Can't get my wireless going

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Lightning · #1 Post by **Lightning** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:00 am

My T30 has been reliable for years, and while I hate to say this... for a while I was sharing it with my wife until I got her a new desktop setup. All of a sudden the wireless isn't working and its not something obvious. It actually "looks" like its working but it fails to "connect". Her desktop has a wireless card and it's upstairs (working fine) while my T30 is on the desk two feet from the LinkSys wireless cable gateway and I can't connect. Can someone suggest things to check? I'm not a big time technician, but I can follow instructions just fine.

Thanks in advance!

Website · #2 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:13 am

Are you running Access Connections for your wireless connection, or are you using the Windows Wireless setup? Knowing that might help some of the other members help you troubleshoot.

#3 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:27 am

You could start with downloading (while 'hard-wired' to your router) Netstumbler here: http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/
That should find any networks in the area.
If nothing shows, you can try and do a 'Repair', rightclick on your wifi-symbol in the SystemTray and follow the options there.
If still no luck, switch your TP off, remove the card (as per T30 Hardware Maintenance Manual), reboot withoout it. Switch off again and reinsert card. Reboot again and hope that Windows re-installs it again.
If still no joy, you may have a duff card (it happens).

PS: for future reference, you could put your T30 details in your 'Signature', as e.g. seen in mine.

Lightning · #4 Post by **Lightning** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:09 pm

OK, I downloaded and installed NetStumbler and while it did detect a wireless network it was referencing the old network name that was used months ago. Per NS instructions, I disabled the network card in the device manager and then re-enabled it... nothing seemed to change. I also tried re-booting... nothing miraculous either.

I tried right-clicking on the wireless icon in the tray to see if a repair could be started. It starts but I get an error message stating that it can't disable the network adapter, and that I should make sure my network adapter is properly installed.

Being this unit has a built in wireless card, I've never removed it nor do I even know where it is. When I open Network Connections there is an icon for the wireless (and the wired) Network Connection, and when I try to view the available wireless networks I get the message that I may have enabled another program to manage the wireless connection (huh?) and if I want Windows to manage it, I have to start the Wireless Zero Configuration service.

#5 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:29 am

As I said before, download the Hardware Maintenance Manual here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-42308
I comes with full instructions and illustrations.

From your post you probably access the wireless via Access Connections, an IBM-program.
Go to Start/Programs/ThinkVantage/Access Connections, then click on Tools/Diagnostics and try out the possibilities there.
Then report back.

Davemci · #6 Post by **Davemci** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:56 am

You didn't say if it is an internal (Mini-PCI) ot PC-Card, but if it's internal, have you checked the antenna leads that connect to the Mini-PCI card? When mine aren't connected I get a poor signal even a few feet from my router.

Upon re-reading you did say it's internal. There is an access door on the bottom of your computer. Remove the screw and the cover should come off. You'll see the WIFI card. there are 2 wires connected to it that are labeled "Primary" and "secondary". Make sure they didn't fall off. They may also have become corroded and just need to be cleaned.

Lightning · #7 Post by **Lightning** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:21 pm

I flipped the unit over and removed the card and re-seated it, put the clip back in place and made sure the connector was also seated. There are four (4) wires running to this card... 2 via some sort of swinging joint on the back side and a small white connector with 2 additional wires.

Buttoned it back up and it won't even boot now. The crescent moon LED is glowing indicating its in some sort of sleep mode? I've never used that function, but hitting the function key and the F4 button (which has a crescent in blue) also does not take it out of this state.

Boy... what have I done? Other than my wireless problem this unit was rock solid. Hopefully its a dumb thing and someone will point out the simple click that will bring it back to life.

#8 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:34 pm

To wake it up, just press the Start button for a few seconds.

Lightning · #9 Post by **Lightning** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:23 pm

Held it down for a minute... nothing. No sounds of the drive or fan spinning. The crescent moon is just glowing. A little warm on the bottom side where the NIC is. Gonna take it apart again.

OPened it, slid the clip off, unseated the NIC, reseated it, then put the clip back. The NIC is still unusually warm although I confess never having checked that area much. Plugged the power cable back in... held down the button... NADA.

Is it possible to fry the motherboard by just removing the NIC? Any other re-boot suggestions? Is there some sort of internal reset that's hidden?

#10 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:31 am

It looks more and more like a duff card. From your specs, you have a combined 802.11b/modem card. The modem part is where the white plastic with 2 wires goes in.
Take that card out again and see if you can wake up your TP.
If it does, start looking for a replacement. If you don't need a modem for dial-up any more, check our Market forum, user 'overclocker' who has a regular supply of these stand-alone wifi cards.

#11 Post by **rkawakami** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:04 am

Lightning wrote:The crescent moon is just glowing.

That indicates that the system is in a standby mode. Try pressing the Fn key for a second.

Lightning · #12 Post by **Lightning** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:52 am

I removed the card and have tried the following with no luck:

1. Held down the Fn Key for 30 seconds.
2. Held down the Fn/F4 Keys for 60 seconds.
3. Held down the Power On key for 60 seconds.
4. Held down the Fn/F12 Keys for 30 seconds.
5. Held down the Fn/F7 Keys for 30 seconds.

Nothing seems to be able to trigger this TP back from a deep sleep and it was working fine when I started this thread except I could not "connect" via wireless even though Device Manager said the card was working properly.

Is there any "special" service key or combination of keys that will wake up a TP? Something that a trained IBM tech would use? I can't believe that something as simple as removing the NIC and reseating it would lull a perfectly running machine into a coma rendering it useless. If I sent this machine back to IBM I'd probably have to pay a bundle, and they'd "fix" it, but what would they actually do? I know its not a PDA but my Dell Axim has a soft/hard reset that is user accessible.

Well... I'm stumped. If anyone has any ideas, please step forward.

Purcy · #13 Post by **Purcy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:18 am

I'm just throwing this out there, but I assume you have been doing all this servicing with the AC power cord in, right? Have you tried taking the battery out for a few minutes then putting it in - I only suggest this since the battery state is so closely connected to the standby function, like when it is dead

But if you have been on AC power, not sure if that would be the case, just worth a shot.

Good luck.

Lightning · #14 Post by **Lightning** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:23 am

I've disconnected the power cord while opening and closing the NIC, and actually did remove the battery and then tried to use the cord only... but no joy with that approach.

This is almost comical... but it looks like its going to cost me a few bucks to have some IBM service center fix it eventually if I can't get it going over the next few days. Thank gawd I have a desktop... but everything on the TP HDD is out the window for the moment.

#15 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:19 pm

It'll be small consolation, but if you get a 2.5" external USB HD-enclosure, you can take the laptop's HD out, and attach it via USB to your desktop.
Alternatively, get a 2.5" - 3.5" adapter and hook it up to a spare IDE-connector in your desktop. In that case you may have to change the Master/Slave jumper on that HD.

If you leave that TP alone for a day or 2, without the battery, the system should abandon the 'coma'/standby and you should be able to boot her/him/it up again. At least that is the theory.

Lightning · #16 Post by **Lightning** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:36 pm

At this point I'll try anything. I'll leave unplugged without the battery inserted over the weekend and give it a try on Monday. I do happen to have a 2.5" USB enclosure with a spare 20 Gig drive in it that I could pirate, but I can't believe that I can't it going since its worked flawlessly since I bought it a couple of years ago.

Is this coma state something that has happened to others?

#17 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 1:49 am

Just had an afterthought. When you removed the card for the first time, it could be possible that the keyboard-connector has become 'unstuck' or loose. That would explain no keys responding to your revival tactics!
To check this, use the HMM, page 81. It's only 2 screws so should be a no-brainer.
Remove/reinsert the connector firmly.

Lightning · #18 Post by **Lightning** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:37 am

RBS... you're a genius! That was it. The connector was ever so slightly ajar and she re-booted just fine. Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

Now, if we can only figure out some sort of diagnostic for the network card. I put it back in and I'm kinda'back to my OP. The "connection" shows up in the Network page with an "X" (not connected). The Repair function doesn't seem to do much for me, and while I did install Network Stumbler, I confess that I'm not sure what I should be looking for in terms of user-changeable features.

Purcy · #19 Post by **Purcy** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:07 am

Oh hey, this is fantastic!! I've been watching this thread hoping you'd be live again. Congratulations and good call realblackstuff!!

By the way, do you have a notebook adapter PC card you can put into the PCMCIA slot just to see if you get anything that way?

Lightning · #20 Post by **Lightning** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:43 am

No... all I have is the original OEM Intel Model M3AWEB56GA card that was in it from the get-go. Someone had suggested talking to Underclocker about a Broadcom card but he said he's never owned a T30 so he didn't know if it would work. He suggested asking here, in the T2X-T3X section.

This is not my primary PC... right now I have a Shuttle XPC that is 2.5GHz, 2 GB RAM, 2 SATA drives, 256MB ATI VC, with built-in FW and USB 2.0. A "hot" little cube that runs as quiet as a notebook and as cool as a cucumber.

But it would be nice if the notebook's wireless worked, and if it worked with my wireless G cable gateway... that'd be an improvement. I don't even know if LinkSys makes a faster wireless cable gateway, but I confess to not really looking real hard.

#21 Post by **Harryc** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:55 am

Try disabling encryption in the wireless router and in the Thinkpad wifi configuration as a test. Also make 100% sure that the ESSID that you have configured in the TP is identical to the ESSID configured in the router.

#22 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 12:51 pm

I'm delighted to hear the patient is alive and kicking again!
[counts Genius brain-cells: 1, 2, 3 ... many]

Now go find another mini-pci card.
My T30 model (below) had the 1802 problem (sorted with no-1802.exe) and still has the 01c9 problem. This no big deal though, all I have to do is press the Esc button at boot and after that everything is hunky-dory.
Never tried the T23 Intel 2915 in my T30.

Lightning · #23 Post by **Lightning** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 7:00 am

I guess I have to assume that the OEM NIC went south on me and I'll just have to replace it because there's not much in the way of diagnostics that I can try... right?

That being the case... what are my options? Underclocker has those Broadcom NICs but neither he nor I know whether they would work on a T30.

#24 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 7:36 am

I can't give a guarantee, just suggestions.
As said before, go for a card with Atheros chipset, available on eBay and other places. They have the added advantage of SuperG at 108Mb.
As long as your Atheros Model is AR5004 or AR5003 or AR5002 you'll have only the 1802-error to patch (takes 2 minutes).
AR5005 and higher also have the 01c9 error, which can be patched on some of them, but not all (like my AR5006 which has this error).
Read up a bit on it here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... s#Solution
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... twork_card
There's more info available here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=20365

Of course you can always pay through the nose and get an original IBM card...

Lightning · #25 Post by **Lightning** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:35 am

I've started looking on eBay, but I haven't found any vendors that actually describe the card in detail where they actually note the chipset used in the card. I just searched Thinkpad wireless card... should I look elsewhere? Links?

BTW, can I add an internal bluetooth adapter to my T30? Is it part of the NIC or a separate daughterboard?

dsigma6 · #26 Post by **dsigma6** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:19 pm

Lightning wrote:there's not much in the way of diagnostics that I can try... right?

Wouldn't PC Doctor do the trick? I know it looks at network cards, so give it a try.

#27 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:52 pm

According to the HMM, it's a separate daughtercard, that fits in the same opening next to the wifi-card. You'll need to either install a new, or hook up an existing, BT-antenna.
Read up on it in the HMM, pages 74 and 110.

#28 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:12 pm

OK, I downloaded and installed NetStumbler and while it did detect a wireless network it was referencing the old network name that was used months ago.

Look, you can ignore my previous post (rude) if you want to, but that old ESSID is not being produced out of thin air.. Check your router config...or waste your money.

Lightning · #29 Post by **Lightning** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:22 pm

I did wind up buying a Atheros type card and I finally got a chance to install tonight. When I go to boot, it hangs with this message:

WARNING:
01C9: More than one Ethernet devices are found. Remove one of them.
Press <ESC> to continue

ERROR:
1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power OFF and remove the miniPCI network card.

ERROR:
Resource Conflict - PCI Network Controller in slot 01
Bus:02, Device:02, Function:00

The seller is willing to take the card back if it doesn't work, but what I wanted to ask was whether I have to modify anything to use this card? BTW, pressing <ESC> does nothing during the boot or during post... the machine just hangs there at this screen.

#30 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:52 am

RealBlackStuff wrote: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... s#Solution
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... twork_card
There's more info available here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=20365

It's all in here. Start reading!
And you only press Esc once that message shows up AND after you got rid of 1802.
And what is the exact brand/model/chipset of your new wifi-card?

Can't get my wireless going

Can't get my wireless going

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