

It usually takes 10-15 minutes to walk through that process.

Do you have a specific message on the Activation screen describing why it needs to activate? Possibly at the bottom of the screen.

ananas

:[

I don't know, because I'll have to unplug everything and carry the whole thing downstairs to test that out. But I was once able to connect wireless, so unless the conclusion is of high importance to this issue, I'd rather not go through that.
I have attempted that. It did nothing.
"WLAN Atheros 10.0.0.217.v3".

I don't want to, sir. To be quite honest, I deem this computer useless if I can't even get internet for it, as I need it for my job. So until then, activating Windows is my last concern. I don't see a timer on it, so I can't say I feel rushed to activate it.

My computer is off right now, but what I can remember is that it said you had to activate Windows if you wanted to personalize it. That is all. And it only says that if you're about to personalize; so not on the message screen itself, which is actually pretty empty-looking.
I looked up the picture, and this is what it looks like: http://cdn3.spicytricks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/eb-windows8-rtm-activate.jpg

Tommy-Acer

OK, based on all of that, I'm going to recommend that you attempt to restore the system to factory defaults first. This will eliminate any possible software issue that may be keeping you from connecting to the internet.

Please review this article:
Reloading your Acer Computer

ananas

But is that really going to do anything?
When I recieved my computer and booted it up, it already had to install itself; just like when you turn on a computer for the first time.

Tommy-Acer

What was done to the system after setup?

Did you install anything or remove anything?

Obviously, there is an issue with the wireless connectivity. I"m attempting to get a baseline that I can work from. I have no way of seeing the system or knowing what has been done to the system hardware or software.

You could certainly call technical support and have them bring the system back in to see if the issue(s) can be addressed through service.

ananas

The first thing that happened is that my computer froze and I had to forcefully shut it down.
When I started it back up again, I removed McAfee. Then I wanted to see if my internet worked; so I didn't remove or add anything else before that point. Internet hasn't worked since day one.

I am so tired of this. I haven't been able to do any work since the first day my computer broke down, and I just got my computer, but now I have to send it away again? Is there really not a simple solution to this? A known basic edit the repair staff does when replacing a hard drive that causes this?

Tommy-Acer

I can understand that the situation is frustrating.

You stated the system was reloaded but not working.

Now, I'm understanding that there was a forced shut down, which could have corrupted registry entries or other pieces of software. You also uninstalled McAfee.

No, there is not a simple solution to a complicated problem. The first step is to rule out software issues.

I'm suggesting that you recover the system to it's baseline factory load, so that you can set up the wireless and test it.

ananas

And I just placed back all my files, too. There is no peace for the busy. I guess I'll just have to try.

It's late over here, so I'll do it tomorrow and let you know the conclusion.

ananas

Trying to repair with help of Acer Recovery Management doesn't work. It asks me to place a medium, as "some files are missing".
Will Alt+F10 be good enough here?

ananas

Can someone please give an answer.

If this program is telling me "files are missing" for it to repair my computer, will repairing it through Alt+F10 be wise. I don't want to end up formatting my computer, but not being able to reinstall it.

Tommy-Acer

ALT + F10 will utilize the restore partition on the system.

Please review this article: Reloading your Acer Computer

ananas

I know what it does, I'm just asking if it's a good idea to take that route based on what I told you.

Restoring to a different point in time won't do anything here, and Acer Recovery Management is being difficult; there aren't any other options for me to follow from that link you're giving me.

Tommy-Acer

Yes, please use the ALT + F10 if you're having issues with media.

ananas

Alt + F10 doesn't even work. What the coo.

I looked on the internet, and I found many people talking about enabling "D2D Recovery" in the BIOS settings, but I see no such option.
What am I supposed to do now.

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