Broadcom wireless device disappeared

Hi all,

My sister has an HP tx1000 laptop (which I take care of), and tonight she brought the laptop to me saying that it doesn't detect any wireless network. So I checked it, and indeed the Broadcom wireless adaptor is missing! The wireless switch, which used to turn the WLAN and Bluetooth adaptors on/off before, now only switches the Bluetooth device on/off, and there's no trace of the Broadcom WLAN adaptor anywhere. It's missing from Device Manager as well. Apparently she was working with the laptop in the afternoon (using the Internet), left it for a couple of hours without turning it off or anything, and came back at night and found a red cross on the wireless icon in the system tray, so she could not connect to any wireless network anymore.

The factory installed OS is Vista Home Premium which was later upgraded to SP1 by me. Also, the latest driver for the WLAN adaptor was installed a couple of months ago, and it was working perfectly till tonight. So I tried anything I could to fix (Add New Hardware in Control Panel, rescanning the devices in the Device Manager, reinstalling the wireless adaptor driver, etc.) to no avail. Then I booted into Mandriva Linux, and it could not detect the wireless adaptor as well (it is not a driver issue; the hardware was not present when i listed them with 'lspci' command). It seems that something has happened to the WLAN hardware, and it's no longer working. There's no option in the BIOS to turn it on/off as well, since HP (in all its wisdom) cripples the BIOS of its PCs. I have also flashed the BIOS from F.1F when the problem appeared to the latest F.20 available on HP's website, but that didn't help either.

As a last effert, I google the problem on the net and found the following pages:
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service...47626+1219730694463+28353475&threadId=1104931
(^^^scroll down for the problems with tx1000 laptops all being about the disappearance of the WLAN device and the eventual total failure of the motherboard).
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service...47626+1219730599521+28353475&threadId=1210377
(^^^similar thread)
http://www.deadhp.org/
(^^^ a collection of problems with tx1000 laptops)
It seems that HP is not recognizing this problem but does nothing to fix it.

Funny thing is that a similar problem exists for other models as well (see here), and HP has finally acknowledged it and fixes it for free, providing extended waranty (see this story as well). But it totally refuses to fix the same problem with tx1000 notebooks and simply waits for the standard warranty to expire to charge the costumers for a fix! Very nice strategy...

After all this, I was wondering whether anybody here has experienced a similar issue or knows how to fix it. Of course, the last option is calling HP, but my warranty is already expired, so they're going to charge me a lot for any fix...

I would really appreciate any advice Thanks...

 

Have you tried to reseat the wireless card and clean the contacts? Some SP1 updates will knock out some drivers (for me it was the sound card). I have the tx1000 but the wireless still worked after the update. Go to the HP site and update the driver for the wireless. My dv2138's wireless died without the update and HP won't acknowledge the problem. I got a wireless USB instead.

 

Oh, the wireless card was working for months after the SP1 update and for a couple of weeks after the last regular update without any problem. It just happened so suddenly.
As I've said in my first post, I have installed the latest wireless driver as well, but the problem is not the software, since Linux also has failed to detect the presence of a wireless card (I'm not talking about using a driver for it, but finding the hardware). It seems as if an option in the BIOS is set to disable the WLAN card, so after the initial boot up, that piece of hardware is no longer present to any software.
Now, I just took out the WLAN card and reseated it and pressed firmly on the contacts, but it didn't help. Seems the problem is serious, and I have to call HP to see what they'll do about it...

Any other help/ideas is greatly appreciated

By the way, have you looked at this article for your dv2138?

 

Simply put, you're right and HP is wrong. Your notebook is suffering from the same NVIDIA chipset failure as the other HP notebook lines:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c01087277&dlc=en
The current tx2500 uses a much better AMD (ATI) chipset.

Yours is the third message I've noticed so far today with this problem. Scary. I flashed in the updated BIOS into my dv9000z that runs the fan 24x7 to reduce this problem, hopefully that's enough.

 

i went through the exact same problem u described, after spending hours with hp support the installing and re-installing, running dubious diagnostics, the ONLY thing that helped was re-installing the bios/flashing the bois.
Try and connect your computer with a WIRED connection, once u get online, go to hp website and download the bios for you laptop.
If u cant get online, use a different pc to download, then re-install the bois.

I'm 95% sure it will work.
Good luck

 

I called HP and talked to the technical support. I was told what I already knew, that HP does not acknowledge the problem with my model of notebook (they only know about the problem with dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 models).
The tech was reasonable though. I told him about all the similar cases with tx1000 notebooks and all the complaints on HP's own forums, and he said that he will send an email to "them" (whatever/whoever that might be) to notify them about the problem with this particular model since he can't see any problem report of this sort for this particular model of notebook.

So anyway, fortunately, I could extend my warranty for one year for $140, and HP will send me a box to get the laptop to repair. It's much better than paying $300+ for the repair with a 90-day warranty. I just don't know how they're going to repair the faulty nVidia chips (maybe they'd just change the motherboard)...

 

I have already flashed the BIOS, but that didn't help...

 

Same here, as I was running that BIOS update since release. It may delay the problem, but it won't stop it.......

 

Wow, sorry man.
in my case, it appears that the broadcom device was not being detected, so it wasn't showing up in Device Manager and when i turned the wireless switch in front of the laptop on/off, Hp wireless assist pops up displaying Bluetooth on/off (the WLAN was missing). After flashing the Bios(found this out the hard way), all was okay.
BUT strangly the problem keeps coming back (3x in 4 days)!!!! and anytime, i have to flash the Bois to make it work. I'm beginning to think there is some windows update messing things up/ the famous nvidea/broadcom/Hp defective stuff has finally caught up with me..... ever since i read about those problems, i knew i was sitting on a time bomb.

Just a heads up, there is a windows update for some nvidea cards (geforce go6150 for me), AVOID THIS UPDATE. your computer will fail to boot and the ONLY way out is to do system restore with you windows cd.

 

I never use Microsoft's suggested drivers for any hardware in my laptop or desktop computers. I download the drivers directly from the manufacturer's website.

Have you called HP to tell them about this problem you have with your laptop? I don't know your exact notebook model and whether it still has any warranty left, but if it is tx1000, please call and let them know that this model is also plagued by the same nVIDIA chipset problem. The tech support I talked to in the beginning said that he can't find tx1000 included in any nVIDIA faulty chipset case, but said he would email "them" (whoever that might be) about this case.
I think if HP gets more input from us users, it would finally acknowledge the problem.

anyhow, i sent the laptop to HP today. hopefully, it'll come back fully fixed...

 

Okay, it's back! The motherboard is replaced, and it seems that the laptop is working again. I have to wait and see if the problem comes back or not.

Another question though. I had asked for the hard drive to be reimaged to avoid any future software problems. Now when I turned the laptop on for the first time, it didn't go through installing Windows and customizing it for the first time (as it did before on day 1 when it was brand new). I realized that the repair technicians, after reimaging the HDD, had booted into Vista and gone through all those steps for me! But apparently, they have done some other things as well, since I cannot uninstall some of the software on the laptop anymore, for example the Vonage, AOL, and these sort of junk as well as Office Activation Assistant (something like this) or Rhapsody. Is there any way to remove them short of doing a clean install? I have tried PC Decrapifier, but it couldn't remove them...

Thanks

 

What happens when you try to uninstall software, lets take AOL as an example? Do you get an error message or ?

If the software is actually installed, you might try uninstalling it from safe mode, although I don't know what would prevent the software such as AOL from being uninstalled.

 

Oh, sorry I should've explained it better. Those software do not even appear in the Add/Remove Programs box, so I have no idea how to uninstall them. I am pretty sure that before sending the laptop to HP, softwares like HP Rhapsody or HP PhotoSmart were present in the Add/Remove box, but they're gone now...

 

The question you asked does not have an easy answer for a person with basic computer experience. I mean that in a nice way.

First, if the software does not show in Add/Remove Programs then it is highly likely that it is not installed. Therefore there is no active software to remove. Regardless if it was there before or not. The Techs might have unistalled it.

The software to install those programs however may still be on your notebook, and if so, that is what you are asking to remove. I wouldn't be too concerned about making your notebook squeeky clean of unused software, yes it is a good idea, but not necessary.

To remove the software programs you mentioned and get rid of the data so they cannot be installed you need to locate the directories they are in and delete them. I recommend you get help with this from a knowledgeable friend so you don't delete important data by mistake.

The easiest way of finding where most bloatware is located is by taking a look at the shortcut icons to the trial or install versions of that software. If you right click on the icon and select find target it will take you to the file which loads the software and the directory it is located in. If you delete the directory you will most likely delete the software.

If you have a limited level of experience around a PC I highly suggest you either leave the software alone (you do have a very large hard disk) or seek hands on assistance with what you wish to achieve.

 

Well, I don't know where you got the idea that I have basic computer experience, but that's okay. You spent time answering in detail, and I really appreciate it

Yeah, I figured that since there's no trace of them in Add/Remove Programs, and even Revo Uninstaller and CCleaner do not find them, then maybe they're not installed at all.

That's exactly what I did

The interesting thing is that some essential softwares that were previously installed are not installed now. For example, I am 100% certain that the Essential System Updates (ESU) used to be there, but not now. And it seems that the techs reimaged the hard disk with an older image. The install date of most of the softwares are January 2007 now, whereas with the previous (original) image, as far as I can remember, it was around July 2007. Things are working okay now, so I'll wait and see what's going to happen...

Thanks again

 

well, guess what? it happened again! i was updating Vista, and the fan started to work very fast -- had to install 62 updates which took some time -- and after the reboot, the wireless card was not detected anymore!
i had to call HP again and schedule another pick-up/repair/return. i asked to talk to a case manager, but the tech said that the case manager would do exactly as he would do (take the laptop in for another repair). then, if it's not fixed again, i can escalate the order to a case manager to see what options are available. anyhow, i will send the laptop again to get fixed for the second time...

 

My roommate has a hp pavilion tx1000 and the wireless drivers disappeared and the computer stopped connecting to the internet. I have been messing with it for a couple days a figured out I think that his Nvidia nforce go 6150 drivers seem to be doing something that disables the wireless drivers. I have uninstalled the video drivers, reinstalled the wireless drivers and the wireless connects just fine. hope this helps.

 

it will eventually fail completely, and you have to change the motherboard. it's just a matter of time. these nVidia chips all have serious problems, but HP refuses to acknowledge that.

 

well, the laptop failed again last month; the wireless card was not detected anymore. since this was the third time the same problem was happening, i called HP and asked to talk to a case manager directly. upon being transferred to a case manager, i described everything in detail, and asked for a replacement or a refund. the case manager didn't agree to a replacement (his reason was that the it took 9 months for the problem to reappear again, and that's a long time!), but he said HP will repair the laptop and he also extended the warranty for another extra year for free. right now, the machine is working, but it's bound to fail again...next time, i will definitely ask for a new machine from HP.

 

My tx1000 motherboard is also defective and it failed last December. After 2 months of struggling with HP, they decided to give me a free repair + 3 months warranty. My motherboard was replaced around the same time as yours so I hope it doesn't give out anytime soon.

Can you tell me what kind of things do you use your computer for (games, internet, word processing)? The way the computer is used may affect how fast the motherboard fails again.

I found the site http://hplies.com very useful when finding information. I read there that they have a 3 strike rule. After three repairs, they will give you a replacement.

 

the fact that they gave you a free repair + a warranty extension shows that HP knows about the problem but fails to provide the customers with a satisfying solution, since they sold us faulty laptops in the first place!

and this laptop is mainly used for internet browsing, some scientific/numerical work, word processing, and watching movies...

 

well my tx1000's wifi just died.

tried reseating the wifi card, no luck. its long out of warranty, so i guess contacting HP is useless now. Will try the Bios flash and driver reinstall later.

If i cant get the wifi working by using a USB wifi, will the rest of the MB fail as well or is it limited to the wifi only?

 

hardware components mostly "disappear" if chipset drivers get faulty.

have you downloaded a (wrong) chipset driver? every time such problems occur, my first tip is to uninstall chipset drivers and let windows install its default ones after reboot, or if it doesnt, search for the newest ones certainly compatible with your chipset and install them (mostly intel - intels download page offers all of them).

EDIT: sorry, i just read through the posts in the link mentioned. this indeed is a hardware manufacturing failure. my best tip: stick with hp business notebooks - theyre the best notebooks one can get. the consumer line unfortunately is something hp should be ashamed of. still, if something like that happens, first check the chipset drivers & bios updates - if it isnt hardware-related, this should fix it.

 

cheers for the advice,

was mine then i gave it to my bro, he's not installed/changed any drivers.

Told him to do a full backup anyway so will reflash the bios and reinstall the drivers just in case.

Used a number of HP business laptops they are real work horses, this was my first comsumer level notebook and yep, not very impresive...