Intel Centrino N100 keeps deactivating itself

[rijoribeiro]

I'm seeking help and advise from engineers and Intel enthusiasts because my Wireless device keeps deactivating itself. 

Unfortunately, the status for the Intel® Centrino® N 100 is EOIS (end of interactive support). This means that the support for this product has been terminated.

I myself have some knowledge and I've tried all the usual fix procedures including reinstalling drivers, Windows 10 and changing power settings.

Note that while not generating much traffic, the connection seems to hold. But as soon as I start surfing the internet and I have another application open... forget it I spend all the time Deactivating/Activating the device every minute 

I believe it was some update on Windows 10 that caused this because I've been using Win10 for a long time and this situation occurs for maybe 3 months now.

[n_scott_pearson]

The drivers for this adapter are frozen and haven't changed in a couple of years now. Either there is something (else) changing in Windows that is causing this or the adapter is just plain failing. When it disconnects, have you looked in Device Manager to see if there is any status change being reported by the driver?

...S

[rijoribeiro]

Hi there and before any further I'd like to thank you for your reply.

My answer is "Yes" I checked on Device Manager and there is no conflicts. It says the device is working well. It is strange, right? 

Do you think the anomaly might be of the hardware it self?

[n_scott_pearson]

I am fairly sure it is. The N100 is a really old adapter and likely the system that you have it in is quite old too.

If you are running Windows, please download and run the Intel System Support Utility for Windows. Select all data categories and then have it generate a report. Next, have the tool Save the report to a text file (don't try to use the Submit capability; it doesn't work). Finally, using the Drag and drop here or browse files to attach dialog below the edit box for the body of your response post, upload and attach this file to the response post.

...S

[rijoribeiro]

Dear Scott,

File you asked is attached.

Looking forward to your reply. Thanks once again for trying to help me.

[n_scott_pearson]

I gave the report the once-over. The only obvious thing I see is that you have the 15.4.1.1 version of the driver and I have the 15.5.0.0. Let me know if you want to try this slightly newer (and last) version...

...S

[rijoribeiro]

Hi,

Yes I want to try it for sure. 

Looking forward to your reply.

[n_scott_pearson]

Check out the PM that I just sent you.

...S

[rijoribeiro]

I'll try this, then I come back here to send you feedback.

Thanks!

[rijoribeiro]

Hi,

unfortunately this ProSet Wireless driver didn't work out either.

After I began watching some Youtube video, wifi device deactivated itself, as usual.

When I restarted PC, a blue screen refering to a Driver Power State Failure was shown (I didn't mention this in previous posts but I did say I tried to change some energy definitions before, also without any results)

Any other suggestions?

[n_scott_pearson]

This is a very old system with a very old wireless card. It may just be failing.

• You could try replacing the Wireless card. Here's an example that might work: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-7260-HMWG-R-Wireless-AC-Network-adapter/dp/B00MV3N7UO. This does mean opening up your laptop.
• Alternatively, you can use a USB wireless adapter, such as this: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-desktop-10-9-10-14-Archer-T2U/dp/B07P5PRK7J.

Hope this helps,

...S

[n_scott_pearson]

Actually, I do have another thought: When you installed the driver package, did you do it cleanly? That is, while completely disconnected from the Internet, uninstall the existing driver, reboot and then install the latest driver.

...S

[rijoribeiro]

I did remove the existing driver before install the latest driver...however I didn't completely disconnect from the internet...

I'll try once again...with a clean Win10 instalation...

Btw, what do you mean "very old system" ? I know this is a reconditioned laptop and it is far from "new". However I never saw it as a "dinossaur laptop"

[n_scott_pearson]

Old as in 11 years. That's well beyond the MTBF for even the solder holding it together. Even though I have one (ok, two) still running myself, that's still way past my 'dinosaur' cut line. While they can still offer decent performance, things are at the point where the energy cost of using them is starting to become questionable.

Intel never supported that generation with Windows 10 and has now EOLed any support for three generations after it. Microsoft supports it on Windows 10 only reluctantly (they say that they will *never* support it with a production release of Windows 11).

Should I go on?

...S

[rijoribeiro]

...No need to go on I'll try to make some money selling it and find a better one within my budget

About the issue, it failed again even after a clean installation.

One last question, 

After the new driver installation, the driver name remained the same on the device manager (Intel centrino n100). I thought it was updated to what you sent me (Intel Proset wireless) but it didn't. Was this to be expected?

[n_scott_pearson · Accepted solution]

No, Device Manager will always display the name of the actual hardware adapter. You'll see the PROSet name mentioned elsewhere. For more information, consult https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005649/wireless/legacy-intel-wireless-products.html.
...S

[rijoribeiro]

Despite it didn't work I really appreciated your help.

Take care and stay safe