Can't see Wireless card in Device manager?

R

regenesis0

Clearly, I am doing something Wrong.

Every time I configure a wireless conenction, I manage to make the same
mistake. These events are usually about 6 months apart, so I manage to
block out the trauma by the time the next time it comes up, and commit
the same fundamental error again.

An illustration of what this feels like:
http://www.shortpacked.com/comics/20050309a.gif


So, here's my problem. When I first hook up a computer and try to
conenct to our local WEP'd network, it doesnt' work (it never works on
the first try, I have to noddle it a bit to get the settigns just
right.) But my error has nothignt o do with WEP's.
As I'm poking things, I will inevitably be directed by my wireless
utilitis to a 'debug this device' series of instructions, never quite
trggerign the alarm bell 'wait, this isnt' my wireless service's debug
instructions, I'm in GENERAL WINDOWS HELP!'
I was for many years a mac user. I am used to help files actually
being... helpful. Widows help is not.
the first ting ti tells me to do? "go into the devvice manager..." and
2 seconds later, I'd either disabled or uninstalled the WLAN card. The
next Step Windows help cheerily tells me? Now reinstall the drivers
usign the device manager."

....but the card has vanished from my device manager. I have nothignt i
can click on. No anomolous undefiend piece of hardware listed.
vanished into the aether. Find hardware does not find it.

Now, my usual response tot hs is to randomly download installers
between trying installation CD's until i hit on some semi-arcane
combinationt hat will cause the thing to spontaneously reinstall itself
without me ever directly touching it. this usually takes 6 hours.
Last tiem, i ended up doign a clean install of windows because i Broke
Something in the proscess of doign this, and thus it perfroce took 3
days.

....I bet someone here knows an answer to my problem. that doesnt'
involve torturous bouts with self-loathing depression.

....help?

-Derik
 
R

regenesis0

Anyone in the future trawling Google with a similar problem, here's how
this turned out:

-My computer was defective.

Shortly after I made this poitn, it started 'losing' the cd-rom drive
in addition to the wireless, and throwing resource errors at startup.
Geeksquad took a looka t it, decided it wasnt' a configuration or bios
problem, and gave me a new one.

I was thrown off by the fact that this same initial SYMPTOM SET, has
happened to me on other, non-defective computers. Go fig.

The key difference here? The wireless card would disappear when you
went to REACTIVATE it after deactivating it, which si seriously
not-kosher.

-Derik
 

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