WLAN Adapter gone after WIN 10/64 Upgrade

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cdrnet

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#190703 9-Jan-2016 14:40

I have an ASUS X55C notebook that has been upgraded from Win7. The OnBoard WLAN adapter no longer exists in device manager. The Win 10 troubleshooter doesn't help. My thought was that I should remove it in the bios, restart & shutdown before re-enabling it to see I it shows up again. Unfortunately I don't have bios password and the supplier isn't around anymore.

It was working just fine on Win7, so I see no reason as to why it shouldn't work just as well with Win 10. Driver updates are of no use, as there seems to be no hardware (anymore) to enable.

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated?

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

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#1466538 9-Jan-2016 14:43

Is it listed in device manager as 'unknown device' in a different category?

cdrnet

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#1466544 9-Jan-2016 14:54

gzt: Is it listed in device manager as 'unknown device' in a different category?

The Device Manager is clean, with no unknown devices or exclamation marks at all.

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

gzt

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#1466550 9-Jan-2016 15:08

Are there any Win10 related files on the x55c support page?

I'd ask if you are running the latest bios but that might be difficult. Tried to look for a reset?

toyonut

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#1466584 9-Jan-2016 15:55

What happens if you just download the driver from the Asus site and try install it. Just try the Win 7 or 8 driver if one for 10 is not available.
Otherwise open an admin command prompt, type in SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 and then devmgmt.msc. now in the device manager that opens you can also do view>show hidden devices. This should reveal all hardware even if it has been hidden. Hopefully there should be a "ghost" wlan device you can remove and then reinstall.

Also, if you are confident stripping laptops, ifixit has instructions for removing the cmos battery. It seems to be pretty well hidden though so it is a full strip down. Remove it for a while and it should reset the bios to have no password. There may be a reset jumper somewhere as well once you start stripping it.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Asus+X55C+CMOS+-+BIOS+Battery+Replacement/34739#s79929

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

http://www.vultr.com/?ref=7033587-3B

richms

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#1466586 9-Jan-2016 16:19

Done the keyboard hotkey to turn WiFi off and on a couple of times?

Richard rich.ms

cdrnet

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#1466600 9-Jan-2016 16:57

gzt: Are there any Win10 related files on the x55c support page?

I'd ask if you are running the latest bios but that might be difficult. Tried to look for a reset?

Yes, the files are there and they install OK. The device still doesnt however show.

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

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cdrnet

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#1466601 9-Jan-2016 16:59

richms: Done the keyboard hotkey to turn WiFi off and on a couple of times?

Yes I have tried that a few times and also removing the battery and using the power button for a hardware reset.

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

gzt

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#1466619 9-Jan-2016 17:20

Just randomly does it have a USB card reader? Disable that then cold boot and see if wlan magically appears. There is a USB device limit long story but maybe

yitz

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#1466623 9-Jan-2016 17:34

Try changing the advanced power settings for wireless adapter to maximum performance and check PCI-E settings.
Then disable fast startup.
Reboot to see if the device appears.

If there are newer drivers for your wireless adapter or power profiles available from your vendor for Windows 10 then download and install those.

cdrnet

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#1466792 9-Jan-2016 23:01

yitz: Try changing the advanced power settings for wireless adapter to maximum performance and check PCI-E settings.
Then disable fast startup.
Reboot to see if the device appears.

If there are newer drivers for your wireless adapter or power profiles available from your vendor for Windows 10 then download and install those.

OK - I've tried everything suggested, several times over. The wireless symbol appeared for a few seconds, once only, but then disappeared again. Nothing appeared in device manager.

I think I need to go down the bios password reset route. Will let you guys know how I get on.

Thanks very much for these excellent suggestions.

Cheers,
Andrew

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

yitz

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#1466804 9-Jan-2016 23:27

cdrnet: The wireless symbol appeared for a few seconds, once only, but then disappeared again. Nothing appeared in device manager.

Might also be worth checking the event log for any relevant entries... search and run Event Viewer to check.

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#1466820 10-Jan-2016 00:12

Also not all devices will show as a ! item if there are no drivers, SDIO wireless devices just do not show or show as something else without the ! error when I have dealt with them. Putting drivers in makes them appear. No idea how the wireless device is connected in the OP's computer tho, but SDIO is common on the cheap atom stuff like tablets and small $100US computers.

Richard rich.ms

cdrnet

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#1466917 10-Jan-2016 11:19

Other than the standard startup sequence, the event log is eventless and also error free.

I believe I have the correct drivers, however I could be wrong about this. I suspect that getting inside the unit and checking connections, as well as noting down the wireless chip spec, and locating the BIOS battery, is the way to go.

Thanks again for the assistance and also for the further education (c8

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

gzt

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#1466957 10-Jan-2016 13:18

There are some x55c motherboards on eBay etc maybe can be seen there. If that fails then go for a $20 nano USB wifi if your network is good. : ).

cdrnet

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#1467155 10-Jan-2016 18:53

gzt: There are some x55c motherboards on eBay etc maybe can be seen there. If that fails then go for a $20 nano USB wifi if your network is good. : ).

Yes, that's what I have done to get it online. A $20 Realtek chipset adapter does the job well. I just want to get the inbuilt unit working properly.

Why, oh why, oh why, won't this work )c8

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