Forum: Author Hangout

Any Advice for Solving This Bug?

Ross at Play 🚫

Any ideas about how to solve this connectivity problem?

I woke up this morning and the first thing I needed to do when I sat down at my computer was to close all the windows that been opened by a kitten walking over the keyboard.

I tried to access the internet but there are no wireless connections available. I restarted my modem but that didn't work. I'm connected now using my older laptop, so my modem is not the problem.

I tried the troubleshooter which told me to use the button on my keyboard or elsewhere to turn on the wireless capability. That is a button my keyboard. I tried that but nothing changed. The laptop has no light to indicate when the wireless capability is on but I'm almost certain it is turned off.

The problem is not that the key is not working. The keyboard uses the same button for the PrtScn function too and that still works. That seems to let the kitten off the hook too, or to be more precise, lets it off ending up on a meat hook.

I have tried restarting the computer.

A Windows update had been done overnight. I know that because I had to reset my mouse options for left-handed use. (I wish those morons would stop resetting an option I know I want, but that's not going to happen!) I restored my operating system to the previous version but still no wireless access.

I've looked in Control Panel but there is no manual override to turn the wireless capability on.

I have Windows 7 installed on that laptop.

Does anyone have suggestions about what do try? It doesn't appear to be a keyboard problem because I can still use the key for a PrtScn, it doesn't appear to be a software problem because I have restored the operating system to a previous working version, and it doesn't appear to be a hardware problem with the wireless because troubleshooter says it is working, just not turned on.

Replies: Dominions Son

StarFleet Carl 🚫

I suggest trying to connect to your modem via ethernet cable. If that does not work, then it's probably a hardware issue, not a software one.

That may also be why you can't find the wireless adapter in the Control Panel. I've had to install new cards before when the ethernet port on the computer took a crap on me.

Remus2 🚫
Updated:

Edit; Never mind, just say you had checked the wireless key.

Grant 🚫

I had something very similar to this with my Mum's Dell laptop, but it was years ago & I can't remember what was required to get it working again.

From very vague memories, I re-installed the driver & made sure the hardware was there in Device Manager.
I made sure it wasn't in Flight mode.
Even using the keyboard wouldn't turn the hardware on, it was a case of going in to the Network & Internet settings, selecting WiFi, Change adaptor options, right clicking on the adaptor & then Enable (or something along those lines).
Once it was finally working again, the keyboard could then turn it off & on normally.

Replies: Ross at Play

Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@Grant

I had something very similar to this with my Mum's Dell laptop

Thanks, Grant. My laptop's a Dell too.

I can cope with checking for flight mode - the kitten may well have figured out how to do that - but the rest of your suggestions are more than I'm willing to try.

If I haven't managed to fix it I'll take your list of ideas and go to mall where I live which is full of computer shops. One good thing about living in Indonesia is that computer repair shops don't charge an arm or a leg to fix something simple; they only charge a finger or a toe. :-)

Replies: Grant

Grant 🚫

@Ross at Play

Thanks, Grant. My laptop's a Dell too.

Ok, from Dell's site, for Win7-

1.Click Start.
2.In the search box, type Mobility Center.
3.Click Windows Mobility Center, in the search results.
4.Click Turn wireless off or Turn wireless on as needed.

Note: When you cannot click Turn wireless off or Turn wireless on (grayed out), it means that the wireless hardware switch has turned the wireless radio(s) off.
You will have to manually toggle the wireless hardware switch to turn the wireless on before you can use the Windows Mobility Center.

For that it's hold the FN key & tap & release the PrtScr (or F2, or F3 key- depending on model- whichever one has the little radio tower on it).

https://www.dell.com/support/article/au/en/audhs1/sln115331/how-to-turn-the-wireless-devices-on-a-dell-notebook-on-and-off?lang=en

Ernest Bywater 🚫

There should be a Control Panel setting where you can activate or deactivate the wireless operation regardless of what the keyboard key does.

mimauk 🚫

the wireless button on a laptop is usually signified with an icon with a different colour ( mine is blue) to operate it there is usually a Function button on the bottom row to the left that has the same colour as the icon - you have to press and hold this when you use the wireless or other coloured buttons.
My guess - the kittens back leg hit the function button at the same time as hitting the wireless button. grin!!!

Grant 🚫

OK, that's bringing back memories- If you can't turn it on in the OS, then use the hardware switch, then try turning it on in the OS again.

If you can't turn on the WiFi using the Operating System configuration settings, then you have to use the hardware switch (Fn & other key)- but once you use it, then you then need to enable WiFI using the OS settings.
Once that is done, then using the Fn & other key will then turn it on & off without having to muck around with the OS settings.

It was something along those convoluted lines that finally got Mum's laptop wireless working again.

Replies: Ross at Play

Ross at Play 🚫

@Grant

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!

I found the right button in the Mobility Center but it was grayed out. Hitting Fn + PrtScr fixed the problem. :-)

Replies: Grant Vincent Berg

Grant 🚫

@Ross at Play

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!

Glad you got it sorted.

While Ctl+Alt+Del can be tricky with two hands and ten fingers, 4 paws & a nose are capable of all sorts of otherwise impossible keystroke combinations.

Vincent Berg 🚫

@Ross at Play

I found the right button in the Mobility Center but it was grayed out. Hitting Fn + PrtScr fixed the problem.

This all shows that your kitten is much more tech savvy than you, and as with most cats, is also much more devious too! 'D

Replies: Ross at Play

Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@Vincent Berg

This all shows that your kitten is much more tech savvy than you, and as with most cats, is also much more devious too! 'D

Please send help! I've been held hostage for the last six years in a third-world country by a despicable gang of ten cats. :-)

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Ross at Play

I've been held hostage for the last six years in a third-world country by a despicable gang of ten cats.

How do you know we aren't financing the cats? :)

Replies: Ernest Bywater Ross at Play joyR

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@Dominions Son

How do you know we aren't financing the cats? :)

He knows we're all way too cheap to keep paying out for something like that. However, sending over brainwashed or mind controlled cats to capture and keep him, now that's something a lot of us might do.

Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@Dominions Son

How do you know we aren't financing the cats? :)

I'd probably suspect you lot of doing that if they'd captured in the first year after I began posting here, but they'd already been holding me for several years by then. :-)

joyR 🚫
Updated:

@Dominions Son

How do you know we aren't financing the cats? :)

No need. It's amazing what a grown man will do to get a little pussy.....

For ten, he locked himself up...

Dominions Son 🚫

@Ross at Play

Does anyone have suggestions about what do try?

I've had company supplied laptops for work where there was a separate power switch for wireless radio.

mimauk 🚫

Cats are useful in that you can swing them around your head by the tail and use them as air raid sirens. ;-)

Replies: Ernest Bywater

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@mimauk

Cats are useful in that you can swing them around your head by the tail and use them as air raid sirens. ;-)

If you do that you have to let them go while at maximum speed of swing, or you get shredded when they hit the ground and go for you.

Replies: JimWar

JimWar 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

Don't try it when you've been drinking. Many years ago a Marine Gunny that worked with me came to work with his arm bandaged from fingers to shoulder. After we got the story out of him it was that he came home to his trailer and found the wife had locked the door to the bedroom. Rather than kick the door in as most would have done he decided to sleep on the couch. His old tom cat was curled up in the middle and hissed at him when he tried to move it over. Since he couldn't vent on his wife he decided to show the tom who was the man of the house. He grabbed the cat by the tail and attempted to toss it across the room. The nimble tom got his claws in the gunny's arm and held on. The gunny then made the further mistake of trying to shake the cat loose. I was rolling on the floor laughing so hard that I didn't hear how he finally got loose or who bandaged his arm up.

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Forum: Author Hangout

Any Advice for Solving This Bug?

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