HP tx1000 Wireless Assistant Issues

I've worked for HP for few months. I came across the issue you have mentioned. You are correct that few models in the same series have such problem with the Wireless card.

Few other Notebooks too have the same problem like dv6000 and dv9000, etc.

One could comment that ford and chevy fail a lot. You need to factor in that many of this model were sold so the population is higher than other models so you'll see these more often.

The issue is not exclusive to this line.
Bob

My symptoms were the same as above. HP Wireless Assistant light had permanently gone amber for no apparent reason. Reboot and update of machine bios yielded no results. Wireless card was simply not seen as a valid, active device on the machine.

Installing the latest broadcom drivers appears to have resolved the issue for now. But still, very weird and annoying.

Another TX1000 owner who's wireless became flaky last week and now is totall out. "Phoenix" from HP just gave me this answer
"there is not much reported issue with your notebook model"
after spending an hour pointing out various forums (including HP's own).
Do they honestly believe we should be buying new laptops every 14 months?
I'm going to keep arguing my case, but I doubt it'll do any good. I'll never buy an HP again.

I've encountered this issue on other than HP laptops. I have my fix and will continue using it after the owner gives up and lets us fix it.
Bob

Of course you've encountered similar issues. This is a design flaw. Every company has them. In this particular issue, the laptop can't cool properly and the chipset was soldered with "just enough" After a year of expanding and contracting the thing starts to get flaky. Wireless is just the first step; as others have posted. Next will be video and finally the laptop won't boot. IBM had similar problems with the T40; overheating chip, not enough solder and flexing motherboard. Some manufacturers choose to own up to their mistakes, others do not.

While we have replaced a few of these boards, the issue returns and the owner starts beating on us for not fixing it. This is why we no longer bother with that fix. I find this area very interesting as a study on consumer behavior. You can imagine that we have encountered folk that demand it be fixed in a certain way so we have to be as gentle as possible to explain we've been here a few times.

Some will take time to soften up to accept the fix, others see the 20 buck fix for what its worth and just get the job done.

The bottom line is worse than this small issue. Just wait a few more years as the laptops need fixing in year 4. People are going to scream murder and write things like "I won't buy that brand again."

Hint? I'm already seeing and hearing this. All I can offer is the cheap fix that works.

Hope you see it for what it is.
Bob

Hi,
Same problem here with my tx1000z. Blank screen, refuses to boot up. Spoke to Peter in China who offerred me $49 technical support for 2 weeks or $99 for a year. I am a computer geek and told him that I narrowed down the issue to a problem with the motherboard. He said the same that I heard from others in various forums. The recall is only for DV6000. He offerred me a new laptop, but of course for the full price..... #(*(&#)*)(
Has anyone followed this up with the consumer courts. If this is seen as a trend, we'd probably be able to persuade a recall...... I don't have a clue how this works......geek that I am....

I'll write about a 20 some buck fix but some seem intent on other agendas. If you want to know what I've been doing, it's simple. We pull the internal wifi card or just disable it and find a 20 buck wifi PC-Card.
Bob

I had the exact same issue, with an HP tx1215nr. The Broadcom WLAN light became orange about 4 months ago (about 8 months after I had purchased it.) I was very busy at the time, so I did not really pursue the issue; instead I just plugged it in manually for wired internet access. However, now that I am trying to resolve it, I have found that my warranty lapsed! I did a complete system wipe back to factory settings, and that made the light turn "blue" for about 12 hours. The next morning the light was orange again. Also, under the device manager, it does not even list my Broadcom WLAN adapter. The 07/2008 driver update did not resolve the issue for me. It looks like I will have to buy an external card :/. I am glad to see that I am not the only one with this annoying issue....

The USB device above or one I've used such as the WPNT511. Why I mention that is that I've used it too many times now and on Amazon.com it's going for 15 bucks. This is just too cheap not to mention.
Bob

i think so too many with the same problem, someone should do something to remedy it, all with the same problem!!!. is crazy.

I'm now at more than a dozen handfuls of machines I've done this to (use the WPNT511 under 20 buck fix.)

Just asking. Why isn't this a remedy?
Bob

Sure the USB wireless adapater will work (espcially if you like a dongle sticking out the side of your computer)....but as noted it does nothing to fix the real problem. Seems HP and Broadcom could put their heads together and figure out what is really causing these failures and come up with a permament fix. I've heard all sorts of possible causes...i.e. out-dated-drivers, too much CPU heat, BIOS/Fan speed,chip set, MoBoard, and dozen more. Also heard dozen of ways ways to try to fix and the only one that really works is sending the computer back to the factory and have the MOBoard replaced....but only to expect for it to fail again within the next 6 to 8 months...I've sent my computer back twice. This time it came back with BIOS updated to F.3E dtd 12/27/2007...maybe that's the BIOS level that keeps the fan running permanetly? who knows.... I guess I might go with the $20 USB fix if/when this comes up again, but I just hate the notion of giving up a USB post and more that HP/BC won't really fix this issue....remember, we did put men on the moon
Rod

Is so it's not some USB sticking out thing.

I know how to fix it proper but no one wants to pay up for the new card plus that only cures it till the internal card dies again. I'm beginning to think some want a free fix.
Bob

Bob,
The Netgear WPNT511 is a NIC PCMCIA type bus card for a PCMCIA slot -- in the case of HP Pavillion DV6000s, they don't have a PCMCIA slot, so to you point, I assume Netgear USB model WG111 (or similar) could be used....and that would stick out.....but for $15, I have to agree with you, its a decent way to go, if one just doesn't want to deal with the real problem....in my case, all my repairs were covered under warrannty....but for out-of-warrannty cases, I agree, just pull the BC wireless card out and use the $15 USB wirless adapater.....
a good ref for USB adapaters can be found at: http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/laptopaccessories/tp/usbwifiadapters.htm
Tx, Rod

There's a reason to keep your laptops under warranty. All these make the case.

My only problem with extended warranty programs are that they have proven to be a money pit for consumers. Yes, there is a fine line between the consumer's responsibility for not paying for a warranty plan, and the responsibility of a company to recognize a pattern in failed hardware.

This is a common issue across multiple HP tx1000 models. Is it so wrong to have some expectation from a company such as HP? The money that is made off of unused extended warranty programs alone could support the cost of fixing this issue across this model.

I too am trying to develop my career as a PC repair technician and in related fields. So I understand the perspective that it is the consumer's responsibility for the hardware they purchase. It is all too often though, that a consumer doesn't know exactly what they are getting.

Shouldn't HP recognize this issue, and maybe suggest a known fix? Then let the consumer decide whether or not they want to order the part, and repair. (I understand that without inspection, this can be difficult.)

As mentioned before, a WLAN USB Adapter doesn't remedy the actual problem. And the consumer doesn't have the means to discover the scale of the problem. I'm sure this argument could go back and forth for days. In the end, if you have X number of models failing with the same issue, there should be some recognition of it. Even more so, don't tell me on customer support that "this is the first time I have come across this issue." Have some respect for the consumer by acknowledging this has happened, and at minimum, some successful remedies.

The issue extends beyond the make under discussion. I deal with some hundred machines a year with this issue and so far no one has quibbled over the 20 buck fix I offer.

Hope you can gleam some new tricks to solve this from this discussion and find your cures.
Bob

By no means am I trying to imply that the fix doesn't work. It worked for me, and I'm sure most users don't want to bother with the headache. If it works, it works. I understand WLAN cards fail and it extends beyond this model. I don't think this is an issue with the WLAN. I believe it is with the nVidia GPU used in this line of notebooks. Hence why when the motherboard is replaced, it begins to work for a period of time.

I bought an iMac (was planning to anyway) and gave up on the tx1000. My assumption is it is the nVidia GPU, and until this model falls under the extended warranty list, there is nothing I can do but waste money replacing the motherboard.

I appreciate the perspective from someone who has your experience. Just trying to shed a little ethical light and opinion on the discussion.

Use the Intel GMA 9x0 for the display and the WLAN cards fail there too. I see the common failure as that card. While we do offer to pop a new card in, my bet is that in a year it will poop out too.

It's like that bad taste in your mouth with second rate flat root beer. Time to go get something good!
Bob

Same problem as everyone else with my out of warranty tx1119.
I bought a WPN111 after finding out my repair bill.

Worked great for a while, then eventually got driver and dll problems(WLANAPI and WZSCAPI issues) Netgears Wizard could not detect any wireless networks. Called Netgear they said there was nothing they could do as I tried the dongle on another computer and it worked fine.

The problem could be Vista related, but it really looks like the motherboard is getting toasted day by day probably by the Nvidia chipset and taking components with it.

I can't speak too much about Vista as the machines that are failing are running XP.

If this machine is getting hot inside you should do your canned air cleanup and think about unplugging the internal wifi card.
Bob

When I upgraded with a new driver the wireless assistant became enabled and the light changed to blue. Stayed blue for 2.5 days. I restarted using the F11 process then canceled the restore as proposed and the wireless becamed enabled. Perhaps the issue is a driver load vs. a hardware problem.

"Perhaps" is not good enough for us. Remember that if we as a repair shop gave you a fixed machine and in 2.5 days it failed you would be unhappy. This is why you see the solutions above. There will be those that will continue to try drivers, it might work for a short time and then they are back to the failed mode. For some this is proof it's a driver for me, after some thousand incidents I have come to another conclusion. Here it is -> Spend the 20 bucks.
Bob

Thanks. There's no question that the dongle works. Buying a new laptop also works. Both have their downsides and inconveniences too... maybe more downsides than fiddling and restoring what you have if you can.

For those who get a kick out of the fiddling... I, myself, have a dongle ready to get online for immediate access. Meanwhile, the successful fiddling gets more reliable and less time consuming. So, here is what is working for me today... Good luck to all of you who get a thrill out of the ..."perhaps"... and learning the glitches of your system...

Here's what I did...

1. When I could go to the properties of the Broadcom Network adapter (Device Manager, Network Adapters, Broadcom, Advanced Properties) and enabled every disabled attribute that I felt had a connection to my system. Update your drivers. This is a one time process.

2. Now... when I lose the automatic blue light... I re-boot and hold down the "F-8" key (taking my finger off when it beeps, the "F-11" key works too) during the horizontal progress bar and before the HP logo. I tap it a couple of times trough the boot up process.

2a. If I get the Safe Start up screen, I choose Start Normally (I used to choose Safe with Networking, but found the other fewer steps)
... let the system boot up completely and the blue light is on or the Network Wireless Assistant is accessible or the front switch works.

2b. The boot occurs and... the blue light is on or the Network Wireless Assistant is accessible or the front switch works. (When it's booting with the amber light on, I see the light change to blue when I'm slowly tapping the "F-8" key... see Step 1)

3. I've noticed with each successive boot up, it happens more and more reliably... recently I'm stopping the "F-8" boot up and the blue light just comes on... now let's see, how often it does....

Good luck and I hope you get back the TZ 1000 the way you loved it... if you ever did...