Solved I am having a problem with WiFi on my laptop

[jrj350]

This is probably a silly question, but I am at my wits end.

I have a HP All-in-One desktop computer that does not have a Wi-Fi driver installed. Therefore, of course, I can not use Wi-Fi on that computer. Using LAN cable works just fine.

I have a Dell laptop which has Wi-Fi drivers and I use it exclusively as a wireless interface to the world.

I have searched the HP site trying to find the driver I need, but they don't even recognize the HP All-in-One 200 that I have.

I don't know if the driver on my Dell laptop would work on the HP. I suspect not, but what the heck, it doesn't hurt to ask. does it?

Both computers are running Windows 7 64-bit.

 

[maxie]

Hi there .... No the Dell Drivers will not work ... What is the exact Model Number of your Computer ....

 

[jrj350]

Hello maxie,
Thanks for the reply -

It is an HP All-in-One 200-5120is
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1

 

[strollin]

How old is the laptop? Have you tried contacting HP?

 

[maxie]

I did find your Drivers but only a Driver for the Realtek Networking Controller Driver .. Which you already have working ... So go to the Device Manager and the Network Controller that has the missing Driver ... Select it then right click select Property's / And Post the Hardware ID ....

 

[jrj350]

I'm not sure what you mean by, "Hardware ID", but will list some things and hope for the best.

When I navigate to Device Manager, I scroll down to,"Network adapters. Clicking on this, the only item is
"Realtek PCIe GBE Controller".

(On my Dell laptop, there is a much longer list of items that appear, including blueooth stuff.)

I click on this "Realtek PCIe GBE Controller", under Driver File Details:
C:\Windows\system32\RIVERS\Rt64win7.sys
C:\Windows\system32\RtNicProp64.dll
C:\Windows\system32\RTNUninst64.dll

Hope this helps!

 

[jrj350]

@ strollin -
Oh yes, I have tried and tried to get something of value from the HP site, but they don't even recognize the computer model! Admittedly the unit is about six years old.

 

[maxie]

So the Device Manager does not show the Wireless Card ... When was the last time your WiFi worked ? ..

Have you made any changes lately to your Computer ? .. When was the last time you Installed Windows 7 ? ....

 

[jrj350]

That is correct... the wireless card is not displayed by the Device Manager.

Oh boy, it has been over a year, probably closer to to two years since the WiFi worked on this computer.

I don't recall making any changed to this computer as I don't use it that much. (My wife uses it, and I doubt if she changed anything).

When did I last install Windows 7? Wow! Maybe a nine months to a year ago. Something like that.

I will try to explain why this has come up. My wife wants to move the modem into the closet where it won't be seen. I couldn't care less, because I always use WiFi on the Dell. Of course, when I tried to connect with the HP, no joy, and so, here I am.

I will mention that when I first got the HP computer the WiFi did work. But since I connected with the LAN cable, we never used the wireless.

 

[maxie]

Check in the BIOS to see if it is Enabled ..

 

[jrj350]

No joy...

I triple-checked and there is no mention of WiFi anywhere. As a matter of fact, it is a pretty spare BIOS, in my opinion.
Anyway, nothing there.
This is weird. Why can't HP provide me with the correct darn driver? Dell does a pretty good job of this. Whooops! I'm getting frustrated.

 

[maxie]

A Driver will not help if you can not find the Device ... Maybe a USB Network Adapter would be the answer ..

Your Drivers are in the Link below ..

Software & driver downloads HP All-in-One 200-5120is Desktop PC | HP® Support

No sign of the Wireless one though ... Did you Install the Graphics Driver from the HP Website ?

 

[BJB]

If the adapter isn't showing in BIOS there isn't any way you could install a driver even if you had one. It's probable the unit has failed. You could always plug in a USB wireless adapter, they are not expensive.

EDIT - sorry Maxie, we cross posted

 

[strollin]

Since this is a desktop computer, are you absolutely sure it ever had wifi working? Desktops typically don't have wifi built-in. That would explain why you don't see anything in Device Mgr. As Maxie said, you could get an inexpensive USB wifi dongle to solve the issue.

When I suggested contacting HP earlier, I meant contacting them by phone or email, not just checking their website.

 

[maxie]

Since this is a desktop computer, are you absolutely sure it ever had wifi working? Desktops typically don't have wifi built-in. That would explain why you don't see anything in Device Mgr. As Maxie said, you could get an inexpensive USB wifi dongle to solve the issue.

When I suggested contacting HP earlier, I meant contacting them by phone or email, not just checking their website.

Looks as if it might have had one

HP All-in-One 200-5120is Desktop PC Product Specifications | HP® Support

 

[jrj350]

No. Now that I thought it over, I cannot say for sure that it ever had WiFi. Son-of-a-gun, I think I might be losing it... if I ever had it.

All right, here's what I am going to do. I am going to investigate the possibility of using a plug-in adapter.

I really appreciate the replies and suggestions. I am going to mark this thread as "solved" because I believe it is.

Thanks again everybody!