Most laptops have a hardware switch which disables the wireless card. More than once, I've come across a laptop which has had that switch either broken or broken off. The obvious solution would be to fix the switch, but that involves opening every freaking screw on the laptop to get access to the motherboard just to solder two small points. There is a huge potential of breaking something important in the process, but that is what I've done in the past. Last week the old ass laptop that I use as file server fell ill to the same issue. As I'm using my neighbors wireless signal, I couldn't really ask him if I could hook up an ethernet cable to his router instead (although I thought about it). But honestly, it wasn't worth the effort to open it up. So I started looking up how the wireless card is actually turned off and on using the switch. Here is what I found:
This applies to MiniPCI wireless cards only. Pin # 13 controls the "silent RF" mode. That is what most hardware switch activate in order to turn off your wireless. You'll notice that while you lose your internet connection when the switch is turned off, your hardware is still visible in device manager. The solution is to take your wireless card out, and apply a small amount of tape over just pin #13, and put it back in. That's it. Your wireless card will always see the hardware switch as being turned on. You can still disable the wireless using Fn+f2 or whatever the hotkey is for your laptop.
The pin numbering alternates from side to side so that all odd pins are on one side and even pins are on the other. So if this is your MiniPCI card, tape this pin:
________________________
| .....................................|
| .....................................|
| |--|................................|
|1| |3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 .........|
...................*
http://s5.tinypic.com/mjbfwh.jpg
The gap between 1 and 3 represents the notch in the card. I hope this helps someone else as this took me hours to figure out.
Update: For mini pci express, it is pin #20, which is responsible for the same function (also active low). It is located on the underside of the board, second pin from the notch toward the side with more pins.
I haven't tried it for a mini pci express card (as I don't have one handy), but I'd imagine it'd have the same effect. If anyone is brave enough to try and tell us the results, it would greatly be appreciated. I highly doubt it would hurt anything. but I make no promises.
This applies to MiniPCI wireless cards only. Pin # 13 controls the "silent RF" mode. That is what most hardware switch activate in order to turn off your wireless. You'll notice that while you lose your internet connection when the switch is turned off, your hardware is still visible in device manager. The solution is to take your wireless card out, and apply a small amount of tape over just pin #13, and put it back in. That's it. Your wireless card will always see the hardware switch as being turned on. You can still disable the wireless using Fn+f2 or whatever the hotkey is for your laptop.
The pin numbering alternates from side to side so that all odd pins are on one side and even pins are on the other. So if this is your MiniPCI card, tape this pin:
________________________
| .....................................|
| .....................................|
| |--|................................|
|1| |3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 .........|
...................*
http://s5.tinypic.com/mjbfwh.jpg
The gap between 1 and 3 represents the notch in the card. I hope this helps someone else as this took me hours to figure out.
Update: For mini pci express, it is pin #20, which is responsible for the same function (also active low). It is located on the underside of the board, second pin from the notch toward the side with more pins.
I haven't tried it for a mini pci express card (as I don't have one handy), but I'd imagine it'd have the same effect. If anyone is brave enough to try and tell us the results, it would greatly be appreciated. I highly doubt it would hurt anything. but I make no promises.
