[Oliver H]

I've recently been asked to upgrade the hard drive in a Toshiba Satellite A100-570 and also to reinstall Windows, I have the computer running but the wireless card isn't detected at all by windows, it doesn't appear within the device manager and even though the device hadn't been detected by windows I proceeded to installing the drivers from the Toshiba website, this however hasn't work.

In the device manager there is 1 unknown device "Ethernet Controller", I'm under the assumption that this was a LAN card not a WLAN card, I've installed the LAN drivers and hard wiring the internet works.

I also booted into the Ubuntu live cd and it detects the Atheros card and alerts me about using proprietory drivers I accepted and have been able to connect to an unsecured network within Ubuntu however it wouldn't connect to my security enabled network.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the WLAN card to be registered within Windows XP.

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Device Manager labels wireless cards as Network Controllers and LAN ports as Ethernet Controllers.
Note that if the laptop has Bluetooth functionality a Bluetooth LAN port will be flagged up as Ethernet.

[Neil Jones]

Device Manager labels wireless cards as Network Controllers and LAN ports as Ethernet Controllers.
Note that if the laptop has Bluetooth functionality a Bluetooth LAN port will be flagged up as Ethernet.

[Oliver H]

So it's a LAN driver that hasn't been installed although the ethernet port works fine.

Any suggestions on how to get the WLAN working?

[fleamailman]

yes LAN is pretty standard and get recognized straight off, I would go back to the toshiba site and look under the model name for the driver again,or send an email to them, does the computer come with any install CDs, normally an ISO which doesn't help here but if not, you're in luck

[Oliver H]

The only numbers on the card inside the laptop are:

AR5BMB5
PA3458U-1MPC

2.4DSOF4

Askey Corp.

These numbers have no labels to explain what they do. Also I do have some recovery media but I was under the assumption that you needed the recovery partition from the hard drive to be present when running the media. As the old hard drive is dead this isn't possible.

[Oliver H]

I've found the recovery meda and I'm currently running it on the laptop, I will update you as the the status of the WLAN card.

[fleamailman]

stop!!!, if you run the restore disk you end up with a new system yes but losing all your data with it, no, what you want is just the laptop model number and then to badger those folks at Toshiba, isn't the laptop detail either written on the laptop or the restore disk then

[Oliver H]

There is no data on the laptop as it has a new hard drive.

[fleamailman]

in that case the restore disk is unlikely to help because the CD is usually just a key which opens an ISO image stored on your other hard drive, but if it actually holds the ISO image you'll be in luck, however, if you still have your old hard drive with the system on it, you could put it back into the computer, then gather the drivers with "driver magician" and then replace the old harddrive with the new one, no need to buy "driver magician" just use it for the trail time to get the job done, another reason why I like linux then

http://www.drivermagician.com/

Edited by fleamailman, 10 September 2009 - 11:35 PM.