Mini PCI card in NC4000

I'm completely new to PCs (the notebook arrived yesterday) and am a bit baffled by what I thought would be the simple process of installing a wi-fi card. The NC4000 has a nice compartment for the PCI card, with an aerial and everything, but from reading on the Net, it seems I can't just put in any old card - or can I? Some people claim to have got third-party cards to work and some to have failed to get HP cards to work. I'm seriously considering cutting my losses and selling it on eBay, which is where I got it from. Am I really stuck?

 

Well, what's the issue? It doesn't sound like we have the full story here.

 

HP puts a whitelist in their BIOS that only lets you run miniPCI WiFi cards that they approve for that particular notebook model. They claim the FCC made them do it though no one else does.

Also, if your notebook didn't come with wireless, it probably doesn't have antenna panels either. Your wireless range will be virtually nil without antennas.

It's generally best to just buy a PCMCIA WiFi card if you're in this situation.

 

I've come to the same conclusion, but it seemed really annoying to have a PCI compartment be made unusable for no credible reason. Of course, if you're right and there's no antenna, it doesn't matter. Is there a way to check?

The PCMCIA cards that seem to be available at a reasonable cost here are Belkin, D-Link, Netgear and Linksys. Any recommendations?

 

The antenna wire ends will be located in the WiFi compartment. If you don't have them there (1 black & 1 white), then you don't have an antenna.

PCMCIA cards are generally all the same. Whatever wireless router you have, it's best to stick with the same brand for the best compatibility. Just make sure you check on the standards you want (A, B, G support), also for encryption support (WEP, WPA, AES (AES heighest)).

-Vb-

 

Yes, I have the black and white wires. Now I'm undecided again.

 

This is the link to the entire parts list available for the NC4000 series notebooks in the US.

http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp...r_id=&callingsite=&strsrch=&keysel=?&catsel=?

They hve 2 cards available for this unit. I believe the 2nd is possibly an Intel card, but not 100% sure.

325525-001 - $106.00US - HP W500 Mini PCI wireless module 802.11a/b/g - Wi-Fi certified, 2.4 and 5Ghz frequency - Maximum data rate of up to 11Mbps

325526-001 - $106.00US - Mini PCI 802.11b/g wireless LAN (WLAN) card - Supports IEEE 802.11b/g wireless standards, including Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) support - Maximum data rate of up to 54Mbps

These cards should work perfectly fine for your system. Just goto the HP Parts Surfer like I provided and just enter your exact model P/N and it should give you the exact part #'s for your unit. You can then search for any one of the compatible cards on eBay if you like or buy directly from HP.

-Vb-

 

Here in the UK, HP don't stock these part numbers, but hand you off to independent suppliers. Of the half-dozen or so listed, only one was any use (I won't go into the various different ways the others were useless). It listed the 802.11b for around $120 and the g for around $155. But I found this page which lists a part numbered PF952AA#ABA as being specifically compatible with the NC4000. Incidentally, HP's UK store has this for under $150. Would I be safe to buy this, either from the US or here? It's sometimes listed without the suffix code; is that important?

Thanks for all your help so far. It's been really...er...helpful.

 

I was a bit concerned about the impact my wireless card was having on battery life, and realising a couple of other disadvantages, I decided to bite the bullet and pay for the HP internal card. Even if it doesn't use less power, the fact that it's linked to the wireless switch should make a difference. But this time, instead of directing me to external suppliers, HPUK offered to sell me the part itself. And at £52 ($93), it seems like a bargain, though of course it's only less of a rip-off.

Is my notebook now a Centrino machine?

 

Venombite, if this card is 802.11g, how is the max data rate only 11Mbps?