My wireless hardware appears to have gone AWOL....

Gonzo

Gonzo

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Hi all,

The boy started his laptop the other morning and all of a sudden his wireless connection to the router has stopped working. So, here we go....

Wireless switched on - check, light on :thumb2
Router working - check (other devices use the wireless and its fine) :thumb2
Re-boot a few times - check :thumb2
Network connections - oooh, no wireless connection listed :mad:
Search for new network connection - nothing :mad:
Device manager, network adapter - no wireless device listed just the ethernet - which works fine with a wire in. :mad:

So, unless I'm very much mistaken (and I often am) it looks as if the laptop mice have visited during the night and carried off the built in wireless card that's worked fine for the last two years.

Could it just be a driver problem or as I can't see the device in Device Manager is it a bigger hardware issue requiring the careful application of a monkey wrench and hammer?

Your advice, as ever, will be invaluable.
 
Has he managed to disable the wireless - either by moving a manual switch of hitting the FN+whatever key that toggles wireless on and off?
 
Re-install the drivers.

Mine does exactly the same in my desktop PC....it works intermittently for a few re-boots after reinstalling the drivers, but after a few days, disappears completely, not showing up in device hardware.

Because its a desktop, I just plugged in the router via cable, but obviously this is more inconvenient for you with a laptop.


Try re-installing from the device disc, or download the latest version and try that.....if it doesn't work, a replacement should be cheap enough, or you can get a USB wifi dongle for £20-ish (just a guess that....the last one I bought was about £30 four or five years ago)
 
Thanks chaps.

Have tried the switches, nothing doing.

I'd like to try And install the drivers but as I can't see the device type in device manager, how do I find the right driver?

And if the laptop won't recognise the device, will the driver work?
 
Gonzo said:
Thanks chaps.

Have tried the switches, nothing doing.

I'd like to try And install the drivers but as I can't see the device type in device manager, how do I find the right driver?

And if the laptop won't recognise the device, will the driver work?
Click to expand...


Two options......if it's a card, you should be able to open a panel on te laptop and get a number from it, or even ping it out of its slot if it's one of that type.

It could also be on the Mobo, so in that case Google the model of the laptop and you should find the specs for it fairly quickly....obviously try the manufacturer's website first.

Once you have the model of the wifi device, it should be easy to fins the driver/combined driver and prog.

Again, the manufacturer's website is the best place to start.....or load up the original installation disc and the driver/software ap will hopefully be on that.
 
Fanum said:
Two options......if it's a card, you should be able to open a panel on te laptop and get a number from it, or even ping it out of its slot if it's one of that type.

It could also be on the Mobo, so in that case Google the model of the laptop and you should find the specs for it fairly quickly....obviously try the manufacturer's website first.

Once you have the model of the wifi device, it should be easy to fins the driver/combined driver and prog.

Again, the manufacturer's website is the best place to start.....or load up the original installation disc and the driver/software ap will hopefully be on that.
Click to expand...

Thanks Fanum.

OK, have found a site with the driver, have downloaded it and extracted the file from the zip file. There appears to be no auto-launch so I've clicked on the system file (the only one that's not a text file) and got the "find a programme to open this file" message.

With no hardware appearing in the device manager (and therefore no "update driver" option) how do I install the driver?

Your help is appreciated. :thumb2
 
Gonzo said:
Vista.
Click to expand...

That one word, small and innocuous, previously describing a view of something beautiful, is now hated. Bloody Microsoft.

All I can think of is whether you are now using the laptop further away from the modem than before. Perhaps in another room where the signals can't get through?
 
ExpatinIstanbul said:
All I can think of is whether you are now using the laptop further away from the modem than before. Perhaps in another room where the signals can't get through?
Click to expand...

No, because the device would still be appearing, though maybe not connecting.


Gonzo said:
Thanks Fanum.

OK, have found a site with the driver, have downloaded it and extracted the file from the zip file. There appears to be no auto-launch so I've clicked on the system file (the only one that's not a text file) and got the "find a programme to open this file" message.

With no hardware appearing in the device manager (and therefore no "update driver" option) how do I install the driver?

Your help is appreciated. :thumb2
Click to expand...

Er.....oooo.

Um.....

Catch 22 :(

Usually, there'll be a software app for the device, as well as a standalone driver.


See if Google comes up with anything else for that device......

If not, google to find out what chipset the device has, then google to fond a generic driver app for it...go to add new hardware, add trhe closest device to the one you've actually got if its not listed, then tell it to install and point it at the driver you have.

It should work, but I'm not au fait with Vista :(
 
When my HP laptop did as you describe last year it took an new motherboard to make the thing work again, thankfully it was under warranty (and running XP) If I was presented with the same problem today I would be very tempted to just get an external USB wireless dongle and use that, fixed for under a tenner that way. :thumb2

Stewart
 
Thanks to you all. I'm gonna try Fanum's suggestion before going for the external dongle. :thumb2

Fujitsu Siemens, out of warranty. :mad:
 
Fanum said:
If not, google to find out what chipset the device has, then google to fond a generic driver app for it...go to add new hardware, add trhe closest device to the one you've actually got if its not listed, then tell it to install and point it at the driver you have.

It should work, but I'm not au fait with Vista :(
Click to expand...

Might work but the various links I can find imply that unless it turns up in Device Manager you are not going to get anywhere

http://www.vistaforums.com/Forum/Topic13820-21-1.aspx#bm152234
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5152978_vista-store-drivers.html
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/updatemanagement/bb310559.aspx
 
Thanks to you all for the advice and help.

I got as far as doing absolutely bugger all about it and then..................one day as if by magic, the wireless started working and appearing on the device manager. :confused::thumb2

Very wierd - as if there's a loose wire and that a damn good thump has sorted it - for now!:augie

:beerjug:
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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