# Wireless card not turning on at all



## timailius (Jan 11, 2010)

Hey folks,

My girlfriend's computer has quite suddenly developed the problem that the wireless card simply will not turn on. The computer is about 2 years old, and has never had this problem before. 

She has an Asus Notebook G60 Vx Series, which has a switch on the front as well as Fn+F2 for turning wireless on/off. Yesterday, she noticed it wasn't working even though the switch was "on", but was able to use Fn+F2 to enable it. Today, neither will work. It simply won't turn on.

Ethernet works fine when connected directly to the router. Device manager detects "Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN" as working correctly and drivers as up-to-date. 

I feel like this must be a software/driver problem, but everything seems to be checking out... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

IPCONFIG /ALL below:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Karen
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-FA-77-73-03
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-FA-77-73-02
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.ma.comcast.net.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 90-E6-BA-7F-A8-34
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{D1C7D0C4-DDE4-4DFB-A016-A92EB21B285D}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.hsd1.ma.comcast.net.:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter 6TO4 Adapter:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Reusable Microsoft 6To4 Adapter:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #3
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #4
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes



Thanks.


----------



## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Try installing the latest drivers from the website. Put them on USB and take them over to the laptop.

I know you already checked in Device Manager and DM is claiming that's not an issue, but I wonder if it's lying to you.


----------



## TheCyberMan (Jun 25, 2011)

Check in the bios under integrated periperals that the Wlan card is enabled just in case it has been inadvertenly turned off.


----------



## timailius (Jan 11, 2010)

How do I check the bios?


----------



## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Restart the computer, look for a message at the bottom of the screen saying something like "Press F1 for setup". Might be a different button. Start hitting that button repeatedly as soon as you see the message.


----------



## timailius (Jan 11, 2010)

@epshatto: Thanks. This ASUS doesn't display that message, (annoying, it plays a stupid animation/sound at startup instead), but I looked it up on Google. Turns out to be F2. 

I also downloaded Intel's driver utility from their website and ran it on her computer. It seems to have run its course, and the device manager still tells me everything is fine. No luck there.

@TheCyberMan: The "BIOS SETUP UTILITY" does not seem to have an "Integrated Peripherals" option anywhere. Various Google results tell me it should be there, but I cannot find it. In the interest of exhaustive information, the utility gives me the following:

MAIN TAB:
-System Overview, (AMIBIOS version, Processor, System memory) 
-System Time [hh:mm:ss] 
-System Date [date]

ADVANCED TAB:
> IDE Configuration
-SATA Operation Mode ['Enhanced']
> AHCI Port0 ['Hard Disk']
> AHCI Port1 ['ATAPI CDROM']
-Start Easy Flash [Select ENTER to run]
-ASUS FancyStart ['Disabled']
-Internal Pointing Device ['Enabled']
-Play POST Sound ['Yes']
-Speaker Volume ['4']
-USB Legacy Support ['Disabled']
-Intel VT-d ['Disabled']
-DTS-based Thermal Management ['Disabled']

SECURITY TAB:
Security Settings:
-Change Supervisor Password
-Change User Password
> Hard Disk Security Setting
-Change HDD Master Password/User Password
> I/O Interface Security
-AUDIO Interface ['Unlocked']
-LAN Network Interface ['Unlocked']
-Wireless Network Interface ['Unlocked']
-SATA ODD ['Unlocked']
-eSATA Port ['Unlocked']
-Express Card Interface ['Unlocked']
-Card Reader/1394 Interfaces ['Unlocked']
-USB Interface ['Unlocked']
-External Ports ['Unlocked']

BOOT TAB:
> Boot Settings Config
-Quiet Boot ['Enabled']

>Boot Device Priority
-1st Boot Device ['Hard Drive']
-2nd Boot Device ['CD/DVD']
-3rd Boot Device ['Removable Device']
-4th Boot Device ['Network']
> Hard Disk Drives
-1st Drive ['HDD:etc...']
> CD/DVD Drives
-1st Drive ['CD/DVD:etc...']

-Onboard LAN Boot ROM ['Disabled']

EXIT TAB:
-Save changes and exit
-Etc...

If anything catches your eye that should be helpful, let me know.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks.


----------



## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Your wireless is enabled in BIOS.

What happens if you try to use a USB wireless adapter? Can you buy one to plug into the laptop and check? I'm wondering if the wireless adapter has simply failed.


----------



## timailius (Jan 11, 2010)

So the wireless card suddenly works again. After the 18th restart and resetting countless options with no success, the computer went to sleep and turned on the wireless card when it woke up. 

Go figure.

So... obviously I don't know what was wrong, haven't really fixed anything, and wouldn't be surprised if this happens again in the next few days. This feels like a hardware problem rather than a driver/software problem, since I can't imagine any drivers or registry keys or anything decided to update themselves in the last few hours of their own accord. So if anyone has advice on the hardware front, or a different opinion of what the problem might be, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks.


----------



## TheCyberMan (Jun 25, 2011)

Agree with epshatto the card may be failing, the only thing you could check is if the card is seated correctly if you are not confident in opening up your a computer then a local computer shop can check this for you for a nominal charge.

You cannot fix the card if it is failing only replacement or buy a usb adapter as has been suggested.


----------

