No Wifi Connection

I have an alienware m17x R3 all the way back from 2011. The computer has a lot of problems with it now but I use it for just basic use (my new alienware works well).

A few days ago the computer got stuck and I had to do a forced shut-down. After I turned the computer back on it was unable to connect to the wifi signal. It cannot connect to any wifi signal. Other devices I have at home can connect to the wifi signal. I already tried to re-install the drivers but the problem is still there.

What are the steps to fix this?

 

Looks like a hardware problem.
You will need to check on youtube how to disassemble and check all cables are correctly connected and functioning.

Good luck.

 

What else can I try doing before opening up the laptop?

 

Reinstall drivers

 

Reboot the router.

 

I already tried doing that. I went into Device manager and deleted the wifi drivers. Afterwards I restarted the computer. The computer automatically installed those drivers (without internet connection). But it was not working afterwards.

Is there a different way to do this?

 

I've had a similar issue, but with WiFi card connecting to WiFi but getting stuck on "connected, no internet" status due to its memory of having an express card router being plugged in. Maybe try disabling all other network devices, and reinstalling them as well. Sometimes it gets stuck on a bad config.

Furthermore, consider a fact that the WiFi card might have died. What are the exact symptoms? Can it see WiFi networks? Have you recently installed any software games that did any network setup? Or any VPN? Or even a recent Windows update? Check your network config, as it is mostly being stored on the card, maybe you've got DHCP disabled, and if you have an issue of 'connected, no internet', run default windows network troubleshooting, it did the job in my case.

Otherwise if I remember right access to WiFi card ain't so bad, in M17XR2 it's under the palmrest, so it's a pain, but they revised that as far as I know. Get a cheap card off of eBay or any equivalent, plug it in, keep in mind that with black/grey/white setup and two connector card it's just black/white, and see if it works. If another card doesn't work, then it's most likely a faulty mobo.