I fixed orange light HP/Compaq wireless problem

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javeous

javeous

I have been fighting with these stupid HP dv6 & 9000, and v6000 Compaq model laptops for some time now. I've figured out how to bring the board back to life, but I have just not had much luck with the wireless orange light issue, until now.

I'm not sure if this fix is for everyone, obviously. However, if your wireless issue is hardware related and you know your wifi card is good; I suggest you try this method at least once and maybe save yourself a motherboard order.

What you need:
-Everest Ultimate, or any software that can stress your cpu
-That's it, this fix is all software controlled

What I did:
-Opened Everest
-Choose to stress CPU only with stability test in tools
-Covered vent in front of heatsink to inhibit heat transfer
-Waited till the CPU hit 75C, Wireless Works, and the Orange Light is now Blue again.

I hope this works for others. I know I have had about enough of these HP/Compaq Laptop MoBo problems.
----------------------------------
Update***
----------------------------------

-THIS ACTION IS NOT RECOMMENDED, EXCEPT FOR A LAST RESORT. DO NOT ATTEMPT UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO POTENTIALLY CAUSE ADDITIONAL DAMAGE
-TechSpot is not responsible for any damage caused
-This fix has worked for 7 DV6000 & V6000 laptops
-Wireless may go back out after one or more system restarts, or never again go back out. If so, just repeat these steps; at your own risk.
-Length of stress test may be short and it may be 5 to 10 minutes or more
-Recommend GPU Heat Sink fix to the motherboard prior to this method
 
This sounds more like an internal power problem, from an ageing motherboard. Your findings and your "cure" may just be a coincidence. If you can bring the WiFi back to life even for a short time... this IS a good thing indeed .;)
 
I know it's not an aging board problem because these boards are the same across all of these models, and they are well known for ending up dead or the wireless stopping just weeks after purchase. It is obviously an electrical issue, eventhough this fix occurs through heat. I do know that when this board is out of the chasis, you can use a heat gun on the cpu to bring the wireless back to life also, but most people don't want to disassemble their laptops everytime. So this fix works excellent. Mine still works great at the moment.
 
" I do know that when this board is out of the chasis, you can use a heat gun on the cpu to bring the wireless back to life also..."

Bad solder joints or a defective/corroded interconnect between the WiFi board and the motherboard
 
or...

...cheaply made board.

Yes, you're correct. It is most definitely a joint somewhere along the line. Have you seen all of the posts for this issue around the net. It's insane. HP did do a recall, but it ended in January.
 
I used to repair both desktop and laptop motherboards to the component level. It is just not cost effective to do it any longer, except for the larger repair centers. As long as your tips here work most of the time... Much better than replacing the the expensive laptop motherboards
 
I think you've found yourself a red herring.

Don't surprised if it happens again.
 
Especially with all the cooling and heating that laptops go through, not to mention bumping and vibrating
 
Bumping, vibrating, heating, and cooling through normal use isn't affecting this fix so far. I have performed it on 6 of the dv6000 laptops with dead wireless in my shop. They have all taken to the fix. Two of the laptops will go back out after a restart, but works again after the fix. For the most part, once they're working again, they stay working. (5 out of 7) There are a lot of fixes for different things that work for some and then don't work at all for others. For instance, the red ring of death fix. That works in most cases, but not all. Again, if it works for just one person then I've done my job. I would say, however, that the title should be I (might) have fixed this issue. I'm just relieved that these laptops I've got stacked wth no wireless are back to life.
 
Okay, you know what, I'm going to bite. First, let me say I appreciate that you put a detailed explanation here. I personally believe this information is wrong and I feel a responsibility to minimize misinformation here.

This is an example of correlation without causation. There is no foundation upon which running a CPU burn in test is going to fix an amber wireless light. Can you explain how? No... No one can. It doesn't make sense. It's like fixing the radio in your car by revving the engine past 7000 RPMs for 5 minutes. I refuse to believe this fixed your issue and even if it did so temporarily, I refuse to believe it will continue to work.

As for the real solution... for what it is worth, these notebooks may be part of an extended warranty program where HP *does* blame the system board.
HP Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 and Compaq Presario v3000/v6000 Series Notebook PCs
HP Limited Warranty Service Enhancement

The following symptoms apply to the dv6000, dv9000 and v6000 series notebooks:
  • The notebook does not detect wireless networks and the wireless adapter is not detected in the Device Manager
  • There is no video on the computer LCD panel or external monitor.
  • The notebook has no power and no active LEDs.
  • The notebook does not start.
  • The battery charge indicator light does not turn on when the battery is installed and the AC adapter is connected.
  • The notebook issues a single beep during boot indicating no power.
  • The external monitor functions but there is no image on the notebook LCD panel.
Click to expand...

HP has also released BIOS updates which resolves some of the issues listed. I'm not sure if that will resolve the wireless led issue, but it is worth a shot.

-Wireless may go back out after one or more system restarts, or never again. If so, just repeat these steps.
Click to expand...
Again, this sounds more and more like a coincidence. It's nothing personal, I just don't want people to be misled by what *appears* to be a solution, but is not.
 
@Rick

I respect your response, and am in no way offended or take it personal. I agree with everything you've said. Additionally, I'm sorry if this post may be misleading in anyway. I definitely don't recommend this action unless it is a last resort. Please know that I do care about the effect that my posts have on the community here at TechSpot. If you believe this post will do more harm than good and in effect tarnish TechSpot, then please have it removed. I will not be offended in anyway. I understand how unorthodox this type of fix may seem. However, I do know for a fact that this works, and I am in the middle of posting the video on YouTube as we speak. I will provide a link provided my post doesn't get removed.

On another note, if you understand the common fix of how to bring these boards back to life, then you will understand how sustaining a higher temperature to the cpu can fix this issue whether temporary or permanent. I am currently using the compaq that I first performed the fix on, and the wireless is working just fine. I could provide a more technical reasoning to why this works if you'd like.

Again, misleading someone is not my goal. I just understand how frusterating this problem can be. I would consider renaming the title if I could, just haven't figured how to yet. I'm just trying to contribute to the TechSpot Community.
 
By stressing the CPU, you raise the laptops operating temperature, including all the internal components and parts. We know there is a defect between the WiFi board and the motherboard. This defect is either a component thermal failure or a "cold" solder joint. Either way, the extra heat "heals" the Wifi function for a time. I can't imagine this "fix" lasting forever though... or even 6 months
 
Nice! You're familiar with this. Yeah, I don't know if it will last either, but for right now, it is working on all 7 laptops with no problem.
 
This sounds like a rather ridiculous fix, but you're going to love this... It worked. I kept it running in the test, walked away for 10 minutes then, BAM. Blue light again. Thank you Google!

FYI I had it at 80c. Seems high, but oh well. This board is worthless without wireless to me.
 
javeous said:
I will provide a link provided my post doesn't get removed.
Click to expand...
I would never remove a post like this, because I know as silly as it sounds, it *may* just work. Even though I obviously disagree, I think we're all willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
javeous said:
Again, misleading someone is not my goal.
Click to expand...
I know -- your intentions seem genuine and I don't want to point fingers. I simply doubt the effectiveness of the results.
[This sounds like a rather ridiculous fix, but you're going to love this... It worked
Click to expand...
However, from the looks of it, it works. You can't really ask for much more, eh? :) I still want to understand what's going on here.
This defect is either a component thermal failure or a "cold" solder joint. Either way, the extra heat "heals" the Wifi function for a time.
Click to expand...
Since even lead solder (and these laptops will use lead-free solder, which has a slightly higher melting point) needs to reach over 180 Celsius to melt, I'm confident it isn't a cold solder joint. Heck, the computer will undoubtedly shut off when the CPU reaches 90*C, so we know other components are not reaching those kinds of temps. There must be an explanation though and heat really is the obvious result of a CPU burn-in test... What is the heat doing exactly? Perhaps there is something else?

For those of you reading, keep in mind there's an extended warranty program that you may be able to take advantage of -- And also consider updating your BIOS. I would definitely handle this the 'official' way if at all possible.

But until then -- as long as this seems to work -- carry on. :)
 
Extended warranty/board recall ended in January 2009. There will be no more free repairs for this issue. They will suggest you buy a board from them at $400. Bios updates don't work for this issue. Basically, the only people who are not afraid to perform this, are the people that have already went the official route, and have exhausted their troubleshooting skills. I wasn't worried whether it would work or not, but it's nice to see someone has benefited.
 
I just inherited a V6000 laptop from a family member and replaced the dead hard drive only to find out that the wireless won't work due to the orange light issue you mentioned above. I'm going to try your solution but I had a question on the process:
Since the wireless card doesn't show up in my Device Manager, is the orange light still supposed to change to a blue light if this solution works? or will Windows show new hardware found? Lastly, will I need to reboot in order for the new hardware to be located?

Thanks in advance.

***Update

I performed the steps Javeous outlined above and it actually fixed my wireless! I attempted this twice- once at 75C steady for a few minutes (obviously not long enough), and the second time at 80C for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes I stopped the CPU stress test and let the laptop slowly decrease the CPU temp. 1 minute later, Windows alerted me that it found new hardware and it was ready for use! Perfect!

Thanks for saving me time and money- I really appreciate it!
 
Awesome Tip!

Hello..
wow..i cant believe that running the cpu stress test actually fixed the wifi problem...
Unfortunately when i rebooted..light was back to orange..:(
Any schematics available showing where the cold solder joints would be??
Thank you
 
Well, i just **** a brick. literally. I have a compaq v6000 and the wireless suddenly went out. I read your post and thought, its worth a try. a laptop without wireless is like a desktop without a mouse and keyboard.

I first tried OCCT to load up the cores, but it kept quitting when temps got over 75C.

Then i downloaded prime 95, pc wizard 2009. pc wizard minimized shows core temps, i thought i had closed prime 95 while I take care of twosies in the bathroom. When I came back the fan was going at full tilt i realized it wasnt stopped but minimized. i opened pcwizard and saw cpu temp at 90C!

i lifted the palm rest slightly to allow more air flow and was going to close prime 95 because i wanted to stay 80c and under. all the sudden windows pops up "FOUND NEW HARDWARE!" the wireless light chagned from orange to blue! ZOMFGPWNBBQQQ!!

Javeous i owe you an alcoholic beverage, im in grand rapids -- if your in the area let me know. thanks a billion!
 
It worked for a few hours then went out again. After getting the temps nice and warm it started working again. Ive been watching my temps, i think this laptop needs a heatsink upgrade or new thermal paste. its idle at 51C and anything over 40-50% load makes it shoot up to 70C. whenever i do any stress to this thing it probably is what caused it to stop working in the first place.

Anyone ever trying taking the heatsink off and applying some AS5?
 
i would personally suck this man off if i could right now and i am a straight man he just saved me 700 bucks, tips thats worked for me we take a cloth and block the the fan/heatsink completely , make sure you have an internet connection via cable or phone to download drivers after it detects it if ur running vista run the bubbles screen savers to raise gpu temp up i took mine to 103c before it detected been on web for 30 min now wirelessly works fine o ya thanks man this **** works highly recommend almost got a new laptop but this saved me some cash once again this actually fing works f hp and compaq this guy rocks
 
Worked for me too! gave up after running it at 80 degrees for half an hour then stopped and let it cool off and as it cooled down it found the network adapter and automatically installed drivers. Now we will see how long it lasts, have similar heat issue on HP tablet pc (tx1000) that I have fixed two times now and wont last for more than two weeks so far.

HP/Compaq Sucks, flat out, I used to repair them at the best buy service center and they have only gotten worse in my home repair experience since then.
 
HP/Compaq Sucks, flat out, I used to repair them at the best buy service center and they have only gotten worse in my home repair experience since then...

I repair all makes of laptops and HP/Compaq laptops are among the easiest to get repair parts at reasonable prices. Better than most manufacturers. I still say this "Orange Light" issue is a cold solder circuit near the CPU. I have never seen this issue in the shop. I would suggest that these Orange fixes be examined for dust contamination in the cooling system of the laptop
 
fixed wirless internet

ok everyone I did a lot of the stuff you guys said, but did not try the heating up my system.
so I went to walmart and bought a compact wireless usb adapter. and plugged it in to my usb and wow it works orange lite still on but who cares. I can get on internet.
and for less than 50. its fixed
 
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