The Outsider Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Easiest way to check if it's an actual hardware problem is to download an Ubuntu Linux live CD. You can boot and run Ubuntu without making any changes to your laptops hdd. I'd highly recommend you do this it's the very first thing I try if I suspect a hardware problem. If any help is required then PM me. Windows uses ACPI and the BIOS to query for hardware while Linux directly access the PCI bus. If Linux doesn't detect the hardware you could try updating the BIOS and then clearing the CMOS. Thanks MB - I'll try it out on the weekend and report back! :two_thumbs_up: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kabira Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Buy a New PC Thats best suggestion, now where is my $ICF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggot_brain Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Thanks MB - I'll try it out on the weekend and report back! :two_thumbs_up: Here are the steps you need to take then: 1. Download and burn Ubuntu CD 2. Boot off the Ubuntu CD 3. Choose the option that says 'Try Ubuntu without making any changes to your hard disk' or words to that effect. 4. When you are in the desktop, click the menu icon in the top left hand corner and look for the program called one of the following: -X-Term -X-Terminal -Terminal You should get a black command line box like Windows' 'command prompt'. 5. Type this in: "lspci" (thats LSPCI but in lower case, commands are case sensitive on Unix/Linux) without quotes and press enter. Paste the output of that command here or PM it to me. You should see something like "Intel Pro Wireless" or "Atheros 802.11". If you don't then you're screwed and it's a hardware fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnterTheVoid Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Any update on your computer problem Shwetabh ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Outsider Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Any update on your computer problem Shwetabh ? Not yet.... I'll try out MB's approach over the weekend and see if it's really a hardware fault - though I find it hard to believe that both cards which were working fine before the reinstall would suddenly conk out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggot_brain Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Not yet.... I'll try out MB's approach over the weekend and see if it's really a hardware fault - though I find it hard to believe that both cards which were working fine before the reinstall would suddenly conk out. I forgot to mention you can also try this in the terminal dmesg | grep eth and dmesg | grep wlan If both of these commands give no output your ethernet and wireless have not been detected or are faulty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rajiv Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Not yet.... I'll try out MB's approach over the weekend and see if it's really a hardware fault - though I find it hard to believe that both cards which were working fine before the reinstall would suddenly conk out. Shwtbah, its obvious man. It was working fine then after the OS install - it doesn't recognize it, I really dont think u need to ubuntu or anything Try and re-install XP, even if Ubuntu finds it - whats ur other option? BTW, did u try add hardware? meanwhile try this http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/Everest-Home-Edition.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggot_brain Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Shwtbah, its obvious man. It was working fine then after the OS install - it doesn't recognize it, I really dont think u need to ubuntu or anything Try and re-install XP, even if Ubuntu finds it - whats ur other option? BTW, did u try add hardware? meanwhile try this http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/Everest-Home-Edition.shtml Ubuntu doesn't need to be installed for him to check if it's a hardware fault. It's a relatively quick risk-free method of ascertaining whether or not it's a hardware issue. If it isn't and Ubuntu detects the devices we can take it from there. The XP install will be unaltered and further diagnostics can be done on Windows. Your response is typical of the point-and-click mentality common to Windows users. 'Reboot or re-install' doesn't fix everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggot_brain Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I'm going to contradict myself. If you try the Ubuntu method and it detects your hardware I would reinstall XP, but I would slipstream your wireless and ethernet drivers as well as Service Pack 3 into the install CD. You can use a wonderful little tool called nlite for this. http://www.nliteos.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rajiv Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Ubuntu doesn't need to be installed for him to check if it's a hardware fault. It's a relatively quick risk-free method of ascertaining whether or not it's a hardware issue. If it isn't and Ubuntu detects the devices we can take it from there. The XP install will be unaltered and further diagnostics can be done on Windows. Your response is typical of the point-and-click mentality common to Windows users. 'Reboot or re-install' doesn't fix everything. Hmm I am so sorry I didn't mean to offend ubuntu users and their knowledge, perhaps my windowed mentality I have been thru this ordeal b4 and as a fellow winders user, I wanted to offer the same solution - coz ultimately thats what he will do P.S. If I were to best guess, I'd say ur C_C clone :winky: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggot_brain Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Hmm I am so sorry I didn't mean to offend ubuntu users and their knowledge, perhaps my windowed mentality I have been thru this ordeal b4 and as a fellow winders user, I wanted to offer the same solution - coz ultimately thats what he will do P.S. If I were to best guess, I'd say ur C_C clone :winky: There was no offence intended, but experience has shown me that Windows problems often require a 'thinking outside the box' approach. I'm not even an Ubuntu user:haha: The fact remains though that Microsoft's approach to computing is dumbed down and this can affect the general computer aptitude of PC users. Don't get me started on OSX. I'm not a CC clone. There's no was I'd argue the merits of Buddhism vs Hinduism. The only god I believe in is The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dial_100 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 prof babu.... please try following things and let me know what happens. Find a command prompt link in you start menu Right click on it and select a menu option "Run As Administrator". (may be Vista only option and not required in XP) If Option not available, just open the command prompt. Type command C:\>SFC /VERIFYONLY If you find any issues post them here.. Or try running C:\>SFC /SCANNOW Before you scan, let us know what is the outcome of verifyonly. You may need XP cd for scan and fixing any issue that it may find. System files ka chemical lochaa lagta hai. Good luck. I had similar problem couldn't fix it. but that was quite old lappy about 4 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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