Fixing a laptop?

[DavidHale]

Stepdaughter No. 1's (Dell) laptop won't connect to the t'internet which for her is roughly akin to having her arm chopped off. I suspect it's either the conector socket itself or the modem bit. Before she buys a new one rolleyes how easy are these to open up? I've built up a few computers from scratch in my time so I'm quite happy with fiddling about with them, but do laptops have snap-off fixings that I'll break as soon as look at them or are they easy to work on?

 

[POG]

Check the Firewall settings. Try un-installing and then re-installing.

A similar thing happened to me (using Comodo) and was okay after. Easier (and cheaper)than new laptop. I'm probably wrong tho

 

[DavidHale]

I don't think it's a software issue - the little light that should come on at the socket doesn't come on at all, so a hardware issue?

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

they're fairly easy to pull aprt and rebuild

what have you got to lose if you're thinking about a new one anyway

 

[Fanum]

I don't think it's a software issue - the little light that should come on at the socket doesn't come on at all, so a hardware issue?

There's also a key combo that turns off the wifi , which I would presume would physically turn off the card so the light wouldn't be on.......Fn+F4.

Or in the tooltray, you can also disable it/Enable it.....look for enable/disable radio.

 

[wessie]

Modem bit?

Are you using dial up or on broadband?

 

[Steve]

I presume you're talking about the network connection socket? Mine packed up on my Inspiron a few years back. It was under warranty, so I called out the engineer. I didn't watch him, but it only took him about 10 minutes to replace it, so it can't be that difficult.

There are several DIY guides on t'internet, depending on the model.

 

[Stewart H]

In case you cant find a wireless card to replace the deadun why not just get hold of a wireless usb dongle ? both of my laptops are pretty easy to get the wireless card out of. In the case of one it was actually the motherboard that was the problem, if not for warranty I would have just fitted a dongle.
Stewart

 

[wessie]

In case you cant find a wireless card to replace the deadun why not just get hold of a wireless usb dongle ? both of my laptops are pretty easy to get the wireless card out of. In the case of one it was actually the motherboard that was the problem, if not for warranty I would have just fitted a dongle.
Stewart

This is what I would do. Simple solution for under a tenner http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132439

However, as the OP is using a wired connection for a laptop, he may not have a wifi router.

Incidentally, the laptop may already have a wifi adapter in it.

 

[DavidHale]

they're fairly easy to pull aprt and rebuild

what have you got to lose if you're thinking about a new one anyway

That's exactly my thoughts, so the screwdrivers will come out soon (once I've saved all her limewire downloads. ).

I know the world and his dog uses wifi, but I've hardwired our house as we only let the kids use t'internet outside their bedrooms (ie, in the living room where we can monitor it). When they get to 16 then I connect the sockets in their bedrooms as in theory they are mature enough to use it wisely. Yeah, right...

 

[Pazza87]

Hello

Just before you open it up. Cat5 cables are useless on laptop. because they are taken in and out. They can be damaged. i don;t know if you have done this but. if you can change the Cat5 just to check.
hope you get it fixed

Dan

 

[maz]

Few system settings you can check

In vista(classic view)/XP
Control Panel > System > Device Manager:-
Looking for "Network Adapters"
You should see something like "*Ethernet Network device*" (could be anything but it will be in the network adapters list)
and then just right click on the properties and check that its turned on and says its working.

• If its there and isn't working, try troubleshoot/update drivers and see if that works. (you may want to check that the network is enabled.)

• If its missing - its either broken or has been disabled on the bios (I dont have a dell handy to check the options @ the bios)

If it is showing at the Laptop side, its probably your cable or router/modem.

If not, its either bios/hardware -- Hardware on Dell Laptops is fairly easy to work with and there are lots of guides about if you search for your model, but if you don't feel like risking it...

You can just go 108G wireless for around £35 if your on cable(virgin) or £55 for ADSL (BT/TalkTalk etc). (look for the bundles with a usb stick as they usually work out cheaper.)

If you already have a wireless hub, you could probably just get a usb stick for ~£5-10 on Amazon.

 

[Deleted account D]

if its hardware try this

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=724260&category_oid=

usb to ethernet