issue with finding a wireless adapter for my pc

[MDRaganox]

Hello HP community 

I have a question to ask regarding my old Compaq Presario cq56 notebook.

(quick backstory before the problem)my mom had this pc originally and used it for work, and her workplace added the necessary drivers and apps to her computer(this one) to make sure it runs  efficiently. Fast forward a few years and its was passed down to me. since i love games i downloaded a lot of them. However  i would always be faced with the infamous error. Error 0xc0000005 this monster of an error prevented most if not all gaming opportunities I had with this computer, after watching many and i mean many videos on how to fix it. I came to the conclusion that the best way to fix it was to do a TRUE RESET... or factory reset which worked for a day and the error returned now with a companion, NO WIRELESS ADAPTER. yes because of this not only can i not play games, i cant connect to wireless networks. WHICH hurt me badly. (btw the OS I was running was windows 7 starter 32bit) then my pc somehow, by itself DELETED THE OS, WHICH MEANS I WAS UNABLE TO USE IT. until `1 month ago when i used my moms new pc to download

windows 8.1 64 bit which fixed the oxc0000005 error.)

ok now the problem: i cant find a wireless driver for my pc since direct Compaq support ended a while ago and I don't know which wireless driver would work since there's no unknown driver in device manager. its almost like my pc COMPLETELY forgot the fact that it needs a wireless driver or that it can use one. at this moment I'm using Ethernet but i desperately need help, I've gone to every website, watched every video and still to no avail this is my last resort. 

Thank you for reading all that

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

When a Wi-Fi adapter needs a driver, there will be a device listed in the device manager labeled as a Network Controller.

Please post the hardware ID for the Network Controller device so I can figure out what driver it needs.

Use this guide for how to find the hardware ID for a device.

How to Find Drivers for Unknown Devices in the Device Manager (howtogeek.com)

[MDRaganox]

I wish i could if not for the fact that there is no id to post, or no hardware to find. My device manager screen doesn't show the option of network controller it only shows me storage controllers which are unrelated to this topic. to give you a better  of idea how exactly my device manager looks, imagine a perfect device manager with no error in sight or just take a look at the image below:My device manager

[Paul_Tikkanen]

OK, then it is one of two problems:

The Wi-Fi adapter was turned off with the HP wireless assistant software when the notebook was on W7.

The fix for that is relatively easy.

Install the HP wireless Assistant software, restart the PC and use the HP wireless assistant software controls to turn on the wifi.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp49001-49500/sp49018.exe

If that doesn't get the wifi adapter to show up, then there is a hardware issue with the Wi-Fi adapter.

Since the notebook is very old, sometimes the contacts between the Wi-Fi adapter and the Wi-Fi card slot get oxidized and that caused the Wi-Fi adapter to lose contact with the motherboard and it doesn't show up in the device manager anymore.

What you do to see if that is the problem is to disconnect the PC from the power adapter, remove the battery and then remove and firmly reseat the Wi-Fi adapter and hope that fixes the problem by cleaning the contacts.

Try and leave the antenna wires connected to the adapter when you do this to make it easier to reinstall the wifi card.

If that doesn't resolve the problem, then the Wi-Fi card has probably failed and needs to be replaced.

You would have to replace it with the exact same model, and it must have the HP part number on it, or it will not work.

Below is the link to the service manual.

ManualsLib - Makes it easy to find manuals online!

Or you can always buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter.