I'm encountering an odd problem with a new notebook we recently helped choose & buy for an elderly neighbour. The machine doesn't have a "hard" switch to turn the WiFi adapter on or off but you can toggle this using Fn+F11, and there's a status LED that turns on/off to indicate the adapter is on.
The problem we are finding is that any time the machine is restarted/shutdown/put into sleep mode, the WiFi adapter will turn off. Pressing Fn+F11 will immediately turn it back on again once the machine has booted back up into Vista, but we'd rather this wasn't necessary.
What I've already tried:
- Going through all the settings for the network connection in Vista – nothing there about turning the adapter on/off.
- I have checked the BIOS – no options for the wireless adapter there.
- Power Configuration – I've told it to use "Maximum Performance" settings for the wireless.
- I've examined the adapter's options in Device Manager – there's nothing there for power options.
- When the adapter is turned "off", it does NOT show as disabled in Device Manager – so I'm guessing it is enabled, just powered down.
I'm at a complete loss where else these settings might be! Clearly something is handling the Fn+F11 keypress, so it seems crazy that those settings aren't configurable to keep the adapter turned on somewhere…
Few more pieces of information: the machine is from a local company called Novatech, and I think it's a Clevo notebook chassis. It's running Vista Home Premium, and the wireless adapter is a Realtek device – afraid I can't provide model numbers as I don't have it with me at the moment.
Would greatly appreciate any tips or advice!
Best Answer
Some ideas:
This will have a bad effect on battery life during sleep.
Note: Any of the above manipulations that doesn't help should be undone.