My laptop does not pick up any wireless networks

[latina1979]

Several months ago my computer stopped picking up any wireless networks. I can connect using an Ethernet cable and a USB wireless adapter. I have troubleshooted and removed my driver and updated software; I even upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 hoping that might fix the problem but it didn’t. I am thinking it may be my internal wireless card. So you recommend going to a hotspot to see if I can pick up there? I would think I would have to do that considering the USB adapter picks up multiple wireless networks but my internal one picks up none so I think that already rules out my router being a problem.

 

[Bill2]

Looks like a bad internal wireless card. Are you sure you havent switched it off with some toggle button? is it shown in the device manager?

 

[latina1979]

It does show in device manager and that it is working properly. My wireless switch is on, well I have it off since I am using the USB and gave up on troubleshooting but I wanted to give one last try on this forum since I addressed it in the VIsta forum before I upgraded to 7. I should mention that I did have a virus that was removed; issues originated from a improper hibernation that resulted in the start of my wireless problem where I would get it intermittently and chkdsk ran at restart and hibernate wasn't even working at all. I removed the virus, stopped chkdsk and removed AVG just because and upgraded to Windows 7 which caused a chkdsk error to come up but upon restart when upgrade was finished it ran chkdsk and seemed to resolve that issue. It hibernates fine and everything seems fine except I still don't connect to ANY wireless networks.

 

[latina1979]

It does show in device manager and that it is working properly. My wireless switch is on, well I have it off since I am using the USB and gave up on troubleshooting but I wanted to give one last try on this forum since I addressed it in the VIsta forum before I upgraded to 7. I should mention that I did have a virus that was removed; issues originated from a improper hibernation that resulted in the start of my wireless problem where I would get it intermittently and chkdsk ran at restart and hibernate wasn't even working at all. I removed the virus, stopped chkdsk and removed AVG just because and upgraded to Windows 7 which caused a chkdsk error to come up but upon restart when upgrade was finished it ran chkdsk and seemed to resolve that issue. It hibernates fine and everything seems fine except I still don't connect to ANY wireless networks.

The chkdsk said saomething about a corrupt drive x: but again upon restart it seemed to fix the problem because I watched it and it cleaned some file # which I have written down at home.

 

[Bill2]

So without the usb adapter and the internal card turned ON, what do you see in the system tray- the wireless icon with a red cross or with an orange asterisk or something else?

 

[Oaken]

Have you tried in this order- unplugging modem/router power supply (whilst active) > power off PC > leave for 2-5 mins > plug modem/router back in > wait 60 secs > start PC

Have you double checked your router is set to broadcast it’s network name (SSID), that the SSID is correct and that you are using the correct type of key. If you're attempting to use WPA or WPA2, check that these are supported by both your adapter and router. If you are having issues detecting your wireless network using WPA or WPA2, try using WEP instead to see if you are able to connect (if using an 802.11N router, try switching over to WPA2-AES encryption)?

Which Anti-Virus are you using?

Are you using a firewall and if so which one?

 

[latina1979]

So without the usb adapter and the internal card turned ON, what do you see in the system tray- the wireless icon with a red cross or with an orange asterisk or something else?

I have seen both of them but I think most recently and more often I see the red cross if my switch is on but i do not have the usb inserted.

 

[latina1979]

Have you tried in this order- unplugging modem/router power supply (whilst active) > power off PC > leave for 2-5 mins > plug modem/router back in > wait 60 secs > start PC

Have you double checked your router is set to broadcast it’s network name (SSID), that the SSID is correct and that you are using the correct type of key. If you're attempting to use WPA or WPA2, check that these are supported by both your adapter and router. If you are having issues detecting your wireless network using WPA or WPA2, try using WEP instead to see if you are able to connect (if using an 802.11N router, try switching over to WPA2-AES encryption)?

Which Anti-Virus are you using?

Are you using a firewall and if so which one?

I have reset my modem/router (AT&T Uverse) because it has a battery supply hooked up to it in addition to the power cable. But when I have done this my Pc has been on. DO you recommend doing so, waiting and then powering on PC?

My router has to be broadcasting since the USB picks up the name doesn't it?

How do I check if my router and adapter both support WPA which is how it is formatted now?

I do not have an antivirus installed. I had Norton until it expired and then I used AVG but I have since uninstalled.

I also do not have firewall protection I dont think.

 

[Bill2]

A red cross means that as far as the card is concerned, no wireless network exists. Irrespective of whether the router supports or does not support WPA, the card should at least detect the network. The only reasons I can think of are:

1) No wireless network exists- this is not true because the usb adapter picks up the network.

2) The card is bad.

3) The driver is bad.

4) Card is physically turned off.

 

[latina1979]

A red cross means that as far as the card is concerned, no wireless network exists. Irrespective of whether the router supports or does not support WPA, the card should at least detect the network. The only reasons I can think of are:

1) No wireless network exists- this is not true because the usb adapter picks up the network.

2) The card is bad.

3) The driver is bad.

4) Card is physically turned off.

How do you determine if the card is bad?

How can I tell if driver is bad which it shouldn't be since I have uninstalled and my computer installed a new upon restart.

My wireless on switch is ON but is there a way to make sure my card isn't turned off?

 

[ski]

Sometimes reseating the card will fix the problem. But that requires the disassembly of the laptop.
The normal method for determining a card is bad is to swap it out.

 

[Bill2]

Well the most direct way would be to swap the card with a known working one, if thats not possible read on.

Check in device manager, under network adapters. Determine the card vendor and check their website for troubleshooting.

Check the Sony Support web site under drivers and downloads for a diagnostic utility for the card.

Try pinging your router and a web address.

Finally, open a command prompt and type ipconfig /all, hit Enter.What does it say for the wireless connection?