# My NVIDIA nforce network controller isn't detecting wireless networks



## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

I have an HP Pavillion notebook that was given to me by a friend who had upgraded to a new computer. Due to the fact that she no longer remembered the password to the computer I did a clean install of Windows Vista Home Premium to gain access to the computer. Unfortunately, while the computer seems to be running perfectly, when I attempt to find network connections my computer not only can't find wireless connections, but it doesn't even allow the option of manually creating a wireless connection under my Internet options.

My computer has a built in NVIDIA nforce Network controller listed under my network adapters and when I check its status it states that it is working properly, yet it doesn't detect any wireless networks. In addition to this, I've read online that the wireless indicator light on my computer should switch from orange to blue when turned on, but even with my wireless switched on the light remains orange.

I've also clicked the update drivers option on the NVIDIA network controller, but it states that the drivers are current and changes nothing.

I'm out of ideas as to what the problem could be and any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Stavie.


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

I believe you would find the Nvidia controller would be for the ethernet port. What is the model number? should be on the screen there or on the bottom of the laptop.

Also in device manager, do you have anything listed in Other Devices?

Also make sure the wireless switch is not turned offf.


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

EDIT: To confirm the nvidia controller is for the ethernet port, go to Start > Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Manage Network Connections. The Local Area Connection icon will show what the adapter is called.


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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Couriant said:


> I believe you would find the Nvidia controller would be for the ethernet port. What is the model number? should be on the screen there or on the bottom of the laptop.
> 
> Also in device manager, do you have anything listed in Other Devices?
> 
> Also make sure the wireless switch is not turned offf.


So then my Nvidia controller would only be good for hard line connections via Ethernet cable? I'm sorry but are you asking about the model number of the Nvidia card or the computer? Either way I'm not exactly sure where to look for said model number. Most of the stickers and such on the bottom of the computer are faded and hard to read. If you could give me an example of what to look for I might be able to give you the number.

Under other devices I have 6 items all of which have yellow ! symbols next to them. Three of these items are labeled Base System Device the others are as follows: Coprocessor, Network Controller, and Unknown Device. When I attempt to re-install the drivers on these items the following message appears.

Windows could not find driver software for your device.

As I said above, my wireless indicator remains orange even with the switch in the on position.


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

Stavie said:


> So then my Nvidia controller would only be good for hard line connections via Ethernet cable?


Yes. This will indicate that you can use only the ethernet cable at this time.



Stavie said:


> I'm sorry but are you asking about the model number of the Nvidia card or the computer? Either way I'm not exactly sure where to look for said model number. Most of the stickers and such on the bottom of the computer are faded and hard to read. If you could give me an example of what to look for I might be able to give you the number.


The computer. You may be able to find it in the properties of My Computer. Usually it would be on the computer's casing.


Stavie said:


> Under other devices I have 6 items all of which have yellow ! symbols next to them. Three of these items are labeled Base System Device the others are as follows: Coprocessor, *Network Controller*, and Unknown Device. When I attempt to re-install the drivers on these items the following message appears.


This is most likely your wireless connection. You will need to get the drivers from HP for this one.

In fact, go to HP site and it will detect it for you. When you do you should be able to get the drivers for all those devices without drivers (other devices)


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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Edit: Under the local area connection it says:

Network cable unplugged
Nvidia nForce Networking Controller


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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Okay so I believe the product number may be the following:

I found something that says p/n: GA534UA#ABA

How can I get to the HP site if I'm currently unable to access the Internet with that computer. I currently use a wi-fi hotspot to access the Internet and as such, have no way of connecting to the Internet via an Ethernet cable. Is there anyway I can get these driver updates with another compute and transfer them to my laptop?


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

Do you have a friend that may have a wired Internet connection that you could connect to?


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Stavie said:


> Okay so I believe the product number may be the following:
> 
> I found something that says p/n: *GA534UA#ABA*
> 
> How can I get to the HP site if I'm currently unable to access the Internet with that computer. I currently use a wi-fi hotspot to access the Internet and as such, have no way of connecting to the Internet via an Ethernet cable. Is there anyway I can get these driver updates with another compute and transfer them to my laptop?


According to that product number, that laptop/notebook is a *HP Pavilion dv2415nr* model.

Here is the support site for it.

If you click "Software & Driver Downloads" and then select "Microsoft Windows Vista", you can obtain the drivers that you need.

From what I can tell, that laptop/notebook has a NVIDIA wired adapter and a Broadcom or Intel wireless adapter.

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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Problem solved. I'm actually typing up this reply on the laptop which is now connected to my wireless hotspot.

I actually was able to download the needed Drivers onto a USB and install them that way.

I just wanted to thank you all for the help. You guys are awesome and I believe I may have found my new "go to" place when I'm trying to figure tech stuff out.

Thanks again,

Stavie.


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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Edit:

Quick question.

While my internet is now working, and the computer seems to be working fine; I still have 5 devices under Device Manager>Other Devices that are still showing yellow ! symbols next to them, and I'm not sure under which category of drivers to search for them so they can be updated.

They are lsted as follows:

Base System Device
Base System Device
Base System Device
Coprocessor
Unknown Device

Simply doing an automatic scan (including an Internet scan) for the drivers brings up nothing. Any suggestions?


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Double-click each of those entries to open their properties window, then click the "Details" tab, then select "Hardware Id".

Look for a string that has *VEN_####&DEV_####* as part of the string.

Advise what the numbers and letters are that follow VEN_ and DEV_ .

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I believe that laptop has a NVIDIA nForce 430 chipset, but I haven't confirmed it yet.

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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

I think this is what you're asking for:

PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0592&SUBSYS_30B5103C&REV_0A
PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0592&SUBSYS_30B5103C
PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0592&CC_088000
PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0592&CC_0880

Unfortunately, the computer's network controller is still acting wonky. It worked for a couple of hours, but when I restarted the computer the network controller disappeared from the Device Manager page and I lost wireless access again. I had to re-install the drivers again just to get the network controller to re-appear and the internet is working again. The only question is whether it will stop working when I turn the computer off again. 

There was a Windows Update when I turned the computer on and lost wireless capability, but a system restore didn't solve the problem, only my above actions brought the wi-fi capability back. I'm hoping that was just the Windows update screwing with the computer and not a serious hardware problem.


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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Quick Update:

It would seem that it was in fact the Windows update that knocked out the Network Controller since I've been able to shutdown the laptop 3 times and still have the wireless detection remain intact.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Stavie said:


> I think this is what you're asking for:
> 
> PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0592&SUBSYS_30B5103C&REV_0A
> PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0592&SUBSYS_30B5103C
> ...


From the PCIDatabase.com site:

Chip Number: R5C592 
Chip Description: Ricoh Memory Stick Controller 
Notes: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp45001-45500/sp45112.exe

This package contains the Ricoh Media Card Reader Driver for the supported notebook/laptop models and operating systems. The Ricoh Media Card Reader driver provides support for the following media: Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card, MMC, SD, and SmartCard.

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## Stavie (Jul 9, 2011)

Thanks that took care of the 3 Base System Device Errors.

Here are the Hardware ID's for the other two items showing error codes.

Coprocessor:
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0271&SUBSYS_30B5103C&REV_A3
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0271&SUBSYS_30B5103C
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0271&CC_0B4000
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0271&CC_0B40

Unknown Device:
ACPI\HPQ0006
*HPQ0006


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

Stavie said:


> Edit: Under the local area connection it says:
> 
> Network cable unplugged
> Nvidia nForce Networking Controller


I know this is a bit late, but wanted to chime on this post.

Since your ethernet controller is the Nvidia one, you could have simply connected the computer to the router with an ethernet cord... providing you have access to it  But looks like you have everything taken care of :up:


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Stavie said:


> Thanks that took care of the 3 Base System Device Errors.
> 
> Here are the Hardware ID's for the other two items showing error codes.
> 
> ...


From the PCIDatabase.com site:

Chip Number: nForce 
Chip Description: Coprocessor (nForce System Management Controller)

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