Weird WIFI Problem: Unable to "SEE" available wireless networks

Hi and Greetings from Lima, Peru !!!!

I am trying to help my daughter who has a VAIO SVE1511PGXS laptop running Windows 7 64 Bits Home Premium with a weird problem in that the available nearby WIFI networks are not "SEEN" or shown when hovering the mouse over the WIFI icon on the task bar.

If you add a WIFI network by hand the laptop will connect and work normally but if you move to another location and need to change to a different access point the available networks will not show and you need to enter the network again manually. INSSIDER or similar programs will show available networks without a problem.

The laptop has a QUALCOMM ATHEROS AR9485WB-EG wireless/bluetooth combination card and have already tried updating the drivers (to bothe the SONY website version and the Qualcomm version) with no results.

Have uninstalled Sony's EASY CONNECT and Smart Network and also unistalled/reinstalled the Client for Microsoft Networks as suggested in several places but problem persists. The WIFI service (WLAN AUTO CONFIG) starts automatically and does not report errors.

Have also tried resetting WINSOCK and TCPIP but no dice....

My daughter is not sure when this problem started (several months ago) but she believes it happened after installing a group of Windows updates several weeks ago....

At this point it would appear to be that the only remedy would be a full Windows 7 reinstall but my daughter has TONS of email, pictures, documents. etc and reinstalling all of these would be a major task!

Any help on this matter would really be appreciated !!!!

Many thanks in advance,

JCC2

You could see this thread regarding the zero-config service. Or maybe qualcomm or sony have firmware separate from the actual drivers.

If it comes to a reinstall, MigWiz will transfer all the settings and documents with a few clicks. Always have a separate backup though.

Hi Paul...

Many thanks for your prompt reply....

As mentioned in my post, the WLAN AUTOCONFIG service is operational (the Zero Config service applies to XP) and the laptop can connect to the wifi networks if you know they are there and the SSID an password.

The problem would appear to be Windows related and is driving me nuts! It seems to be that a full reinstall might be the only solution and MIGWIZ might come in handy.

Once again, thanks for your reply!

JCC2

Working from memory here but in the network settings, there is a primary WIFI network selection option,
has this now been checked (always use this network), if you uncheck it, you should be able to see all available networks when you hover over the icon.

Roy

Hi Roy..

Thanks for your reply.... Have looked all over trying to find the primary network in network settings but I have been unable to find it.... Maybe you can give some better directions?

Thanks in advance,

JCC2

Hi JCC2,
Right click on signal strengh bars select open network and sharing.
Select Manage wireless connections.
This >>>should<<< show you your primary connection,
now here's the good bit, see screenshot,
select your primary network (right click) select properties,(as you can see i only have 1),
but if i>> uncheck << the connect automatically, all of my neighbours connections will show up.
This i believe is what you need/want.

When the others appear you can then add them/or scroll over the signal bars and select which one you want.

Roy

Hi Roy...

Tried your suggestion... No luck... Au contraire, as soon as I unselected the "connect automatically" the laptop got disconnected and I couldn't see any of the many available WIFI signals nearby.

This problem would appear to be a windows registry or file corruption but until now I have not been able to sort it out.

I imagine a full reinstall would solve the problem but I am still reluctant to do it....

Thanks once again,

JCC2