Backstory:
I bought an HP laptop brand new from Best Buy. It had a 750gb hard drive, Intel Core i3-3130M processor, 4GB RAM, and Windows 8.1. I made restore discs of the hard drive that came with the computer, and then disassembled the entire laptop to access the hard drive and swapped it out for a 128gb SSD. I reassembled everything once I successfully used the restore discs to boot using the SSD.
The good news is: my SSD works great. My computer takes about 3 seconds to load up!
The bad news is: I cannot get the Wireless Internet to work for the life of me. I have gotten it to connect wirelessly a few times. I even got it to connect uninterrupted for a few hours, long enough to download my usual virus protection and whatnot. Now, it will not connect at all.
Details: Airplane mode is off. Wi-Fi is on. I am on a college campus with campus-wide Wi-Fi. Many people around me are actively connected. It is not a problem with the router. However, my Networks show "No Networks Found." Maybe 1 out of 20 times I check for wireless networks, it will show the school's networks. If I try to connect to it, it says "Can not connect to this network."
I don't think that anything I did inside of the laptop physically altered the network adapter. The only thing I touched anywhere near there was a motherboard plug for the keyboard, which I removed and replaced. The problem is, I do not know for sure if the WiFi worked flawlessly before I switched out the hard drives because I never intended to use the hard drive that came with the computer. I turned on the computer long enough to make restore discs before I took it apart. I vaguely remembered seeing a limited connectivity alert but I didn't think anything of it because I was in the midst of making restore discs and had no reason to use the Internet. I suspect that it is not an internal issue because I have gotten it to connect successfully since I switched drives. Also, plugging the laptop in with an Ethernet cord allows me to access the Internet. However, this is not feasible for when I need to use the laptop away from home.
I have read multiple threads stating issues with Windows 8.1 having major Wi-Fi connection issues, including those I am describing. However, all of the things I have done do not seem to be working. I've tried allowing HP Support Assistant to recommend a driver, I've manually downloaded drivers, I've altered the settings to keep my computer from putting my adapter in "sleep" mode. None of these things have worked.
I am very frustrated. It is my fault that I ripped the computer apart before checking to see if it worked properly... but I just didn't think I had a reason to believe that it was going to not work. It's a BRAND NEW laptop. Now, even if I were to switch the original hard drive back into it, I don't believe I can return it because opening it technically voids the warranty, if I am not mistaken.
I hope somebody can help me. The computer is a $500 paper weight with a nice hard drive in it without Internet. I would like to keep Windows 8.1 on the computer because I am a rare breed who actually likes the interface. My last resort is to back up my Windows 7 desktop onto an external hard drive, wipe it, make a restore discs out of it the same day I did with the original laptop hard drive, and use them to install Windows 7 on the SSD, and then use the backed up version to restore my desktop to its current state. I am nervous about doing this because I don't want to lose any files, pictures, or documents in the swapping, and I don't particularly want Windows 7 in the first place. This was recommended to me because Windows 8.1 is known to have chronic issues with being able to connect to the Internet. I definitely would not want to go through all that trouble just to find out that doesn't work, either.
Can anybody help me?
I bought an HP laptop brand new from Best Buy. It had a 750gb hard drive, Intel Core i3-3130M processor, 4GB RAM, and Windows 8.1. I made restore discs of the hard drive that came with the computer, and then disassembled the entire laptop to access the hard drive and swapped it out for a 128gb SSD. I reassembled everything once I successfully used the restore discs to boot using the SSD.
The good news is: my SSD works great. My computer takes about 3 seconds to load up!
The bad news is: I cannot get the Wireless Internet to work for the life of me. I have gotten it to connect wirelessly a few times. I even got it to connect uninterrupted for a few hours, long enough to download my usual virus protection and whatnot. Now, it will not connect at all.
Details: Airplane mode is off. Wi-Fi is on. I am on a college campus with campus-wide Wi-Fi. Many people around me are actively connected. It is not a problem with the router. However, my Networks show "No Networks Found." Maybe 1 out of 20 times I check for wireless networks, it will show the school's networks. If I try to connect to it, it says "Can not connect to this network."
I don't think that anything I did inside of the laptop physically altered the network adapter. The only thing I touched anywhere near there was a motherboard plug for the keyboard, which I removed and replaced. The problem is, I do not know for sure if the WiFi worked flawlessly before I switched out the hard drives because I never intended to use the hard drive that came with the computer. I turned on the computer long enough to make restore discs before I took it apart. I vaguely remembered seeing a limited connectivity alert but I didn't think anything of it because I was in the midst of making restore discs and had no reason to use the Internet. I suspect that it is not an internal issue because I have gotten it to connect successfully since I switched drives. Also, plugging the laptop in with an Ethernet cord allows me to access the Internet. However, this is not feasible for when I need to use the laptop away from home.
I have read multiple threads stating issues with Windows 8.1 having major Wi-Fi connection issues, including those I am describing. However, all of the things I have done do not seem to be working. I've tried allowing HP Support Assistant to recommend a driver, I've manually downloaded drivers, I've altered the settings to keep my computer from putting my adapter in "sleep" mode. None of these things have worked.
I am very frustrated. It is my fault that I ripped the computer apart before checking to see if it worked properly... but I just didn't think I had a reason to believe that it was going to not work. It's a BRAND NEW laptop. Now, even if I were to switch the original hard drive back into it, I don't believe I can return it because opening it technically voids the warranty, if I am not mistaken.
I hope somebody can help me. The computer is a $500 paper weight with a nice hard drive in it without Internet. I would like to keep Windows 8.1 on the computer because I am a rare breed who actually likes the interface. My last resort is to back up my Windows 7 desktop onto an external hard drive, wipe it, make a restore discs out of it the same day I did with the original laptop hard drive, and use them to install Windows 7 on the SSD, and then use the backed up version to restore my desktop to its current state. I am nervous about doing this because I don't want to lose any files, pictures, or documents in the swapping, and I don't particularly want Windows 7 in the first place. This was recommended to me because Windows 8.1 is known to have chronic issues with being able to connect to the Internet. I definitely would not want to go through all that trouble just to find out that doesn't work, either.
Can anybody help me?
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- windows 8.1 64-bit
- Computer type
- Laptop
- System Manufacturer/Model
- hp