Tap the case to get wireless connection

HP Pavillion dv6400z
Everytime I turn the pc off, I have to tap on the case otherwise i won't have a connection. the wireless switch stays amber, the wireless icon in tray shows an x.
I think it's a hardware problem, either the card is loose or the IC or one of the the antenna wires has a bad connection.
I called support, we updatet the bios with a new version, then it worked for a few days but now it's doing the same thing again.
Has anybody had such a problem ?
I hate to bring the laptop in for service, takes too long to get it back but maybe I'll have to.

 

Yeah, I would suspect a hardware issue as well. And again, yes, I would say that reseating the card and reconnecting your antenna wires would be an excellent move. You could see if tech support could walk you through reseating the wireless card but if they do not recommend you do it then follow their advice or it could void your warranty.

 

that is definitely a physical hardware problem

 

I think it's the Windows updates. Mine stopped working afterwards.

 

i doubt its windows updates if he has to tap it to get it to work

 

I reseated the card and did do the antenna thing and it still didn't work. Bought another card and the same thing happened, worked once then not at all. Tapping under the laptop or top? How hard? Don't tell me scores of 6000 series's card just went kaput for nothing? If you read the HP forum it's only the Broadcom card that's affected with AMD processors. The Intel equivalents don't have such problems. And it affects all shades of Windows... XP, Vista! My only solution was to re-install and not update which is ridiculous but went ahead and just bought a USB Wireless N adapter. Works everytime.

 

did you try to reinstall drivers after the windows update

 

Seems like I solved the problem.
when I called tech support, that fellow told me to take out the card, check the connection on the card for possible corroson or dirt and wipe it of carefully. then install it again. so I did and it didn't help.
he told me I can send the laptop to them or he can send me a new wireless card. I choose the card, goes faster.
But last night I took out the card one more time, disconnected both antenna
wires, checked the wires with the ohm meter, both were ok, checked the connections again, could'nt find anything wrong. then I connected the wires to the card. I made sure they connected correctly because when I took them off, I felt the black wire came off easier then the other one.
then I connected the card into the slot, put one screw in, screwed it down just a little, put the second screw in, then tightened both. As I tightened the first one I pushed on the card toward the connection to make sure it was sitting tight in the slot. closed the lid, started up and the blue light for the wireless came on. it worked. I restarted two more times to make sure, then I went into the kitchen with the laptop, farther away from the router and that worked again.
then I truned the switch for the wireless off, waited a minute, turned it on, worked, too.
My prognosis: the black antenna wire was loose. it wasn't connected correctly, probably just half way. when I plugged in, I could hear a little snap.
I also connected the wires with the card out, it was easier to see.
when I restart now, it connects quickly to the other two pc's and I am back to work.
I do like to say something else. I bought a Cruzer Micro Scandisk, usb, 2Gb Readyboost and I have to say, it does speed up everything, all the network connections, and file transfers. I did a search from the laptop to the server with the database (sql), and it took 2 seconds instead the usual 5, 6 seconds. well worth it. 28.95 at walmart.

Laptop: dv6400, 2ooog amd, 2gb memory

Reading:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/readyboost.mspx

Hope that helps somebody with the same problem.