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  1. Member
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    My second Asus motherboard in less than a year broke. They do not stand behind their warranty and I don't have the money for a new PC right now. My backup PC was driving me insane. It's a Dell Optiplex and it is is probably the worst PC ever made.

    So I dusted off my old Compaq Presario F557US laptop. My problem is the Wi Fi switch in the front. It stays orange (off) no matter which position it's in- on or off. I have tried the following:

    Checked the Bios to make sure wireless isn't disabled
    Checked the device manager. The card is not there.
    About a year ago I purchased another WiFi card on Eaby. Didn't work. Chances are, the card is not the issue.

    I have read that this is a common problem with this model. I've read that there is a motherboard issue. Buying a replacement MB is out of the question for something this old. I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do to fix the issue until I can afford a new PC.

    I have an Alfa wireless USB antenna. It works. But I would rather not use it. The USB cord is a pain.

    Anybody know how to fix this?
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  2. '
    My second Asus motherboard in less than a year broke
    Dell Optiplex and it is is probably the worst PC ever made
    My problem is the Wi Fi switch in the front
    It stays orange (off) no matter which position it's in- on or off
    yeah,, i can sorta relate to Asus's hesitancy to NOT obliging that warranty
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  3. Member
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    What in the hell are you talking about? Asus shouldn't honor a valid warranty on an expensive ATX motherboard because the Wifi on my 10 year old laptop doesn't work? And an equally old Dell is a piece of trash? In what moronic universe does one have anything to do with the other? Asus makes junk and then refuses to stand behind valid warranties. I am not the only one they have done this to. Search google.

    How about if you don't have anything constructive to add, you just keep your mouth shut. Or does that require too much self restraint and maturity for you?
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  4. Member
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    If you can't replace your laptop's wireless card with another (for whatever reason) then I don't know what else would work for adding wireless, other than installing a wireless adapter (either USB or Wi-Fi to Ethernet), which you have already rejected as a solution.
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  5. As you have legal standing, what reason is ASUS offering for not abiding by the language of the warranty?
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  6. Originally Posted by dafoe View Post
    I have an Alfa wireless USB antenna. It works. But I would rather not use it. The USB cord is a pain.
    You can buy USB WiFi dongles that are actually quite small.
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  7. Member
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    Yes, I have seen those too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315091 It may be still necessary to use a USB extender, if the PC interferes with the signal.
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  8. Member
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    Originally Posted by Clockwork View Post
    As you have legal standing, what reason is ASUS offering for not abiding by the language of the warranty?

    They never even responded to my warranty inquiry. Happened twice. At the time it wasn't worth the hassle to pursue them. I was just going to buy another PC. I sold one of the boards which I bought brand new from newegg on ebay. I got $10 for it on Ebay or something stupid like that. And the other one is out of warranty. I will just avoid Asus in the future. Besides the Dell (which a co worker gave to me)I have personally built every other PC I have ever owned and done so for many friends. Never had an issue until I bought Asus motherbord.

    Anywyay, I had no idea they made those so small. Maybe I will buy one. I already replaced the DVD Rom, a hard drive connector because I lost the original and I need to spend another $20 or so on ram. It comes with 512MB. I want to max it out at 2GB because it hangs a little. I really don't want to invest a bunch of money in this.

    I really would like to get this fixed without spending money if at all possible. I am quite handy with a soldering iron if it's something simple like a busted cap. Nobody seems to know what causes the issue though. They just say faulty motherboard.
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  9. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    I had a similar problem with a Compaq F700US laptop. On mine it was the switch itself. I bypassed it and it has worked OK since. The DVD ROMs don't last long on those laptops. I gave up after the replacement one died and I had only used it once. You can probably still find a disassembly guide on line for your laptop as there are a lot of screws to keep track of.

    I do have one of those 'nano' USB WiFi adapters and it works quite well if you have a strong WiFi signal. I'd probably try one of those first before trying to take the laptop apart to get to the front WiFi switch.

    How much RAM you need depends on the OS. My F700US has Vista on it with a 1.9Ghz dual core AMD CPU. Even with 2GB RAM it still runs slow. Vista is a RAM hog.
    I don't use the laptop any more so I might try running Ubuntu or XP on it. W7 might work if I can find the drivers.
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  10. Member
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    Yeah it came with Vista. As you can imagine, Vista was a nightmare with 512mb of memory installed. I have no idea why they thought that was an acceptable combo. I installed XP on it pretty soon after I bought it.

    I've already taken it apart and moved the switch to the on position. It didn't work. I really think it's a motheboard issue. But I would love to be wrong. Same thing with me on the DVD Rom. I used it less than a dozen times before it died. Then again, it was a bargain laptop. It was around $400 from Circut City after a $100 or $150 rebate. You see laptops in that price range all the time now. But back then that was a really cheap price. It's the only reason I even bought it- because it was so cheap.

    I did just double check the Bios to make sure the wireless was enabled. I must be misremembering things. Because there is no option to enable or disable wireless. As a matter of fact, there are almost no options at all beyond boot configuration. It's the least customizable Bios I have ever seen. I checked to make sure I had the latest version. Weird

    Just finished reinstalling Vista. Not surprisingly. that did no good. I figured it was worth a try. Still stuck
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