HP laptop won't recognize wireless adapter

Question

I have an HP Pavilion dv6400 series laptop with an NVidea chipset which is the subject of a class action lawsuit. The symptom (PDF) that I'm experiencing is that the system fails to recognize that there is a wireless adapter installed. It doesn't appear in Device Manager.

Is there some way, short of installing a new adapter, that I can work around this problem?

The system is running Windows Vista Home and has the latest BIOS (F42) and Windows updates and drivers.

See this related question where I ask how to use an old Windows Mobile phone as a Wi-Fi (not cellular data) tether.

Answer 1

HP has a blacklist of a lot of wireless adapters that are not Broadcom-based, or approved by HP. Here is a link to flashing the BIOS in order to remove the blacklist. Please be aware that this is modifying the fundamental part of the boot process of the system so make sure you have a backup of your data and of the BIOS itself.

Answer 2

Same answer as for your other question:

Your best bet is a usb wifi dongle - you can find them for < $10.

Answer 3

You can get it repaired for a reasonable fee of $70 USD, you might contact them with your full model number and symptoms to see if they can repair it before shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260595095107

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