Hi there I have a compaq presairo F500 and the wireless internet switch at the front of the computer is not working, its not picking up any wireless connections. the light stays amber, its not picking up any signal altho othe rcomputers in the house do. I have read this is a commen problem with these computers can you please help me what do I do ??

Hi, Thanks for using fixya.

When you connect it to wireless make sure you go into control panel / network view your connection right click on local area network connection choose disable then connect to your wireless connection. Right click your wireless icon by your clock choose connect to wireless network or view available local wireless connection.

Terry

check to see if your wireless card is detecting, and check your drivers, they may need updating.

Uninstall the device from the device manager and in the device manager do this operation "Scan for hardware changes" , then u can find the wireless network adapter with no drivers installed. Then install the wireless device drivers , Ur Problem will be solved.

try updating the drivers..

Start by going to add new hardware wizard. When it detects evrything tell it that the hardware is already installed and look for it in the list. Click on it and let the wizard load drivers from the internet for it. Let me know what happens.

Thx

Does it have any more letters, etc., in the model ?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/pfinder?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&tool=&query=Presario+F500

I tend to not use HP or anybodies Wireless Assistants. But you ought to be able to see in Device Manager and Networks wether Windows thinks that the wireless card is working or not. Windows uses Wireless Zero Configuration Service to control Wireless Cards. You might have to tell the HP gizmo to let windows manage the wireless.

You might also have to turn the computer over and find where the wireless card is - and check that it is still seated properly in it's slot. That's a pretty advanced thing - and should only be done with the Service Manual or Owners Manual at hand to tell you how.

Mainly the hardware should be showing up in the Device Manager as "working properly" - if not maybe somehow the device driver software got damaged or removed?

Check out the wireless setup manual for your laptop here:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00065819.pdf

Hope this helps!

start-controlpannel open
network connections-wireless netwoking open
next
network name(ssid)-enter your router network group name
next
ok

here is the link... download your Wireless assistant install it on your computer...

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-46858-1&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&os=2093&product=3360261

This is a problem with most Compaq Laptops in the F500 series, and as such, HP has extended their warranty on all affected models, so you should contact them and they should repair it free of charge with 1-2 weeks. If you bought it from a high-street retailer, such as PC World, then you should take it to them and they should be aware of the situation and repair it for you.