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    Replace HP Wireless?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Web250, Apr 22, 2006.

  1. Web250

    Web250 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I might buy a HP dv5000t (Turion) this summer, and they come with Broadcom based Wifi card.

    Can I easily get into the HP's internals and change this to an Intel 2200 card? Linux has much better support for the 2200.
     
    Web250, Apr 22, 2006
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  2. NetBrakr

    NetBrakr Notebook Deity

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    I think so, because when I got my laptop, it didnt came with a internal WIFI. So I bought one within a year later. It was so easy to do, it was like installing RAM. But be careful when removing two small wires off the wificard.

    JC
     
    NetBrakr, Apr 22, 2006
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  3. NetBrakr

    NetBrakr Notebook Deity

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    NetBrakr, Apr 22, 2006
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  4. miner

    miner Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    The card should be easy to replace, but HP has locked out non HP certified Wifi cards in the BIOS. Older HP laptops definately had this limitation but I dont know if they have continued this trend. In any case if you do try to upgrade make sure you buy or better borrow the Intel card to check if it works.
     
    miner, Apr 22, 2006
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  5. Web250

    Web250 Notebook Enthusiast

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    If that's true, could I just buy a spare part Intel 2200 or 3945 from HP directly, or is the dv5000 bios locked to only the broadcom cards?
     
    Web250, Apr 30, 2006
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  6. brockley

    brockley Notebook Enthusiast

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    If you can configure a dv5000 on HPs website with an Intel card then it should be able to be used with the dv5000's bios. I dont see HP changing individual bioses to work only with the card they come with. Also, if you don't mind buying on ebay, theres a lot of HP parts on there. I currently have a broadcom 802.11g from an HP in my Dell system (replacing the original 802.11b Intel 2100 card).
     
    brockley, Apr 30, 2006
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  7. miner

    miner Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    They probably would have BIOS locked it to accept only their(HP) broadcom cards. HP have locked the BIOS based on the PCI ID's of the card, you 'll need to hope the card you buy has the correct/whitelisted ID's. See these sites for hints if you are interested in bypassing this and is not really recommended to the average joe...
    http://www.richud.com/HP-Pavilion-104-Bios-Fix/
    http://www.paul.sladen.org/thinkpad-r31/wifi-card-pci-ids.html
     
    miner, Apr 30, 2006
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  8. Web250

    Web250 Notebook Enthusiast

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    That is a really bad policy.

    Good thing I can eventually get the broadcoms to work in Linux with ndiswrapper...but its a hassle.
     
    Web250, Apr 30, 2006
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