When an old 2007 HP 6710b defeats the Y500 !

Hello.
I live near campus, and before I bought the Y500 with its Centrino N-2230 wifi adapter, I managed to pick the wireless signal with the built-in Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless adapter of the HP-Qompaq 6710b, which , although 1-2 bars, was more than enough for me, where internet here is very expensive.

Now the Y500 doesn't recognize the WIFI of the campus even exists. I am not saying it is bad, because I actually bought a high-range Alfa AWUS036NHR wireless antenna, and it didn't perform as well as the 6710b's !! Believe it or not, the onboard adapter of that ancient laptop could pick a signal that a high-range Alfa external adapter couldn't, with both 5 and 9db antennas, even the flat one.. that adapter was amazing !

So, What options do I have ?
I tried to use the "ICS - Internet Connection Sharing" in Windows 8, but I couldn't actually connect through the old laptop's wireless. Besides, it doesn't make sense having to have two laptops working all the time to get internet.

So is there a way to boost the wifi signal of this Y500 with its Centrino N-2230 ?
Or is there any way I can use the HP's wifi adapter with the Y500 without having to turn it on ?
Is there an external, USB version of the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG , or another that is proven to perform as good?

Thanks !

 

OPen the Laptop add another antenna wire to it string it up inside the latop

 

Hi Ice Cold, can you please elaborate more ? More details , explanation is appreciated. I never opened a laptop before, but if that's guaranteed to work, I'll certainly do it.

 

Probably would try y500 whitelist removal bios + intel 6200/6205. Though there is no guarantee.

 

Thanks baiii , but what does "whitelist" and "removal bios" mean ?

Please when you answer take into consideration that the poster may have no background in that stuff

 

Lenovo machine restrict add-on hardware(wifi card in this instance) that the machine can use. Say if you get another wifi adapter and plug it in, the laptop will stop at post/boot.
The whitelist is a list of hardware that the machine accept so it can boot. The whitelist is stored in the bios which is kind of like firmware. A whitelist removal bios remove the restriction for wifi card.

It come up as first result on google, though flashing a mod'd bios "may" void your warranty.

 

Thanks for the explanation; but the Alfa external adapter worked fine on the Y500, except that it's not getting the wireless network I want.
Or were you referring to flashing the bios which is necessary to get another internal wlan adapter ?

 

yes, another internal wlan adapter, intel 6200/ 6205 or atheros 9382 /AR5BHB116

 

Okay can you please explain the stages I must do it?
Can't flashing the bios damage the computer or its bios?

Would that be necessary to connect the old HP 6710b's wlan card? How do I remove it and connect it to the new laptop (Y500) ?

 

just do what I did with my y470p, buy one of these NEW Intel 6235ANHMW 6235 Wifi Wlan BT Bluetooth 4 0 HP Envy 4 6 Lenovo E430 | eBay

 

Thanks, but why this one specifically? what makes you sure it's going to work with the Y500, and give me better performance and range than the built in chip ?