Most robust 802.11g adapter for Lenovo ThinkPad X61s running 64bit Windows 8.1

[DAndr17]

Hi All,

My Lenovo ThinkPad X61s running Windows 8.1 64bit is having problem activating WiFi upon resuming after Standby/Hibernate: namely WiFi gets stuck and nothing but reboot takes it out of that state. While researching the problem I realised that Intel 4965AGN adapter in the laptop is no longer supported by Intel and in particular Windows 8 drivers have never been released (using Microsoft's v13.3.0.137 driver dated August 15th, 2010 at the moment). Upgrading the adapter seems the easiest option in the light of the above.

Which adapter is known to be the most robust one supporting 802.11g for 64-bit Windows 8.1 and in particular has no problems upon resuming from Standby/Hibernate? 802.11n support is fine although not mandatory as my Internet speed is capped at 30Mbps anyway. I'm currently looking at 512AN_MMW.

Many thanks in advance,

Dmitriy

[jbenavides · Accepted solution]

Hello DmitriyA,

As you mentioned, the Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN use an inbox driver that works with Windows 8 (built within MS Windows*). However, Intel customer support does not support the use of Windows 8 with this adapter.

Here are a few recommendations for the issues resuming from Standby/Hibernate, and also regarding the replacement of the adapter.

- I do not have a system at hand to confirm which options are available with the Microsoft Inbox driver for this adapter, however, you may go to the adapter properties in Device Manager, check if there is a Power Management tab, it there is, try toggling on/off the check-mark for option "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power", then test if the behavior changes with the different modes.

- You can try disabling Fast Startup in Windows, this may help to prevent this type of issues. You can see the steps in the following external link.

NOTE: This link is being offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel of the content, products, or services offered there."

http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-disable-or-enable-fast-startup-in-windows-8-1/ http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-disable-or-enable-fast-startup-in-windows-8-1/

- Check for applicable Windows Updates.

If the issue persists and you plan to replace the adapter in order to use Windows 8.1*, we recommend you to check with Lenovo Support regarding availability and support for upgrades of the Intel wireless adapter.

Some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) may limit the computer to only specific wireless adapters causing an installation error when booting with a different wireless adapter than previously installed in the computer.

Additionally, the system may have regulatory restrictions, or the new adapter may not be fully compatible with the specifications of your computer.

For more information please review the following advisories:

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-031167.htm Why Doesn't My Laptop Recognize My New Intel Wireless Adapter?

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/sb/CS-006192.htm Installation Error when Installing or Swapping Intel Wireless Adapters

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-011644.htm Regulatory Information Regarding Hardware Installation or Upgrade

[DAndr17]

Hi jonathan_intel - thank you,

I had tried unchecking "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" already and it does help indeed, so I'm using it as a workaround for now. However this setting somewhat worries me: do I get it right that the laptop will keep WiFi up with it even while in standby/hibernate mode?

Wrt WiFi card whitelist in X61s: well spotted but we fortunately have a workaround called Middleton BIOS, which is basically a Lenovo stock BIOS modded to remove WLAN/WWAN card whitelist, remove SATA I cap letting SSDs go above 150MB/s (e.g. Intel X25-M was seen sequentially reading at up to 275MB/s) and has some other useful features. I do realize there's a risk of sticking a wrong WiFi card but hopefully there'll be no problem with Intel ones.

[jbenavides]

Hi DmitriyA,

Having this unchecked should not be an issue in your case. The "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" setting controls how the network card is handled when the computer enters sleep.

If it is enabled/checked, Windows* will put the adapter in a sleep state during standby or hibernate, and will fully enable it when it resumes.

When the option is not checked (disabled), Windows* will stop the adapter completely during sleep, then will reinitialize it after resume.

You can find more information about this topic in the Microsoft document: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2740020 Information about power management setting on a network adapter

[DAndr17]

Hi jonathan_intel,

Perfect - thank you: I don't mind it being turned off every time upon Windows entering standby/hibernate and reinitialized upon Windows resuming.