Vista Tutorial - Can't detect wireless networks; HP Wireless Asst. doesn't acknowle

Hi all. I'm on a Compaq Presario v3231AU running Windows Vista Business SP1.
Apologies, this is quite long but I want to get it right, and I need help! My
integrated wireless is screwed up somehow, and it's really puzzling me. It
didn’t work yesterday, then worked briefly today - just as I had typed out a
long explanation to post here - and now it doesn't again.

I hadn't used wifi in about a month, and back then it worked like a song.
(This is post SP1, so that can’t be it.) Yesterday, I was at my local pub,
which has free wifi, and my computer couldn't find the network. My flatmate
could connect on his Macbook. So there was a network with a strong signal.

The wireless switch is set to on. The light is blue (on). However, when I
boot up the computer, the little white box that briefly appears to say
"Bluetooth: On" and "WLAN: On" only said "Bluetooth: On" on it - there wasn't
a mention of WLAN (so it's not like it's saying WLAN is disabled). Bluetooth
works fine.

When I went to the Network & Sharing Centre, I did a "diagnose why you can't
find any networks" and it said my wireless adapter was not
installed/configured. I googled this, and got some answers - most of which
were too technical or not exactly related to my problem. I did try some of
the answers, noticed in my Device Manager that the MS 6to4 and ISATAP things
had yellow exclamation mark signs, tried to update but it said I had the
latest versions and this made no difference.

I opened HP Wireless Assistant, and WLAN didn’t even appear there – not a
mention of it, like it doesn’t exist. Bluetooth was there, and it was on. HP
Wireless Assistant was set to show the icon in the notification area, and it
did.

I finally gave up yesterday, but I did install a Broadcom driver from HP's
site, probably an old one, which overwrote the one I had already installed.

So this morning, I took my laptop to work with me and was typing out a post
for this forum when I booted up to get the correct wording on the messages I
was getting. All of a sudden, in the little white box, it said "Bluetooth:
Configured" and "WLAN: Configured", followed shortly by "Bluetooth: On" and
"WLAN: On". Ah ha! Magically it worked!

Then, it said it was installing a Broadcom Wireless 802.11 (or whatever)
driver, then said that was successful. The HP Wireless Assistant icon was not
in the notification area, although it was supposed to be. When I opened
Wireless Asst., there were both WLAN and Bluetooth, both set to on.

I took it to a nearby cafe and was successful in connecting to their free
wifi.

BUT THEN - I get home tonight, boot up the computer, and it's right back to
where it was yesterday - no mention of WLAN in the little white box or the HP
Wireless Assistant. The Asst. icon is back in the notification are (I mention
this because it's about the only difference I notice.) Same result if I
diagnose, and my flatmate can see one or two networks around our house.

The only thing I did between yesterday and this morning was take it home
from the pub, charge it overnight, and take it to work this morning. Other
than that, I plugged into a LAN cable while I was at work (after I tested the
wifi at the cafe) so I could update iTunes and stuff. That worked fine, BTW
(it's my personal computer, not the company's, so I can't exactly ask IT to
help.)

Does ANYONE have any idea what is up? Or, more important, how to fix it? I’d
really appreciate any help.

Thanks
Ed

I have the same problem.
Exactly the same!

I've noticed that nobody replied on your Question on the Vista forum.
That sucks! I wished that somebody had replied with the solution so people
like me could've gotten helped too...

I hope you got it fixed by now.
I don't know much about forums. If you've found a solution to that
disturbing thing, can you please send me an e-mail, cuz i don't know how i
got here and i don't think i'll end up in here again.

Anyway, i thank you regardlessly.
It's enough to know that somebody else is having the same problem and that
it's a common thing.
I thought i was losing my mind :S
"It's ON, afterwards it's OFF", "I'm at work it's OFF, i come home and it's
ON" :S koekoek

Thanks again!
Seydi

***check the WLAN autoconfiguration if you cannot detect network[ start>type "services" on search tab>look for "WLAN autoconfig"> right click> properties> startup type - automatic and it should be started.. just try..let me know if it doesnt work..:-)

***if In a particular network it connect to another it doesnt, removed existing network profile on [manage wireless netowrk] and connect as new connection.

Hi guys,

It seems I've got a pretty similar problem.

I've been connecting to a wireless router at home through this laptop for several months now, and in the last few days it's been acting up.

Whenever I booted up the laptop, it wouldn't auto-connect to the network and when I pulled up the 'connect to a network' no networks displayed at all. Normally a few of the neighbours' wireless networks are there.
So I was quite puzzled and so I just dug up some old install files for the drivers and installed the ones that I thought were relevant: "Broadcom wireless lan" and "nvidia network something-something".
So I reinstalled those two, rebooted, and I got a popup saying the drivers were installed correctly or something, and it connected to the network.

Repeat this for a few days and now reinstalling the driver doesn't solve it anymore. I've reinstalled the two drivers countless times, rebooted countless times, and I've just plugged my laptop directly into the router and gotten the more recent "broadcom wireless lan" driver and I got the BIOS update while I was at it. A few more installs + reboots later and still no progress.

I noticed the same thing with HP Wireless Assist too, where only the bluetooth would display and the wireless was non-existant.
There seems to be no issues in the Device manager in regards to little yellow exclamation marks, although I don't seem to be able to locate the wireless network adapter. That may be a problem.

Anyway, that's the situation. Pretty similar to what's been explained above. You're not alone, guys!

Also, regarding the advice just above.
I've checked in services and WLAN is there and its status is 'started' with the automatic startup alraedy enabled. So yeah, it's still there in Services.

I hope that information helped.

[Eagerly] Looking forward to your solutions!
Cheers,

Jason

Yep, i now know sure that i'm not alone
You explained my problem quite right.
The balloon appearce. It says "bluetoothn" but no "Wlan:*status*" :S
I don't want to send it back to HP if it's a common, simple to fix problem...

So guys, plzzzz help us!


Take care

Stilleto14,

I just tried what you said, but no win
It's already on "auto"

Try unplugging your modem and router for at least ten minutes. Plug your modem in first and wait till all the lights come on. Then plug in your router. If this doesn't work reset you router to factor defaults.

re:usmc_nam_vet

It is not the modem/router at fault here. I am directly hooked up to the modem at the moment, and well... I'm here posting this, so the modem works. And I have been able to connect to Nintendo wi-fi through my router, so the router's wireless capabilities work.

May I just say: "On my laptop, the wireless network adapter has ceased to exist in the eyes of Vista for unknown reasons". That's the gist of the problem at hand.

Thanks for your time,

jason

EDIT: Is it merely a matter of replacing my wireless network adapter? I know the model number and it's about $20... I'm also considering installing xp at this point

EDITx2: I think I should alert you guys to another discussion of what appears to be close to the exact same problem: http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102...rum-w;forums06
the updated driver from broadcom fixed it for them, but apparently not for me

I know for sure it's not a modem or router problem.
The problem is in my laptop, it won't recognize any wireless networks...

I'm gonna try to re-install or update my driver, but how do i do that?
(sorry if it sound stupid, but i'm no CPU expert)

Thanks though

well im using a hp, so i just went to hp.com -> 'software + driver downloads' and located the appropriate laptop model and the corresponding drivers.

should be similar for whatever laptop you're using.

good luck!

at the moment i am considering spending $20 and just buying the new wifi card and putting it in myself to avoid calling hp's terrible customer service line -_-

very tired of dealing with vista+hp,

jason

ps: i didn't mention it earlier but my laptop is hp's tx1000. if that's of any use to people reading.