WLAN card detected but radio gone!

Hi! Tonight, I've physically uninstalled the wireless lan card from my M11x. I've also disconnected both wires (white and black) from the antenna. I plugged the card back, put back the wires on the right pins, etc., Then, I booted up. The wireless lan icon showed up on top of the keyboard then disappeared when Windows started booting.

Then, issues came. The wireless card could not connect to my home wifi. In the device manager, the wireless card is detected with no appearant issues, but it seems like it's not able to pick any signal. Plus, the fact that the icon (on the keyboard top) is gone is fishy to me. I suspect there could be a problem with the antenna. What should I do? I'm really puzzled here. Any input would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like a connection issue, if it's not turning on on the icon on the top of the keyboard it probably means it's not turning on :\. have you checked that it's on in BIOS ect? I don't think it would be an antenna issue if it doesn't show up on the top of the keyboard thing, have you checked that you plugged everything in correctly?

lot of "on"s there XD.

 

Thanks Jake for the suggestions. Actually, I've verified it's actually turned on in the BIOS. The WLAN card seems to fit in the slot properly. At least, it shows up in Windows device manager. As far as the antenna wires are concerned, well, I simply put the white wire on the pin that shows white and the black wire on that pin that shows black (seems pretty obvious). I remember I had to pull the cable firmly though, as if there was some kind of "glue" or on it. But right now, the wires "hole" seems to fit in the pins. Any idea?

 

Hmm, this could be a driver issue maybe. Try uninstalling the driver for the wireless card and then re-install it. And install the alienware OSD software again. Let me know if that does anything.

 

I will try uninstalling then reinstalling the driver. I will do that at home tonight. Thanks.

 

Alright guys, here's a quick update. I've tried uninstalling then reinstalling the wireless lan card driver with no luck. Unfortunately, seems like there's no radio signal at all. I'm really puzzled here. Is the wireless card defective? What about the antenna?

 

Documentation

Maybe try a few of these ?

If they don't work I suggest ringing dell and make up a stroy about how your card just stopped working and they should fix it for free.

 

and don't mention you opened it yourself if you do decide to ring dell as it will probably void the warranty and it will cost you

 

JakeL645, you made my day! The fix was so "stupid" indeed. I checked the link you provided and there was something about switching on the wireless by using "Fn + F2" key. I don't know how come I haven't catched it before. Anyhow, I figured I have to press "Fn + F3" and bingo, wireless is now working. Thanks a lot.

Now, I have another issue. It seems like my keyboard backlight is stuck on red. Green and blue or any combination of it are gone. I believe the tiny cable going from the keyboard to the LED power is damaged. There are obvious signs I have opened my M11x myself so I imagine I would have to order a spare keyboard. Do you know whether Dell is selling parts like that?

 

Haha , this gets a few people, even with the simplest things.

Hmm did you connect the cable properly? like is it pushed in as far as it can go? What are the obvious signs that you have opened it? I opened mine and the dell people didn't know a thing when they came an repaired it under warranty (hehe) And I know a few of the screws and stuff weren't even in the correct holes. They didn't say anything and I still got my free repair.

But to answer your question yes they do sell parts like that, but they are extremely over priced. I was going to order a palm rest (the part the touch pad is on) and it would cost me $120! So I just made up a story and got a free repair under warranty. You could do the same I guess if it is broken. They work by you calling them and you sending a picture of the problem then they issue the service and send a guy to your house to fix it. No one needs to physically inspect it so they wont know if you take pictures of the problem and when they come repair it no questions will be asked. Then presto! free repair. But if you want to order it I think it's on the dell support page, you can talk to someone online and they give you a quote pretty much instantly. I lost the link to it and forgot how I found it (sorry ) but it's on the dell site some where.