Updating wireless g to wireless n mini pci card on a dv9608nr-GS721UA laptop

[jfcompsol]

Hi,

I am ready to update my laptop (DV9608NR-GS721UA) running Windows 7 Ultimate to wireless 'n' and I need to know which HP wireless card to use?

It seems that some of the HP wireless cards are laptop specific and/or processor specific.

Will HP part number 480985-001 work in my laptop?  Or does anyone know of a compatible wireless card?

Thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Below is the link to the service manual for your notebook.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01951704.pdf

Supported wireless cards with HP part #'s can be found in Chapter 3, on pages 23 & 24.

None of the Intel cards will work for you.

Go with one of these depending on what country you live in.

Broadcom 4321AGN 802.11a/b/g/n modules:

●

For use in the United States and Canada Part # 434661-001

●

For use in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom,

Nordic region, and India  Part # 434661-002.

You can get a used but tested and working one on eBay for around $10.00.

That is the card I installed in my dv6810us, which has basically the same guts as yours but a 15.6" screen.

Dual band card, works great.

Paul

[erico]

Unfortunately It is not quite as simple as that.

Wireless 802.11N wireless modules usually require a different antenna configuration than the older generation 802.11g modules did. If you try installing a module that is not listed in the manual it is unlikely to have BIOS support. That would mean that it is not whitelisted and it would not operate. The first thing you would see when you boot up from the BIPOS would be an error message that stated that an incompatible adapter is installed. 

The most viable option would be to purchase an ExpressCard 54 wireless adapter or a usb wireless adapter. A few advantages of this method advantage are that the  ExpressCard 54 wireless adapter has the antennas built in and only requires in addition, a driver for your installed operating system. The  ExpressCard 54 wireless adapters usually have better sensitivity and range than the UISB adapters.

there are some examples of both in this section at Newegg.

[ctank21]

Also, the wireless card might not work even if it is listed in the service manual.  That is i the problem I have run into. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

As I posted above, I used this very card in my notebook.

The card only has two antenna terminals which will be the same for the dv9608nr.

I will agree that even though the manual lists part #'s for notebooks, and then you get one, and it doesn't work, that is normally not the case unless you are trying to upgrade to one of the Intel cards like the 6230.

Then it becomes a nightmare.

I can pretty much guarantee the Broadcom 4321 with the applicable HP part # I posted, will work in the dv9608nr. Basically the same motherboard and BIOS as mine.

Paul

[jfcompsol]

Thanks Paul!

Just the information I needed! I found one on Ebay for about $10 and I will give it a try. I will update my BIOS just to make sure!

[jfcompsol]

Thanks Erico!

I have a Netgear Expresscard that works, but my son has already broken one on his other laptop (carelessness). So I am looking for an internal one. I agree that the expresscard and the USB wireless cards seem to have better wireless access and throughput!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

DO NOT UPDATE YOUR BIOS when running windows 7!!!

You will brick your notebook.  100% failure rate.

As long as the one you found on eBay lists that it is that HP part number, you should have smooth sailing.

Please post back and let us know how your wireless card upgrade went.

Get a long, thin Philips screwdriver. I found that a jeweler's screwdriver did not have enough horsepower to break those tiny screws loose on mine.

Just use one that gives you more torque and you will have no problems.

If I used the bigger screwdriver in the first place, I think I would have had it swapped out in less than five minutes.

Here is the link to the lastest W7 driver for it:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-102505-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en

Paul