I bought the laptop in 2011 and haven't had any issues with the wi-fi net connection till yesterday.
The connection suddenly dropped and the wi-fi controls on the laptop simply stopped responding. I tried reinstalling the broadcom drivers specified in the acer website but the laptop simply freezes up whenever it starts to install the said device.
On the odd chance that it does complete installation, the installed wireless adapter refuses to show up in the adapter settings pane. Restarting the system simply compounds the problem and doesn't help rectify it.
In order to check whether it was due to any virus, I already scanned the system with MalwareBytes and Avast. Then I did a factory reset of the laptop as well but the drivers are still giving me problems.
However, I'm pretty sure that the network adapter card isn't dead yet because it can detect (at times when the drivers work? ) wi-fi spots but it cannot connect to them because of the drivers.
I also tried to disable and then install the drivers but it simply isn't working. Finally, even when the wi-fi does accidentally work, hibernating the PC / leaving it unattended for a minute or two breaks the connection adn the wi-fi adapter stops showing up again.
I'd appreciate any help whatsoever in this matter. Is my network adapter the issue? Do I need to replace it, assuming that it can be replaced?
If not, please mention step by step as to what I need to do to get this thing to work again
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I thought I'd elaborate to make things more clear:
1. I've got a local wi-fi hotspot setup for all my devices to connect to. It was to this connection that the connection suddenly dropped and the problems started.
2. On installing the driver and restarting, as long as that particular wi-fi hotspot isn't present, the laptop can detect and connect to any other hotspot present in the vicinity.
3. On switching on the hotspot, once the laptop network adapter detects the hotspot, the controls stop working and the laptop is unable to connect to any hotspot.
4. The laptop can however freely connect to the same hotspot through an external wlan card.
Drivers: Broadcom 802.11n Wireless Network Adapter version 5.100.xxx.xx taken from the acer website itself. Does this mean that I have faulty drivers or the hotspot just wrecks my system?
Again, this setup has been working fine for the last 3 years.
The connection suddenly dropped and the wi-fi controls on the laptop simply stopped responding. I tried reinstalling the broadcom drivers specified in the acer website but the laptop simply freezes up whenever it starts to install the said device.
On the odd chance that it does complete installation, the installed wireless adapter refuses to show up in the adapter settings pane. Restarting the system simply compounds the problem and doesn't help rectify it.
In order to check whether it was due to any virus, I already scanned the system with MalwareBytes and Avast. Then I did a factory reset of the laptop as well but the drivers are still giving me problems.
However, I'm pretty sure that the network adapter card isn't dead yet because it can detect (at times when the drivers work? ) wi-fi spots but it cannot connect to them because of the drivers.
I also tried to disable and then install the drivers but it simply isn't working. Finally, even when the wi-fi does accidentally work, hibernating the PC / leaving it unattended for a minute or two breaks the connection adn the wi-fi adapter stops showing up again.
I'd appreciate any help whatsoever in this matter. Is my network adapter the issue? Do I need to replace it, assuming that it can be replaced?
If not, please mention step by step as to what I need to do to get this thing to work again
- - - Updated - - -
I thought I'd elaborate to make things more clear:
1. I've got a local wi-fi hotspot setup for all my devices to connect to. It was to this connection that the connection suddenly dropped and the problems started.
2. On installing the driver and restarting, as long as that particular wi-fi hotspot isn't present, the laptop can detect and connect to any other hotspot present in the vicinity.
3. On switching on the hotspot, once the laptop network adapter detects the hotspot, the controls stop working and the laptop is unable to connect to any hotspot.
4. The laptop can however freely connect to the same hotspot through an external wlan card.
Drivers: Broadcom 802.11n Wireless Network Adapter version 5.100.xxx.xx taken from the acer website itself. Does this mean that I have faulty drivers or the hotspot just wrecks my system?
Again, this setup has been working fine for the last 3 years.
