Today one of my clients called me while I was waiting online for him. He informed he couldn't come online because there are some issues with WiFi connection. He was sitting at a Hotspot but his Laptop failed to get wireless signals and mot online. He knows I am a network engineer and asked me to help him to resolve the issue. It was not a big issue and I fixed that without taking much time. Then I realized, for a nontechnology person, even smaller issues can be big and ruin his day. So I would like to share some tips to troubleshoot your laptop if you are facing troubles with getting signals or Internet connectivity.
You do not need to go for assistance from expert or hardware vendor in case if your laptop stops receiving signal. You may just go through the guide below and I am sure in 99 percent cases you can fix it by yourself.
Some users may find issues with following step 2 because vendor provided wireless utilities might be running on their computers. For example, the Dell WiFi utility. Sometimes this tool acts strange and shows issues with receiving signals from access point and routers. In that case, you may disable or uninstall that tool and try the Microsoft Windows utility (WZC for Windows XP and WLAN AutoConfig for Vista, Windows 8 and 7).
No WiFi or Internet On Laptop
You do not need to go for assistance from expert or hardware vendor in case if your laptop stops receiving signal. You may just go through the guide below and I am sure in 99 percent cases you can fix it by yourself.
- Wireless Button should be turned on
Make sure the wireless button on your Laptop is turned on. If it is off, your laptop will not receive the signal from Access Point. The wireless button can be present on the top or side panel based on the models. For different vendors like Dell, Toshiba, Samsung etc. WiFi button might be placed in a different location. It can be distinguished with the WiFi symbol. For more details I recommend you to refer the user manual of the Laptop.
- Make sure WZC is started
Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) is a service which is essential to receive wireless signals on your computer. To know how to check the status of WZC and how to turn on click on the link below.
How to start WZC on your Computer
WZC is on Windows XP but for higher versions, you must check for WLAN AutoConfig in services page. To get instructions to start this service, I recommend you to go through the link below.
How to Start WLAN AutoConfig
- Clear All Previous Network Details
You may clear the previously saved network lists from your PC and refresh the network. Your computer may start receiving signals from Access Point. to learn more about it I recommend you to click the link below.
My computer is not detecting any WiFi signals - Part 1
- If the issue persists even after performing the steps provided in the above link, you need to disable the Firewall on your Laptop. After disabling the firewall check for the issue. Even if you are not able to detect any wireless signals I suggest you follow the steps provided in the given link.
I am not getting WiFi even after I disabled the Firewall
Some users may find issues with following step 2 because vendor provided wireless utilities might be running on their computers. For example, the Dell WiFi utility. Sometimes this tool acts strange and shows issues with receiving signals from access point and routers. In that case, you may disable or uninstall that tool and try the Microsoft Windows utility (WZC for Windows XP and WLAN AutoConfig for Vista, Windows 8 and 7).
My New Laptop is not detecting any wireless signals. It is a Toshiba Laptop and I installed my Windows 7 in it. Now it is saying no wireless network is available. What is the reason,?
ReplyDeleteI know I am in a wifi hub and all others can detect excellent wireless signals
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteAs you have done a fresh installation of Windows 7 on your Laptop please check whether wireless adapter driver is installed or not. In most of the time users forget to install wireless adapter driver and their laptop failed to detect any wireless signals (Default Windows drivers may not be enough).
I'm a uni student and recently lost capacity to use wireless. the driver says it is working properly, the wireless is definitely turned on but cannot connect. troubleshooter says that it isn't turned on.
ReplyDeletetook it to the IT helpdesk and they fiddled around for 1/2 an hour and said that the wzcsvc.dll file is missing ~~~ can you help?
Dave
Hi,
ReplyDeleteCan you provide following details ?
1. Which Operating System you are using ?
2. Which Wireless Adapter you are using with laptop manufacture name
Hi Siju,
ReplyDeleteIt is windows 7 home premium on a MSI U200 32 bit. The wireless card is Ralink Tech corp, 802.11bgn 1T1R mini card wireless adapter.
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks for your information. I recommend you to perform following steps first.
ReplyDelete1. Go to device manager and check whether Ralink Tech corp, 802.11bgn 1T1R mini card wireless adapter is installed properly or not
If you are seeing any yellow mark (means not installed properly) you may right click on the adapter and update driver. Uninstall and reinstall is also recommended.
The below link may give you some assistance. You can follow the same steps in Windows 7 too.
Enable Adpater in your computer
2. Make sure Wlan autoconfig is started in your Windows 7 computer
Click on the link below to chek how to perform this.
Start Wlan autoconfig
Hope this will fix your issue.
i have got new laptop of hp (hp pavalion g6-1003tx). wehen i got wi-fi was working. but after some time it is not working . it has windows 7, i5 . wlan autoconfig is is started wifi button is on when i go to contorl panel panel>hp wireless assistant>it comes combo divice is oin, bluetooh on and wireless lan adapter is disabled but how cold i enable ists and there is no button to make it on.... please help me?......
ReplyDeleteI understand from your question that your laptop is not getting wireless because the wireless adapter is disabled. Please click the link below to get more assistance.
ReplyDeleteEnable Wireless Adapter
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI have 2 laptops, both running windows 7. One of them can see and connect to my BSNL wireless network without any issues. The other one is able to see every other network, EXCEPT mine. My google research says this may be resolved by changing the channel on which my router is broadcasting. I checked and found that Channel Selection has been configured to Auto and my router is broadcasting on channel 12. If I change the channel from the laptop which is working, will it affect the current connection i have?
No it won't have any effect on your current connection. If your first laptop disconnects, you may click reconnect button. It will connect automatically.
ReplyDelete