The DV6-1107AX laptop seemed to have a lot of difficulty connecting to the WiFi network… it would connect only about 1 in 4 times.

I figure: this should be easy… if the WiFi circuit has failed, I’ll just plug in an external USB WIFi adapter.

Getting a WiFi lock seems to work correctly.

Vista reports that the WiFi in connected, but has limited or no internet connectivity.

So its not a password problem, and the laptop is actually connecting to the WiFi access point.

The WiFi signal strength is good.

I re-enter the WiFi password, but that doesn’t help

After a few attempts, I do Windows updates (via ethernet cable)… but that doesn’t help, either.

I’m told that the laptop seems to get quite warm, so I clean out the CPU fan… I wish laptop makers would make it easier to clean the fan… just add a hatch and one screw.

I then try a USB WiFi adapter, and… I get the same problem!!!

So this is looking like a Vista / software problem.

Next, I look at Norton 360… Its always a prime candidate for unusual network problems… But uninstalling Norton doen’t fix anything 🙁

At this stage, I’m left with doing a complete re-install of Vista…

I take the PC back to the office, create the recovery disks, then, before I do a data backup and a re-format, I look more carefully at the windows updates… I find that there are some hardware updates that need to be done… but nothing related to the WiFi… so not much chance of fixing the problem… but manually tick the updates, and force them to install.

Amazingly, the DV6 laptop now maintains its WiFi connection, and never has a problem connecting to the internet…

Who would have thunk it?