Low signal strength on one computer

[KornGeek]

(I'm sorry, but I have no model numbers or anything like that at the moment, but I can provide more information later.)

I've got a wireless router set up at home and 2 laptops that connect to it. On one laptop, I get good signal strength from anywhere in the apartment. On the other laptop, I get low or very low signal strength from within the same room as the router and no signal detected from anywhere else in the apartment.

I'm guessing that this is a hardware issue with the one laptop because the other communicates with the router just fine. Is there any way to troubleshoot and possibly correct this, or is it likely that the hardware is simply failing? If the wireless card inside the laptop is failing, is this something that can be replaced with reasonable cost and time?

It's been a few years since I've done any work inside a pc, and I've seldom worked inside a laptop.

 

[IllogicallyLogical]

Has the laptop in question ever had a powerful signal with your wireless router at home? Have you ever tried connecting the same laptop to a different access point and see if it can get a better signal elsewhere. Try looking for an updated driver for the wireless card on the vendor's web page and see if that helps. Depending on the make and model of the laptop you may be able to replace the internal card with and upgraded model. If you are not familiar with working inside of a laptop, an easier alternative would be to disable the internal wireless card and purchase a PC card or USB Wi-Fi card.

Joey
CCNA, MCSA 2003, MCP, A+, Network+, Wireless#