"Rory Deol" <rdeol85@gmail.com> hath wroth:

>I recently purchased a used HP Pavilion ze4610 (ze4600) laptop. The
>problem is that I have a terrible wireless range. The internal wireless
>card is an IBM High Rate MiniPCI Combo Card 802.11b. The range....from
>about 3 to 5 feet from my router was the best. I then upgraded the
>driver from a 1.04 to 1.07 it was about 8-10 feet from the
>router...still deplorable. What do I do about this problem? I am
>considering getting a wireless card (PCMCIA/USB) but don't know which
>is best. At this point it isn't the speed that matters it's all in the
>range. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. HP laptops normally do not come with IBM wireless cards. Looking
at the driver list on the HP site, the ze4600 series came with
Broadcom wireless cards. Actually, I'm suprised that the IBM card
functions as the current HP BIOS checks for a supported wireless card
that has been FCC type certified with the laptop. Anything else gets
a nasty pre-boot error message. While the IBM card could work,
there's a possibility that antenna connector and the pigtails on the
antennas are not exactly matched connectors. Visually inspect the
connectors. Sometimes, all that's wrong is that the connectors are
not snapped together.

2. If possible take the laptop to a different wireless access point
or wireless router and try again. If the symptoms are identical, then
it's not the router. However, if it works with a different router,
then it's your wireless router.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558