Thinkpads Forum

So I upgraded my T60 from XP to Vista. Everything was running fine until about 2 weeks into it, my computer stopped recognizing my wireless card. The card is no longer even in the device manager!

As far as I know, I haven't specifically made any changes to it. I reinstalled Vista, and the problem goes away, but sooner or later, it comes back again. I checked my BIOS, and I think it is recognizing the fact that my wireless card is in fact there, but vista itself doesn't. I checked the drivers, and reinstalled the atheros drivers of the lenovo website (since that's the card I have), but it didn't help. If I connect via a cable, everything works, but the mini PCI card doesn't.....

I've tried searching, but I can't find any solutions on google or other forums. If anyone can help, it would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

If you hit Fn-F5 is the wireless radio enabled?

The card itself could be malfunctioning.

Harryc wrote:If you hit Fn-F5 is the wireless radio enabled?

When I do Fn+F5, it doesn't show the card. All I see is the bluetooth device

ryengineer wrote:The card itself could be malfunctioning.

Possible. Is there any way to test that? I have a 3 year warranty provided by my school (I bought it through school), so getting it replaced shouldn't be that big of a problem.

ryengineer wrote:The card itself could be malfunctioning.

Possible. Is there any way to test that? I have a 3 year warranty provided by my school (I bought it through school), so getting it replaced shouldn't be that big of a problem.[/quote]

sure, swap it out with a known good card..

how difficult is it to swap out a wireless card on T60s? I've taken it apart to replace the keyboard, and it was a confusing mess under that....

skinnyp220 wrote:how difficult is it to swap out a wireless card on T60s? I've taken it apart to replace the keyboard, and it was a confusing mess under that....

Mini PCI removal movie - ThinkPad T60/p.

Mini PCI Installation movie - ThinkPad T60/p.

The above procedure is indentical for Mini PCI Express wireless LAN card.

skinnyp220 wrote:how difficult is it to swap out a wireless card on T60s? I've taken it apart to replace the keyboard, and it was a confusing mess under that....

if you did replaced keyboard then replacing wireless card should be easy for you then, caused the wireless is right under the keyboard once you take the it out..

The idea that my wireless card itself is malfunctioning is plausible, but I have one problem with the idea. This whole problem only started after I installed vista (after having XP for over a year). Also, every time I reinstall vista, the problem goes away (temporarily).

So my question is, do those last symptoms fit the diagnose that the wireless card itself is failing?

skinnyp220 wrote:snip....So my question is, do those last symptoms fit the diagnose that the wireless card itself is failing?

Not really, it points to the fact you aren't installing the drivers properly. Are you using Access Connections by chance? If so please consider the following:

Notes:
-If you use ThinkVantage Access Connections, the following software must be installed.

-ThinkVantage Access Connections version 4.4 or higher.
-Lenovo System Interface Driver version 1.00.0702 or higher.
-ThinkPad Power Management Driver for Windows 98 Vista, XP, 2000, Me, SE Vista version 1.42 or higher.
-Hotkey Features for Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit, XP, 2000 version 2.01.0703 or higher.
-You may need to reenter security information after updating the Wireless LAN driver.

Also while installing the drivers manually some people forget the fact that all the package does is it unpacks itself to a location on your HDD and you would need to run the .exe file by locating the folder, in this case the drivers are unpacked in C:\DRIVERS\Vista\WLLANATH\SETUP.EXE .

Installation instructions

1. Start Windows Vista and logon with administrative privileges.
2. Double-click the driver package to extract it to your hard drive. 3. The default location is C:\DRIVERS\Vista\WLLANATH.
3. Click Start, select All Programs, select Accessories, then click Run...
4. Specify SETUP.EXE with the full path name where you extracted the package in the step 2, and click OK. Example: C:\DRIVERS\Vista\WLLANATH\SETUP.EXE
5. Follow the instructions to complete the driver install.

yeah I did all that. I installed the drivers, and it worked fine for a while. So when the card failed, i tired reinstalling the drivers (including the whole running the .exe file after unpacking the file from the lenovo site).

I'm fairly certain it isn't a driver problem only because I'm certain i installed all the drivers correctly.

I also don't use access connections, but I tried with it. even then, it still didn't recognize the wireless card. If it was a driver problem, the device should show up in the device manager and just have a question mark by it, right? My wireless card isn't even showing up on the device manager.

You have two options:

1. Revert back to Windows XP to diagnose whether the problem isn't limited to the Operating System.

2. Call IBM Support Center at 1-800-426-7378 (24/7)! and request a replacement as long as your machine is still under warranty. Also, if you cannot swap the card yourself then take your machine to the nearest IBM authorized Repair Center.

First, let me say that I defer to all the good and capable people who already posted answers to your questions.
My answer is more a question than a solution.

When I first switched to Vista, from XP Pro, the ethernet card would disappear when on battery power, to optimize battery life. I didn't know that at the time, until I came to the forum and asked.

I was wondering if the settings for the wireless card could be similarly configured, either deliberately or by accident, so that the OP would not see the wireless card when on battery power?

I am not an engineer, so please don't get p.od if I am saying some sort of nonsense. For me it's a logical inference.

I'm fairly certain it isn't a battery problem only because the wireless card is gone on both battery and AC power. Also, I personally changed those settings because the vista default for wireless is a bit strange.


I'm going to try to get a new wireless card and see if that fixes the problem. I'll also install Ubuntu to see if it is an OS problem. Thanks for all the help from everyone! Hopefully something will work out.

You don't even have to install Linux. Just boot up a live Linux CD. Knoppix would be a good choice.

Harryc wrote:You don't even have to install Linux. Just boot up a live Linux CD. Knoppix would be a good choice.

yeah but this gives me a good excuse to install linux, something i've been considering for a while now.

I'm currently running the live Ubuntu CD. I can see the wireless networks, though I can't connect to anything....

Keep in mind that when I first installed vista, everything worked fine. It was only after a while that this problem occurred. And every time I reinstalled vista, the wireless card worked fine for some amount of time before failing.

Before I request a new wireless card, I would like to know if this new information (about Ubuntu) helps diagnose the problem.

Thank you all very much.

I saw a reference on a Linux forum about a laptop and someone trying to get their wireless adapter working. They were getting a message about the card being turned off in the firmware, and that it was necessary to turn on the adapter to install the drivers. I wonder if you might be encountering a similar problem. Perhaps your card was turned off by some software code, and you need to send the appropriate code to the card to turn it back on.

I notice that my Sierra Wireless 860 AirCard has such a code. If I send the command AT!POWERDOWN to the card from the terminal, the card is powered off, and I can't seem to turn it back on except with the Sierra Wireless 3G Watcher program.

So, my wireless has started to work again....

I didn't really do anything. I just rebooted into Vista after removing the live ubuntu disk, and it started working again.....

I honestly don't know what to say from this, but the only option that seems to make even a bit of sense would be a defective wireless card. If the problem occurs again, I guess I'll just get a replacement.

Thanks for all the input from everyone, and I must say, the response time is phenomenal.

*EDIT*
....and it's gone again. I've been sitting at my computer the whole time watching anime too, so I know for a fact nothing (software wise) has changed (at least I don't think so. I didn't install any new programs or anything).

Malfunctioning wireless card then?

Once again, thanks in advance. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate any and all help.

I believe the member in the following thread got his working by getting a replacement:

Disappearing Wireless Adapter.

Please contact IBM to get a replacement.

ryengineer wrote:I believe the member in the following thread got his working by getting a replacement:

Disappearing Wireless Adapter.

Please contact IBM to get a replacement.

I asked that member, and he said that when the problem appeared, he would hibernate the computer and then when he restarted, the adapter came back. I will use this method now, but I am still curious on why exactly this problem is occurring...

I'll still ask for a replacement card to see if that fixes the problem. I will keep you updated so others may benefit.

Once again, thank you all.

I'm seeing something similar. I have a t60p with vista and the atheros a/b/g card. Under XP I was fine with access connections -- if I plugged in an ethernet cable, it would turn off wireless and use that, and if I unplugged it, it would turn the wireless back on and use that.

now I am using vista with the same hardware. when I plug in a cable, it switches over, but when I unplug, the wireless device is missing (not showing up in device manager, not showing up with fn-f5, etc.). I have to shut down and power up again to get it to come back.

any ideas?

according to the lenovo system updater I have all the latest stuff.

thanks

@mlevin,
If you are using Access connections 5.01 or 5.02 you may want to try installing AC 4.54, which is on Lenovo's driver matrix. This solved my problems with dropouts and freezing when returning from sleep and hibernate on my T60 using Vista Home Premium with SP1. It has happened on my R51 using XPP with SP3. Lenovo has known about this for about a month but has not revised AC 5.02