[M17xR4] Intel Centrino-N2230 needs several reboots to be detected by the BIOS

[Guest]

M17x R4 motherboard

BIOS A11 unlocked

Intel Centrino N-2230 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapter

Hi,

I could use some hints about a strange behavior on my Intel Centrino N-2230 adapter.

1.- After a long time being powered off, when I turn on the laptop the wireless LAN is not detected by the BIOS. It appears as "Not Installed" in the BIOS diagnostics (see picture). However, the Bluetooth appears as "Installed". Odd, since both functions are part of the Centrino N-2230 adapter.

2.- If I let the laptop running for several minutes, power it off and immediately power it on again, then the wireless LAN is detected and appears as "Installed" in the BIOS diagnostics (see other picture). At this point, I can use the laptop normally and use the Intel Centrino N-2230 in Windows (with both bluetooth and wifi running ok). Sometimes, it is not enough with a single power off-power on sequence for the BIOS to detect the wireless LAN, and I have to repeat it 2 or 3 times. Note that this workaround  only works when I power off the laptop completely and then power it on again (it does not work just doing a restart).

3.- This solution only works for the time I use the laptop. When I finish the session and shut down the laptop and leave it for several hours or days then, then when I turn it on again the wireless adapter is again undetected by the BIOS (same as point 1).

I tried replacing the Centrino N-2230 with an 7260-AC, in this case the wireless LAN is always shown as "Not Installed" by the BIOS, no matter how many times I do the power off/power on trick. The Bluetooth on the other hand is always detected, in fact, this issue only affects the wireless LAN part, the Bluetooth is always shown as "Installed" in the BIOS, both for the N-2230 and the 7260-AC.

 

Uploaded 2 images, one is from the first boot, when the wireless LAN appears as "Not Installed" (Bluetooth is "Installed" though). The second one is after a couple of power off-power on sequences, the wireless LAN appears now as "Installed".

[ssj92]

Does the card work fine in Windows every time? Hard to tell from what you wrote, but if this is a BIOS only issue, I wouldn't even worry about it.