Atheros A/B/G/N Card Identification

[mtomd]

Hi everyone, I have (maybe had) an Atheros ABGN wireless card. I had to send my laptop in for service, because I was getting "NMI: Parity check error" BSOD when on wireless. I just got my machine back today and it says that they replaced the "Non planar / non modem PCB". (I assume this is the wireless card.)

The problem is that when I boot up, it shows the card's name as "11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter". Before I sent it in, I could swear that it also had a "/n" in there. Therefore, my thought is that they removed the N-card that I paid extra money for and put in a lower-grade card. I don't have an N router right now, so I can't test it (I plan on getting one soon). Therefore, I was just wondering if there is a program I can run, or if something in the "Details" tab of device manager says if the card is "N" or not. I just wanted to ask here before I call up Lenovo again and ask about it - since it might be nothing at all. (I'd rather not open the computer to look at the card.)

Thanks,
Michael

[sjthinkpader]

Call up the warranty info page for your system on www.lenovo.com. There is a parts look up function that you can see all the parts include when the system was shipped.

[mtomd]

Thanks for the reply - I just wanted to update the people on the status. I didn't see a wireless card on that website, even though there is a wireless card installed in the laptop. I used SiSoftware Sandra to look at the ID number of the wireless card, and it definately says it is only ABG (without N).

When I first called about the wrong part, they said that a "lost part report" would be filed, and then two days later I got a wireless card in the mail. However, this concerns me for three reasons. First, how do they expect me to install this? Only ram and hard drive upgrades seem feasible by the consumer. Second, it is the complete wrong card, as it is only a B/G wireless card this time (they keep removing letters!!). Third, I filled out a Survey report for the first time I sent the machine in, and I was contacted by someone from Lenovo because I gave it bad reviews - as they didn't do anything to fix the problem. She forwarded this along from the support people: "I was going to followup with the cust today as PEW does not show a wireless card came in this unit, but the depot said they replaced it because the wrong one was in the unit." I find this interesting since I did receive the ABGN card along with the unit when it was originally shipped.

I called up Lenovo supprt, and I'm sending it in again (for the third time ). Hopefully they will put in the correct card this time. I even searched the internet and gave them the model number of the card so they don't mess it up (42T0825). I'm also attaching a letter that says what is wrong with it (the support person told me to do this). Hopefully they read it.

But what really bugs me is that I don't think the original problem was ever fixed. The original problem was two-fold, I was getting "NMI: Parity Check" errors and it constantly lost connection to the internet over wireless when I had always had perfect connections before. In the few days I've been using it with the wrong wireless card, I haven't received the "Parity check" errors, but I still get those disconnects. The disconnects happen with the Vista Lenovo Preload also, so I assume that it must be the hardware and not something I have.

So, I hope the third time is the charm, and it finally comes back all fixed. I just thought some people might find this interesting.

Thanks,
Michael

[sktn77a]

Can't comment on the "n" card issue, but the disconnects could also be a software/settings issue (WiFi power settings, Windows update, etc).

[Radioguy]

Well, it seems likely that you won't get the card you ordered back, because I believe they no longer carry the Lenovo N version of the Atheros card. (42T0825/ARBXB72-L)

I noticed this card was pulled from the T61 configurators shortly before I ordered mine, and I very annoyed that I could no longer choose it. I figured that the N version should at least perform as well as the non-N version, which in turn performs better than the Intel G card. (and assumably their N one too) As it turns out, some people here dropped a few hints that it was no longer available due to conflicts between the AR5008 chipset (interference?) and the internal Bluetooth card.

All in all, I'm not too disappointed. Firstly, because of the BT conflict, and secondly, because of the fact that any card, even the Intel, is only Draft-N, not true 802.11n at all. By the time the spec is ratified, a good Atheros chipset should be around.

However, in your case you paid extra for that N card, over the G card, and fully deserve a full refund of the difference. If they send you the N card, and it works without issue, then great, but you might want the money instead.

By the way, there's BSODs reported with other OS's too:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... ss_Adapter