Thinkpad T61: wireless died suddenly -- HELP!

[sparkeyjames]

Read this hope it helps....

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.co...le.php/3325471

[radhak]

Thanks Sparkey - that is very close to what I need. I re-installed the WZC using that link. But unfortunately the 'wireless networking' tab is still missing.

The security policies place is very interesting - lotsa stuff to wade thru. But nothing disabling wireless. (And I checked at work - others don't have this problem, so it's something just on my machine).

The latest is that I downloaded the wireless network software/drivers from Intel (the adapter is from them) and was able to go one step better : it comes up, shows all the available networks available, but just for a few seconds! Then it pops up the message : "another wireless network utility is communicating with the WiFi adapter. To avoid conflicts, profile management features have been temporarily disabled." This after I have disabled the Windows Zero Configuration!

Very frustrating, this sudden break in wireless access. I am thinking I might have to think up ways of laying a wired network in the house just to be able to work from home. Not looking forward to it !

[crokett]

Can you undo the security patch? And/or reinstall XP? I know that would be painful but in the long run it would be better than hardwiring your house. Do you have access to a USB wireless adapter? This will tell you whether it is a problem with your current wireless adapter or Windows itself. I would also have suggested having your work IT geeks look at it except I gather from your OP that your work doesn't really support wireless.

[justaguy]

I would try using msconfig to disable WZC and then go to device manager and unistall the device driver for the wireless adapter. Reboot and when the OS pops the new hardware found message load the Thinkpad drivers not the Intel drivers.

[radhak]

I am not allowed to undo the security patch, nor install the OS myself. Don't want to get a reprimand from somebody . I did try with a USB adaptor with the same results.

The WZC is now disabled. I shall try uninstalling the drivers (and everything else) and just installing the TP software now.

I am holding off the talk with the IT geeks till the last; never know what to expect from them...but anything to keep from the hard-wiring; that's a pain, i know.

[x00018]

I have 127 T60 and T61's I support here and replace on average a wireless card every other week. This has been going on for about 6 months now. I keep a spare on hand and I don't waste much time troubleshooting before I pick up the screwdriver.

[pierhogunn]

just to do something diagnostic, get ahold of a live-cd of your favorite flavor of linux, boot the laptop off of that, and see if that OS can see your wireless... I appologize for not suggesting this in my original post. x00018's post prompted me to head down this path though...

Dan

[radhak]

Resolved!

Okay, before everybody kills me - there's a bit of 'operator error' here, but lemme explain the sequence of events as I have pieced together now.

- Corporate Security patch is installed last thursday night on my laptop
- This particular patch installs a new "SSC Wireless Connection" from Cisco. Looks like it is a replacement to the Windows built-in wireless connection, or the Lenovo/Intel one I was trying out yesterday.
- This new software is supposed to be added to the Sys tray for continuous use and monitoring. But I happen to have the Anvir Task Manager which interrupts all such additions to the Sys tray and prompts the user (me) to allow/disallow. And I was not attentive at that moment, and assumed the prompt was for yet another spyware or such, and clicked the 'deny access' button.
- As a result, the Cisco stub was not available to me to manage my wireless connection, but it stopped the older windows program from functioning
- For all my efforts, I had no clue about it, and could never understand what made my network to fail !!!

how it was resolved
- I finally approached my IT geek
- He told me that many others had complained they lost connectivity after the patch. The difference being they had lost their LAN, and could only connect wirelessly. In effect, a different problem.
- Still, he condescended to check my machine; and puzzled that he could not see a new Cisco program on the sys tray (he did not remember what it was for)
- still, he re-installed that particular patch and walked away while it was rebooting
- this time, I was alert to the request to add Cisco to the tray, and allowed it
- and it immediately worked!

Looking at the help y'all extended to me, I thought I owed all of you a full explanation, hence this lengthy post. Maybe it'll help somebody else in the future. Sorry for the trouble, and thanks for riding along!