Strange wireless problem windows 7

[SpaCeCrafted]

So my toddler pulled my 1,600 dollar dell xps 17 off of a chest I had set it on, dropping it about 14 inches, and now I'm at my wits end in trying to figure out why I can't get any internet access. Please don't recommend obvious stuff like disabling/enabling, I'm a more advanced user than that. In my device manager under "network adapters" it's saying that "this device is working properly" for my intel(r) centrino(r) wireless-n 1030, bluetooth device, and realtek pcie gbe family controller. I even took apart my laptop and removed the wireless card, inspected it, started the machine up without it, then replaced it back in and restarted. The computer recognizes it and still claims that it is working properly. Everything else about my computer seems completely fine, and in short, the fall caused this problem for everything connected with getting on the internet i.e. Lan, bluetooth, wireless. Under realtek pcie gbe family controller and my wireless-n 1030 they both say "device 0, function 0". I don't know what that means, but maybe it's a clue. My suspicions are that maybe there's a loose power connection that's supplying all of those components. Is it possible that the computer could recognize these components as working properly even if they aren't receiving power? Someone save my butt, I need this for school and don't have the money to take it to someone.

edit* trouble shooting gave me this:
"The Windows wireless service is not running on this computer"
"A network cable is not properly plugged in or may be broken"

Also, typing in ipconfig in cmd just gives me "media disconnected" on all fronts.

Also, when opening my "Intel My WiFi Utility" I get "Network Adapter Not Found" and "No supported Intel wireless network adapter was found"

I don't get how under devices it says everything is all good, then other places on my computer are telling me there isn't even a network adapter on my computer. Very strange.

 

[jc836]

Did you check the on-off switch for the device. Many laptops have one . Do you see the light that indicates that the card is enabled (ON))? You said that you removed the card-were there any signs of something broken on it? All of this should point to where things are no OK. The fact that it is recognized usually means that there is power, btw. Hope this points you the right way.

 

[SpaCeCrafted]

Yes my indicator says that wifi is enabled (I have disabled and enabled plenty of times just to be sure), and no, everything looks fine, no broken pieces. If everything is receiving power, then there must be some component that controls all of the internet accessing hardware on my comp, right?? Maybe the main component is jacked up.. whatever that might be.

 

[Coram Daes]

The wifi card is connected to an antenna and to the motherboard. The antenna is often located in the display part of a laptop. You get signal? Try uninstalling all network related drivers, reboot and reinstall them?

Out of curiosity, are there any warranty left on the laptop?

 

[SpaCeCrafted]

"The antenna is often located in the display part of a laptop." I don't even know how to make sense of this. Are you talking about the screen? lol? No there is no signal, just an X'd out wifi symbol on my icon bar. I don't understand the logic in uninstalling and reinstalling all network drivers when everything was working fine, then it was dropped, now nothing works. It's obviously a hardware issue.

 

[Coram Daes]

Yes I am referring to the screen. Which is often the lid and the antenna may be in the middle, to the sides, or in the lower part of it, hence my wording.
And yes I agree it might be a hardware issue, but hardware runs on firmware wich is controlled by drivers, so you have three layers of potential problems.

 

[SpaCeCrafted]

Out of all the possible weak points, I don't see it being a wire going up into the display. I'm guessing they put it up there because that's the highest point when opened? One of the chips that the wire connects to in the base seems way more likely, and besides, taking the screen apart isn't an option for me because it would be very difficult to get all the clips unhinged and there's a high risk of breaking something. That and the likely hood of a coated wire breaking behind the screen without the screen being damaged in anyway strikes me as a 1 in a billion type thing to a near impossibility, unless there is a fragile receiver at the end of that wire? I guess I could try to reinstall drivers, but it just seems like a waste of time considering the circumstances. The cause is determined by impact, and the hard drive is perfectly fine. So if the hard drive is fine, that means that the drivers and software is fine. Think about it, what are the chances that only the firm ware for connecting to the internet were some how damaged by a physical jarring of the computer? I appreciate you giving me suggestions, but I don't have the time for wild goose chases. Help me consider the most likely problems, then work our way out if nothing is solved instead of the other way around. Something I should have mentioned was that the laptop was in hybernation mode with the lid closed and sealed in a soft case when this happened, so I doubt that the hard drive was spinning (thank God). I know I am coming across as defensive and I don't mean to. I'm very irritated at the whole situation, and plus I just gave a bum 2 dollars at 7-11 when he came up to my car as I was getting ready to pull out. He then asked me for a ride and got all pissed off at me when I refused to drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction. The nerve of some people.

 

[Coram Daes]

Check the antenna connectors to the wifi card. From my experience on the laptops I have handled those are two round sockets that may get bent if not handled carefully.

So you did have the laptop on (even if in hibernation) inside a tight bag? You are asking for overheating issues if you keep doing that. Only three days ago I fixed that issue on an employees comp (by telling her to not do it).

As for a wild goose chase: well, I have fixed computers in all forms and shapes for 25 years. It is often a wild goose chase to find and fix the exact error. Welcome to the club. At least 50% of the time fixing a laptop or desktop is often guesswork.

 

[SpaCeCrafted]

Yeah I hear that. I have ran into many rare problems and figured them out by deduction. I went ahead and uninstalled every type of network driver for the hay of it and reinstalled, and still no fix. I checked the two connectors you are talking about, they are on tight and I'm sure there's no issue there. The laptop was only in the bag for maybe 5 minutes before the incident happened. Been watching movies on that laptop and opening up programs etc, everything works fine as before, reaffirming that there is no hard drive damage. Put the thing together because I gave up and it's 4 in the morning. Such a strange thing, almost like something is just loose. Is the lan and wifi card connected? If so, what are they connected to? Straight to the mother board? Could you explain how that all fits together? Seems to me that the source problem would most likely be the connection to the mother board. Could the motherboard be damaged? Seems like if it were, then I would have more problems than just internet. I have to be close to solving this. The bluetooth, does it connect to the same antenna as the wifi? Every type of internet option is out, so what is the root to all of these things? It has got to be hardware. The antenna in the display shouldn't be the problem, agreed? Even if it were, wouldn't that just mean that it would have a harder time picking up a signal, like on a tv getting free stations? Remember, my device manager is telling me that all of these things are in working order, then when I go into network and sharing center and wireless tools, it tells me that the device isn't even connected. It's like the computer recognizes the device as far as the firm ware part of it goes, but another part is telling me that there's no device, at least one that's communicating with the computer. So there's a device that's working, but not communicating with the computer.. Doesn't this narrow it down to the connecting point on the mother board? If so, I haven't delved that deep into the laptop because it looked for too daunting. But if I could reasonably assume that's where the issue is, then I would take the risk and go there. What do you think?

 

[Coram Daes]

Is the lan and wifi card connected? If so, what are they connected to? Straight to the mother board? Could you explain how that all fits together?

I am sorry, I understand your frustration, but the questions you ask are difficult to answer without having the full system specs and a detailed hardware maintenance manual from Dell. You see, laptops are often built with as much integration as possible and that means that the wifi+lan+bluetooth can be an integrated chip, connected to the motherboard, and when you looked at the wifi chip, maybe you were also holding the bluetooth and the lan chip as well in your hand. I know that Broadcom provides such solutions, but if the device manager tells you that the lan is from one manufacturer and the wifi from another, I would guess that they are separate chips in the computer. The lan is very often part of the motherboard, but again, you need to check the specs of the comp to make sure.

You could of course purchase an USB Wifi device. Or lend one for testing.

 

[SpaCeCrafted]

i can't believe this. In my last attempt and total desperation I just did a system restore. IT WORKED!!! How the heck does this make sense? I swear I had no issues the second I closed my lap top. I was surfing the web and playing sc2. Now I have internet, I'm typing on my laptop I just had problems with. System restore fixed a laptop that I messed up by dropping.. I'm so baffled right now. Whatever, I'll take it I'm getting some shockwave errors with google chrome now, but that's nothing in comparison. I'm going to be laughing in my sleep all night. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'll frequent this forum from time to time, it has been interesting!

 

[AddRAM]

Do you have a recovery partition on this laptop ? Do you have a partition with a disk image saved ?

Just things to consider.

 

[Coram Daes]

How the heck does this make sense?

It does not make sense, based on the statement that your harddrive was ok and hence everything on it, including drivers, was or should be ok.

Just goes to show what I said, 50% or more troubleshooting is guesswork, and what I did not say was that probably 50% of the solutions are, more or less, unexplained. To a layman, that is.

Glad it works now! Surf on...