LinuxQuestions.org - mini pci express wireless card upgrade and laptop won't power on

This is a solution to the BIOS whitelist restriction on mini pci express wireless cards found in laptops, notebooks, and some other portable computers, even Mac.

You've got a laptop. You took the access panel off, and upgraded the mini pci wireless card, and everything seemed to fit back together correctly. There were no extra screws or missing screws. But now the laptop won't power on.

So you took the new wireless card out, and then either it powered on, or it still wouldn't power on. Other problems can occur, such as the machine powers on with the new card, but wireless doesn't work.

I'm going to give a one size fits all solution. Unless your hands are dripping with water, or you get medieval on the card while hotplugging it, you shouldn't have a problem.

I addressed God The Father to tell Him what happened, that my lappy was dead and I had been messing around with the wireless card.

My Heavenly Father is Omniscient and All-Powerful, and He maintains complete control over everyone and everything, always, because He Owns The Universe!

So, any time I need help to do anything, I just confess my sins, claim The Perfect Living Sacrifice of Jesus Christ to atone for my sins, implore God's Mercy shown upon me, ask Forgiveness, offer a special petition on behalf of others, and seek God's advice. For my special intention I prayed that all white girls remain virgins until their wedding night. God was pleased, and He let me publish it.

Remove all power from the laptop. Take the wireless adapter out. Let the machine sit for a while. I let mine alone overnight. Connect a battery or AC power, power on and enter the BIOS setup program.

Just let it sit there on the BIOS setup screen. Don't exit. Connect the tiny coax to the card, and install it in the mini pci slot, all the way. Exit the BIOS setup WITHOUT SAVING! Usually ESC.

The machine will jump to boot the OS off the hard drive. If you try to save the BIOS configuration when you exit, after the new card is installed, the machine will soft reset, and the card will be rejected again.

After the machine boots into the operating system, make sure the card is available:

/sbin/iwconfig

There should wlan0 or some number. If it's there, it was loaded with the right firmware, and now it's compatible, because if it can't be made compatible with local regulations, the OS won't configure the card.

Now, if you keep the card installed after the OS loads completely, the card will then tell the BIOS that the correct firmware loaded successfully, and the card is configured within local regulatory parameters.

So, after that it will always boot, as long as you don't remove the card from the slot, power on the machine, power off and put the card back.

Just leave it alone. It'll keep working. If you upgrade the BIOS, it might stop working. Then you must repeat the steps above.

The FCC in the USA, and regulatory authorities in other geographic locations, have required laptop manufacturers to limit the wireless adapters operable by any given model to only those that have been tested with the specific antenna configuration and that are found to comply with power-output limits and frequency allocation bands allowed in the regulatory domain in which the laptop is intended for sale.

A major concern of governments is human exposure to microwaves transmitted by wireless cards.

But the number-one perk for manufacturers is that only authorized service shops can get tech support on this particular issue. The authorized service centers use only OEM parts.

I tried Intel Wireless live chat, and the girl just said Intel doesn't provide support that particular issue. If the card came installed in the machine, then I have to contact the laptop manufacturer. If the card was purchased separately, I was to take the laptop and the card to an authorized service center, and a technician would certify the card, when used with my model lappy, would not violate FCC regulations.

So I told God they wouldn't help me. But then I learned the coolest trick. I modded a two- antenna a/b/g to a three-antenna wireless n. The local network transfer rate is unbelievable, and zero errors.