I may have accidentally unplugged something from my motherboard

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defenestrator09

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Apr 12, 2012
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My HP Pavilion HPE h8-1241 was just delivered to me yesterday. It was making tons of weird noises. I figured that it was just the fans being loud because there are a lot of them and they must run hard to keep the components cool. It didn't sound right though so I opened it up and looked inside. I saw a little black wire hitting the fan on my graphics card making the noise. I slowly pulled up on it to get it out of the way of the fan, then adjusting it to keep it out of the way on its own. A different part of the cord then caught on the fan, ripping it out of where ever it was.

Everything seems to be working fine, except for my wireless lan. The cord leads up into the top of the case where I assume the wireless receiver is hidden. The cord itself is black and about 1mm diameter. The end is gold and about 3 mm across. I tried taking a picture of the cord but it is too small to focus on. The plug part on the end of the cord has two tiny little gold prongs, surrounded by a black ring of what is probably plastic or rubber. Then there is a little gap, then a gold ring about 3mm across, divided by little slits into three separate sections. I believe that the back has this engraved on it:

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I know that it was incredibly dumb to open the box up and start fussing while it was running. It anyone could help me figure out where to plug this cord back into on this mother board I would greatly appreciate it:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02854392&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=5192486#N487

There is a nice little motherboard layout down there that shows were different stuff gets plugged in. Could anyone point me to where I should look for the plug for this thing? I could be wrong about it leading to the wireless antennae.
 
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Got to the following webpage ( http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03179829&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&lc=en&product=5192486#N1288 ) and click on "802.11 Wireless b/g/n PCI-E Mini card" under "Networking". You will see a picture of the wireless card. At the top edge of that card there are two little gold plated connectors. Plug the cable that you pulled loose back into one of those. My bet is that your network will suddenly be working again because you have just reattached the wireless network antenna cable. Plug into connector 1 first. If by some strange twist of fate it doesn't work then pull it out and plug into connector 2.
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nvidia geforce gtx 550

The cord could have come out of there somewhere also. I really have no clue. I don't believe that it came from the card though because everything seems to be working. My monitor is plugged into the card and working. The fan looks fine also.
 
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thanks for the quick replies. I had to leave home for a little while but i will check those first thing. Assuming that those are all functioning, how would I go about checking my wifi receiver? Im picking up none of the networks that I usually do in the exact same spot.
 
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Wireless:

Is this an addon card, or is it built into the motherboard?

Did you get wireless working before than fan issue?

*It's basically impossible to damage onboard components by ripping out the fan cord. The power to the fan is then disconnected and the end of the fan won't short anything out.

If it was never working, it's probably a software issue or you haven't set the software up yet.

If you get stumped, move your MODEM/ROUTER and hook up the computer via ETHERNET and run the driver/software update tool or manually reinstall your wireless driver and software.
 
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Sounds easy enough, but I have no clue where to plug them in. Is it fairly standard between different motherboards?
 
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I was connected wirelessly to the interent last night when I set it all up. I was online this morning too. It was only after I opened up the box and the cord came unplugged that the wireless stopped working.
 
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Turn OFF your PC and check all your connections. As mentioned, there should be an antennae so work backwards from that, however other than the antennae I'm not sure that there would be anything else.

If it's an addon card, remove it, turn your computer ON and OFF again, reinsert it and start up.
 
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yes, wireless was working before the fan issue. I dont think it is an add on card. there is a card right above the graphics card, but i think it is a tv tuner. the cord could have come from there also. the fan still works so i dont think it was its power cord.
 
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the antennae isnt exposed. i believe that it is up top somewhere, separated from the main compartment. the loose cord goes through a hole, so i cant see what it comes from. it is almost certainly from the antennae though. the cord doesnt look like it was broken off something that was meant to be permanently connected, it looks like a plug of sorts. do antennaes usually have a tiny plug into the motherboard? or what do they usually plug into?
 
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UPDATE:

I moved my computer upstairs right next to my wireless router. I did this after having my network flicker up for a moment while downstairs. So it seems that the issue is something to do with signal strength. I used to pick up several of my neighbors wifi networks. Now I have to be right next to my router to pick mine up with 2 bars. What purpose could this cord have in boosting the reception of my antennae? Was it somehow hooked up to the case having that work as the antennae, kind of like with the iphone 4?
 
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If you had an internal antennae which was shorting against exposed metal you could still have a working system with a reduced range.

Or the antennae is unscrewed or damaged.

*If you can't fix the problem then get either an addon card, USB adapter or just run an Ethernet wire.

However if you do so, make sure to DISABLE the onboard wi-fi in the BIOS.
 
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Got to the following webpage ( http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03179829&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&lc=en&product=5192486#N1288 ) and click on "802.11 Wireless b/g/n PCI-E Mini card" under "Networking". You will see a picture of the wireless card. At the top edge of that card there are two little gold plated connectors. Plug the cable that you pulled loose back into one of those. My bet is that your network will suddenly be working again because you have just reattached the wireless network antenna cable. Plug into connector 1 first. If by some strange twist of fate it doesn't work then pull it out and plug into connector 2.
 
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