Recently we had some virus issues we took care of using Avast & Malware bytes (did full scans, allowed them to delete infected).
Right after that, we were unable to connect to the internet using that computer. Initially, we thought the problem was with the port (the one that looks like a phone jack that we plug the line from the router into to go online). We knew it wasn’t the router, b/c my laptop picked up wifi from it, but to be certain, I plugged the wire we had in the desktop into the laptop’s port, and it was able to go online.
Someone suggested that it wasn’t the port, but another issue. They told me:


. “…My money says it's your driver for your network controller. Here's how to find out: Boot up your pc. Then go to device manager. Click the plus sign next to "network adapters." Look for your network controller. If it has a red "x" a yellow yield sign or a yellow question mark next to it, or if it's missing, you will need to install the driver. If it appears with none of these symbols next to it, then the issue is your network adapter…”

After I tried what he said, I didn’t find the “network controller” that was supposed to be under the network adaptors.
Caveat being, I’m pathetically lost as to what it means to “install the driver”. I believe it means I download something- and it makes sense, b/c I’m thinking perhaps it was accidently deleted when we had the virus issues, if it was one of the infected things. But now I’ve got no idea how to go about fixing it- for one, I can’t go online with that desktop- I do have a laptop though, so if needed, I could go online with the laptop and download the needed driver to one of my roomie’s flash drives (if they’re big enough to hold a driver- he says he believes they’re 2gig), to then download to the desktop- (if the driver is too big to store on removable storage, I don’t have the USB cord I would need to download the driver to my laptop, then transfer to my desktop).

Can anyone advise me on how to go about this process? Where would I get a driver from, and is there a proper name, or a specific one I need? My desktop that is missing it is running on Windows Xp and is a:

Dell Desk Top Computer
Date on Dell Feb. 23, 2004
Dell Optiplex GX270
IntelPentium 4 w/rewritable DVD & 3 ½ inch floppy


Thanks in advance for any advice, you guys have saved my computer more than once, you totally rock- i've been hailing your name to everyone i know Smile...