8510p no wifi wireless connection

I have been using my brand new HP 8510p for almost three weeks and it worked like a charm but 2 days ago after a contentious, no-stop 48-hour-long downloading, I restarted and from that time I could not join to the wifi network. The OS recognize it but when it searches for the available connections, could not find any (the connection is there, i tested my second laptop).

Necessary background Info:
1. driver: Inter(R) Wireless Wifi Link 4965AGN, 11.5.0.34 (newest), Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless is used for managing the wifi connection
2. system: XP Pro, SP2
3. In Device Manager (DM) it shows everything all right, there is no conflict.
4. In BIOS, the radio is switched on
5. Firewall (ESET) seems does not block it, because it was installed when the wifi was working correctly.

Strange things:
1. Sometimes when I go to the network connections it freezes the start menu, and the network connection window is blank (not responding).
2. Trying to switch from Proset to Windows WZC (Windows Zero Config.) it shows "disabled" in the network connections windows, while in the DM it looks still okay. Clicking to enable it, it shows "Enabling..." for couple of minutes and it says "connection failed" and it is still disabled. I tried in Safe mode as well, but with the same unsuccessful result.

I have tried everything: complete uninstall (all network adapters in DM) then reinstall, changing settings, even after a successful back up (where my wifi was working correctly) I have the same problem: the OS identifies the wifi hardware but could not find any connections.

I think it is a hardware problem, not a software one (or?), so i will call the support to try to fix it...

Do you have any tips, solution for that?

Thank you very much in advance.

Bests,
anpe

 

Have you tried Safe Mode WITH networking? Regular safe mod doesn't allow you to connect to the internet. I think you may want to scan for viruses and adware, the typical junk. Have you installed anything new? What did you download for 2 days because it could have something? Right now, and in general, I'd usually assume a software problem before a hardware problem. I think it may be software related due to the network connection window being blank. Lastly, you might want to try disabling the firewall temporarily anyway just in case you accidentally changed something.

 

1 .Yes, I have tried. when I write that I used the Saved mode as well,i booted with the netwotk option, but the problem is the same (sometimes it shows okay, sometimes it is blank (not responding), or just it says "disabled".

2. Scanning was completed as well (Ad-ware pro, ESET, more than 1 times)

3. I temporary disabled ESET as well, moreover unistalled it but without any success.

4. during that 2 days, it wos just some torrent, (none of them was finished at that time, so they could not run on my system). I thought that maybe one of the download file was the one that coused the whole think, that was the reson why finally - after all tries mentioned before - I made a total restore but did not maange to find the connections either.

 

It's best to run multiple antivirus and antispyware scanners because there are times when one scan won't pick something up but another will. What do you mean by total restore? Did you clean install XP Pro again? Also might want to try the scans in safe mode.

 

I've had the problem you described before. But most of the time it ends up being the router, so I just restart it (it's old...) and go from there.

HOWEVER! There have been a few times when my wireless simply WOULD NOT pick up the signal. A lot of people have complained about this under Vista in general, regardless of machine type. Never heard about it under XP :\

To fix it I went into the device manager and played around with the wireless settings in there. Like...I changed the wireless channel, set the broadcast power to max, turned off all the power saving stuff, etc... Changing the channel always works for me under Vista, although I haven't had the problem for months. I'm actually not even sure if you can do that under XP :\

 

Yes - people need to keep in mind that as stupid as it sounds, many routers use 2.4ghz signal and now they've been making cordless phones do the same, which means when your phone rings, your signal is dropped on your router. This happens to me ALL THE TIME!!! If your router isn't set to automatically switch channels, then nothing will reconnect. Check the router settings and check the frequency of any wireless devices you're using. They may be interfering.

 

This is why I use an 802.11a router. It runs on a 5GHz signal, not a 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz signal like everything else seems to use these days.

Anyway, back to the problem on hand, I really don't know besides a re-install of windows. Perhaps some weird setting in the drivers got changed, maybe? I'm not as familiar with the Intel Wireless cards as I am with the Broadcomm cards (my nw8440 has a Broadcomm 3495a/b/g card in it).

 

First of all, thank you for your answers. I really appreciate it. Sorry for not reacting on your post, but I have been trying to fix it in the last couple of days - trying tu use your advice as well - without any success. My answers:

Jin07:
1. Multiple antivir/adware. It helped (used Search&Destroy, Superantispyware, Hijackthis, all newest def. file), found and eliminated some treaths, but the problem stayed the same. (scanned in save + normal boot as well)

2. Total restore. Ghost backup (total C:\) and Fresh install of XP Pro as well. Same problem.

Ackeron: I tried to switch the router on and off, no success.


During the whole diagnostics process, that is what I have found:
1. During the whole day, there were 2 time, when just after the start-up the wifi search for connections was successful, and i was not only able to identify the wifi-s but I could connect as well! Unfortunately, after a reboot it went back to the same problem. (everything was okay - dataflow, good connection)

2. After I tried everything, I formatted the drive again and installed a new xp pro, and its necessary drivers. Guess what? The same problem,. (sometime "not connected" status, then "disabled" status, good device manager, no successful search again).

My guess:
When it worked, i used the Inter(R) Wireless diagnostic and it went through on all the steps, no error. When it could not find any connections, the diagnostic showed at the "radio test" that the "HW radio is OFF" (I repeat, it is enabled in bios, and without of big changes, just rebooting, once - 1 day - it connected, other times it didnt.)

Therefore, I think that it is "softwarely" it is ok, but for some HW reason it doesnt switch itself on the booting and start up, so the OC cant find any connection because it is switched off. (can the answer of the "disabled" problem in the networks connections as well).

Any idea?

 

I don't want to make any rash suggestions ...but...do you have a Vista DVD handy? hehe.

 

When you tried out the second laptop, was it in the same location as the laptop without wifi? Have you tried sitting your laptop right next to the router and testing? Does a hardline connection work or is that down as well? Have you checked your router settings to make sure it both allows multiple connections and that your laptop is blocked by the router? Actually going over all of your router settings would be a good idea. I really don't think it is a hardware issue since you have gotten a connection with that laptop. If it was hardware related, I'd expect that you couldn't get a connection at all.

 

The same thing is happening to me on my new HP laptop with the same wireless card and even with that newest .34 driver. The 11.5.0.32 one fixed that crazy memory leak in the driver where the nonpaged memory would increase by about a megabyte every few seconds, however it introduced a new bug where Vista will freeze when the wireless card is on during boot, or, if it is turned on after windows loads, at some random time when it tries to connect. They say on the HP page that that is supposedly fixed with this .34 driver, but it is still freezing for me when it tries to connect and on boot, so I don't see their fix. But anyway, just a side note. I just have to mention that this all started last night, because a buddy of mine was also having the memory leak problem with HIS wireless card, and we narrowed it down to that and I was helping him, and then I realized that mine had the leak too, so that got me trying to solve the problem, and into the mess that I am now in with it.

FYI, for a while this past afternoon, though, I actually had the .32 driver working, and I had a connecion, but only in Firefox and not in Internet Explorer. This led me to some posts in other forums regarding some recent Windows Updates interfering with third party spyware removers/firewalls (I had had Norton Internet Security, which I had uninstalled a couple days ago, and I also have a private university version of the Antivirus). Supposedly, there is no real fix for that bug, once it crops up, except to remove the specific update kb939653, or the more recent one that includes that one, kb942615, from what I read, so I removed it.

That didn't fix the problem, however, though at least I still had Ethernet at that point. So, I took a wild guess that maybe this was some of the other recent Windows Updates that I had installed, so I removed some of the ones nearby to that other one, and when I restarted, now I don't have Ethernet OR Wireless, and am getting exactly what you describe: It sees the signal, but can't connect. I have uninstalled and reinstalled so many different versions of these drivers that I could find online, and I still can't get it to work again. Something is broken on a lower level than what we right now know to access, after removing these updates (for me at least, for you, who knows what happened to yours, maybe try installing Firefox and see if you can at least get Internet on that like I had working before).

Now, I can't even connect to Windows Update to reinstall these, and I am doubtful that would rectify the problem, anyway, so I am pretty much in a predicament. Any smart ideas before I wipe the thing? I want to give this a few days before I decide to do that.

 

FYI, I found an even newer driver, 11.5.0.36, from IBM, that allegedly fixes a problem where there is a conflict switching between Wireless and Ethernet, however, it didn't fix it for me, and it still froze soon after I turned on the Wireless card. It doesn't have the memory leak, though, just as the other 11.5 drivers don't.

Here it is, though, if you want to investigate more:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/7kwv50ww.txt
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/7kwv50ww.exe

 

Also, the following are links describing what I had been experiencing before all the networking went kaput: http://www.microsoft.com/communitie...3c-949f-a2f1a3f437f7&cat=&lang=&cr=&sloc=&p=1

http://www.techsupportforum.com/sec...ther-programs-can-t-connect-internet-too.html

It could be completely unrelated to what anpe008 and I are experiencing now, but I thought I'd cover all bases.

 

Oh, and btw, there have been other people with HP laptops where they can't switch their wireless blue light on. That isn't what is happening to me, but check out the following for something on that. I also found some other pages on HP's site the other day regarding this, so search around: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/29/hp-admits-wireless-laptop

 

I am doubting it is malware, as I took a look at my hijack this log and saw nothing that was off.

Also, other people with the 4965agn WLAN card or HP laptops with certain pre-installed security software have had the exact symptoms with IE not working, except it wasn't a proxy issue, but a combination of problems with 3rd party spyware/firewall programs and new Windows Vista updates. This is what I think started the ball rolling for me, trying to fix that, to where now nothing works.

There is a problem where the wireless drivers crash Vista when the card is turned on or off, which I have with the newest drivers. Another problem is that in the earlier WLAN drivers, there is a memory leak in nonpaged memory, which is why I upgraded to the newest drivers!

I have had all of these issues, and now, after trying to fix the IE problem by uninstalling some of those Windows Updates, I now can't even connect by Ethernet or WLAN! I can't even decide whether it is a Wireless Card problem, a Windows Vista problem, or what.

If I can't find a solution in the next few days, I am going to have to reformat.

 

Have you tried disabling it then re-enabling it through network connections? (I didn't read this whole thread)

 

Yep, I have. I also just installed SP1, and that also didn't fix it.

 

Jin07:
1. Yes, the second laptop was it in the same location as the laptop without wifi.
2. "Have you tried sitting your laptop right next to the router and testing?" It was just next to it.
3. Does a hardline connection work or is that down as well? It works. 9Thanks for GOD. )
4. Routr multiple conenctions. Checked. We are using 3 laptops for a while with that 1 router.
5. "I really don't think it is a hardware issue since you have gotten a connection with that laptop. If it was hardware related, I'd expect that you couldn't get a connection at all."

My progresses in the examination of that problem:
1) I made a reformat + clean Win XP pro + intel wireless drv install (nothig else! - no antivir, other drvs), I rebooted a laptop couple of times. Once it managed to see and connect to my network. Unfortunately, only once. That was my last point, so I called the Swiss HP Technical Support, described my problem and they said it is probably HW problem, so they will come, pick it up, and within 8 business day I will receive it. Let this be the real!

2) Just fun, I made again a complettely fresh istall, and suddenly it started to
see and connect to the networks. Couple of times, countinously after the reboots, I mean. But even when it managed to connect, the start up took longer, and when I went to the network connections either it opened very slow, or it showed "disabled" again / or freezed the start menu completelly.


MMortal03:
1. Thanks the posts. I think you have a different problem, or at least the problem is different just the result is the same. The internet doenst work for me (neiter for firefox or IE), I do not have any connection (!) - cant see any, so cant connect to any), and my ethernet is working (huh! ), and I have XP Pro/32.
2. After my reformat and clean install of XP, I still have the same problems. (sometimes it connects - no problem (5%), simetimes doesnt see any connection (60%), says "disabled" (35%)).

So, I still think this is related to my motherboard. Sometimes it swithes the radio correctly on, sometimes it just doesnt, and sometimes it doesnt recognize it).

 

Just one more thing. If it doesnt see and connect just after it standed up, it could not see any connection even if I tried to refresh it couple of times. So, if it works, it works when the OC is standing up. Once it is standed up and it could not see the networks, I could not manage to connect neither of the networks.

 

I actually had two problems, because after I re-imaged it, the Ethernet is working again, and only the wireless now isn't connecting. I am thinking this problem is also a motherboard to wireless card communication problem, because the drivers are installed properly, and it sees a good signal, it just can't connect. It could be a software problem, but then why did it work on the original image, and when I re-imaged it with that same image, it now doesn't work?

 

Btw, HP has had motherboard-to-wireless-card communication problems in the past with other models, so I wouldn't doubt that is what it is. People have had their Broadcom cards first stop connecting, then stop seeing connections, and then completely disappear from the device manager. It could be a motherboard issue that we are also experiencing.

 

I have just came back from our internal HP service guy, and he said it is related to the chipset of the motherboard, but with the 11.5.0.32 Intel wireless driver it should be fixed. Should have fixed...