If you conclude that the network card is faulty, check out replacement wireless card prices on AliX. They're usually pretty cheap. I replaced one recently (old one totally failed) and it cost around USD$9. It is much nicer to have the internal card working than having a USB dongle hanging out the side of the laptop 24/7.
I read that and other comments - basically it seems like a series of dramas with this card. I don't understand how a replacement card might work. I had thought of cards from my days with desktops when I amassed quite a collection. Still have some tools and screw supplies from that era. Not as fiddly as laptops. It took my wife who is more dexterous considerable effort to achieve it.
From my simple perspective the card is faulty, and any replacement could well develop another fault judging from how many faIl. However if there's a possibility of not having to have a dongle jutting out for the next 2-3 years (if I don't lose it and throw the machine out the window).
PhilANZ: I read that and other comments - basically it seems like a series of dramas with this card. I don't understand how a replacement card might work. I had thought of cards from my days with desktops when I amassed quite a collection. Still have some tools and screw supplies from that era. Not as fiddly as laptops. It took my wife who is more dexterous considerable effort to achieve it.
Opening up laptops is not allways so simple , a few the back just slides off, others are far from simple to 'split' open And some then require a complete strip down just to get at the part you want to replace I wouldnt recommend it unless you are VERY confident re your skills You can google it (google your laptop model + replace wifi card), look for youtube vids & see if its something you are willing to have a crack at After all that , it may not fix the issue anyway . Its going to be a process of elimination to find the cause of the issue. I presume youve tried all the easy 'fixes' , so thats leaving you with less options now.
A CD bootable Linux disk would be worth a try , that will show you if its win/driver issue or a hardware issue
Also, install for bios/firmware updates for the laptop , if available .
I now know that opening up laptops is indeed not simple. Done dozens of desktops (used to be accountant and computer guy for a company with 7 branches (plus HO) in the old days. Never touched a laptop with a screwdriver (thought of using a hammer a couple of times but resisted 😉).
Downloaded the manual. There are only two panels on the bottom (I assume the rest are too dangerous for mere mortals.) One covers the hard disk and RAM and one the WIFI card. The problem for a couple in their sixties was getting the two tiny (did I mention TINY) cable connectors hooked back up.
I think we've tried all the easy fixes (BIOS / drivers) - but of course we could always find an easy trick we've missed. Having checked for HP specific and Intel WIFI specific, we've come to the sad conclusion there is no easy fix.
Still haven't got a USB WIFI - have to get accounts / taxes stuff out of the way this month. Plus it grates that this supposedly business class machine has failed where "ordinary" machines haven't.
I have a bootable OS/2 disk somewhere in my archives - would love to try that - but a bit archaic hardware wise. A bootable Linux disk might be an option to find out if it really is Windows (as I suspect) or the machine. Might pop over to the Linux forum and ask about that. Or see if my son knows anything - he works for Peter Jackson's empire and was talking about something that sounded like Linux. He grew up on DOS and OS/2 - biased against Windows - can't think where he gets that from. Has to run Windows at home for some of his photography / videography software. Has stayed with Windows 7. The was totally independent of the fact that W7 was the first (and apparently last) version I regard as reasonable.
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Yeah, cards fail randomly (as mind did), and sure, depending on your luck, the replacement might last 3 years or 3 weeks. Many AliX sellers state that the part is tested before shipping.
If you're leery of the present model card, most laptops ship with several different brands of wireless card for different markets etc, so buy one of the alternates.
If you can get your hands on a dead laptop for parts, then in many cases (but not all) it is possible to fit models of cards of the same form factor that the OEM never shipped in the laptop. I have had good luck upgrading to non OEM network cards in Toshiba's but some HP bios's have a white-list of peripherals and will refuse to boot while non-OEM cards are detected (Elite books in my experience). Just Google your model of laptop to confirm that before spending $$ on a non OEM card.
Just be sure that if you do change card model and end up with a surplus antenna lead, to insulate the unused little metal plug so it doesn't touch and short circuit any electronics.
Had to know so bit the bullet. There's nothing wrong with the card - it works fine under Linux. In fact the lag in performance between wired and WIFI didn't exist - one test of each and both were 96 / 97 mbps. (WIFI's usually around 80 - less on 2.4GHz.) Most interesting. If I didn't have to run so many Windoze-based programs for my work .... It was so easy even a complete novice (never touched it before) had it up and running in no time. If I retire might consider dual boot. But in the real world, I now know the problem is purely Windows.
Well now that I've narroed it down, AFAIK I've changed the relevant (and a few others in case) settings. So I'll start by trying a few other drivers - and then figure out how to stop Windoze updated bulldozing over it.
Being a non-tech, I figured simply replacing the driver with an old one from the days when it worked wouild do it. On checking HP's site (figured I'd used that all along so why use Intel) I went for one from late 2016. It was about half the size which in my eyes mean there was kless to go wrong 😀.
As you might guess it makes no difference. I now have no idea where to turn (apart from trying each and every driver but that seems a pretty bleak task).
Good thinking trying a previous driver, i know there has been times when this has solved issues around graphics cards, but it is a shame it didnt resolve your issue.
This could be due to a couple of reasons - one being that Windows may have updated since then, and two, the hardware might be at fault here.
The type of WiFi card that is in the laptop shares a common connection port, thus finding a different model of Intel WiFi card might help rule out any hardware issues with the card itself.
I haven't had time to find a spare card at home yet for you (been dealing with a cylinder head issue in the wife's car) but will try dig one out of the weekend while the heads are being checked.
Building a Linux boot cd and seeing if the issues persist might be a good test for the time being though - not much to loose doing so.
I tested the change after deleting the old driver and loading the old one. And I took my life in my hands and was pleasantly surprised how easy it wasto create a Linux USB, booting from which showed the card is fine.
In the past I have experienced drivers that are a bit 'sticky' and despite looking like you have overwritten them with an older version, windows isn't actually rolling back 100% to the old driver. Sometimes you need a program specifically written to remove the offending driver to get rid of it properly. Maybe some of the more experience Windows guys can comment.
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