WIFI Adapter not working

Hi guys,
I'm new to ubuntu,I just installed MATE 16.04.I have issues with my wireless adapters.
Firstly I tried to get my NETGEAR WNA1000M to work and tried a lot of solutions posted throughout most of the forums,
It did not work and then I tried my friend's adapter,MEDIATEK 802.11n which is supposed to be supported but is also not working.
The connections always display Realtek or Mediatek based on the adapter but looks like it is disabled,I haveb een trying for a whole day to get a fix.
I'm afraid I messed up the etc folder with the tons of solutions I tried out,The information for the NETGEAR adapter is
RTL8188C_8192C_USB_linux_v4.0.2_9000.20130911 I.
Thanks in advance,