Can't enable wireless network adapter on laptop

I have an HP Pavilion dv4t-1200 entertainment notebook, and recently upgraded it to Windows 8. The wireless card never worked on Windows 8 so I reformatted the HDD and did a fresh install of Windows 7. however now I can't enable the wireless card. This is the problem I originally had with Windows 8. I can see the wireless network adapter which is enabled but the softkey on the keyboard is orange (meaning WiFi is turned off). The problem is that pressing the softkey won't enable the WiFi. All drivers are up to date. Please help. This is driving me nuts!!!

user215730

Posted 2013-04-10T01:20:11.270

Reputation: 1

Is there a physical switch for the WiFi? Also did you actually get the original drivers from the HP site? Windows might not have ones that support the button. – trpt4him – 2013-04-10T01:56:07.830

Do you need to use function + softkey to enable the wireless? – cpt_fink – 2013-04-11T01:24:54.490

no, there is no physical switch and it should simply turn on by pressing the softkey. I did get all of the drivers from the official hp site. there is no function + softkey option... – user215730 – 2013-04-27T18:34:15.010

Answers

I found a solution for anyone else out there with a similar problem. It was a bios issue. Simply go into the bios, and reset to default settings. Viola! the problem will be fixed and you will be able to enable wifi on your laptop again.

user215730

Posted 2013-04-10T01:20:11.270

Reputation: 1

The only solution that worked for me was to open my laptop back cover and remove the Wi-Fi card. I turned on the laptop without the Wi-Fi card, shutdown the machine, and returned the wireless adapter before turning on the laptop again. It might sound a bit extreme but that worked for me. I also noticed a screw that holds the Wi-Fi adapter was missing and suspect this might be the root cause of the problem.

James

Posted 2013-04-10T01:20:11.270

Reputation: 11

Boot up a live distro of Linux, such as Ubuntu. Test to see if you can use the WiFi through it, if you can, return here, if you can't, go to the local parts shop.

user88311

Posted 2013-04-10T01:20:11.270

Reputation: 1 646

it works through ubuntu... but it should work through windows as well – user215730 – 2013-04-27T18:34:50.077

It's possible your wireless adapter is disabled on startup, because the helper program is not turned on. To check this, open the Start Menu, type msconfig and open the one result. Select the Normal startup radio button, click OK, then restart the computer. Hopefully this will force the wireless to turn on.

user335149

Posted 2013-04-10T01:20:11.270

Reputation: 1