jnelsoninjax Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 So this laptop is used just for watching movies by my nephew, and it has been sitting idle for awhile and the last time I attempted to turn it on, nothing would come up on the display, however this latest time the display is working. However, there is no WiFi detected despite there being a wireless network in the house >10 feet from where the laptop is sitting, pressing the FN+F3 buttons to turn of/off WiFi yields nothing, I downloaded the wireless adapter drivers to a USB drive and installed them, but nothing becomes of that. Per the device manager, the only items listed under network adapters, are a whole bunch of WAN drivers. I decided to reset windows, which took 6+ hours, and that still does not enable WiFi. I am now assuming that the WiFi radio must be damaged, as there are signs that the laptop has been dropped/hit/etc. (nephew is non-verbal autistic). The laptop was purchased as refurbished from Amazon, and it has a sticker indicating a date of manufacturing 10/21/2016 so 6 years old. It will still function for the purpose of watching movies, but since there is no internet connection, loading different videos on to it will be a massive undertaking. Based on what I have described, do you feel it is safe to assume that the WiFi radio is not working any longer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted October 28, 2022 Moderator Share Posted October 28, 2022 (edited) Can you run a Linux Boot-stick and see if it picks up anything? If not, I'm afraid your Wi-Fi card is dead. I had to reeplace a lot of them over the year. They aren't that great, tbh. If ethernet is bad, can you open the case and make sure everything is soldered? As for the screen, does an outside source work? I assume it has a VGA output? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Murcek Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 USB Wi-Fi stick is not a very expensive fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnelsoninjax Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 On 28/10/2022 at 15:03, Mindovermaster said: Can you run a Linux Boot-stick and see if it picks up anything? If not, I'm afraid your Wi-Fi card is dead. I had to reeplace a lot of them over the year. They aren't that great, tbh. If ethernet is bad, can you open the case and make sure everything is soldered? As for the screen, does an outside source work? I assume it has a VGA output? The screen works just fine, I am not 100% certain what caused the problem the first time I tried. I have not tried a Linux boot, I will try that. Which one would you suggest? On 28/10/2022 at 15:30, M. Murcek said: USB Wi-Fi stick is not a very expensive fix I have one somewhere around here that is USB-C to Ethernet, that used for my niece's Nintendo Switch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted October 31, 2022 Supervisor Share Posted October 31, 2022 Hello, Have you opened the laptop to confirm it still has a Wi-Fi card in it? Perhaps the refurbisher removed it. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Jose_49 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnelsoninjax Posted November 4, 2022 Author Share Posted November 4, 2022 On 31/10/2022 at 03:16, goretsky said: Hello, Have you opened the laptop to confirm it still has a Wi-Fi card in it? Perhaps the refurbisher removed it. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Yes, it does have a Wi-Fi card in it, as it was working before. I can only assume that it has become broken/dislodged due to my nephew's outburts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted November 4, 2022 Supervisor Share Posted November 4, 2022 Hello, If the card is loose or the antennas are dislodged perhaps you can reseat them? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now