Intel® 82579 Gigabit Ethernet Controller

[Ich_bin_noob]

Is the above mentioned card a wireless card?

 

[dgingeri]

No, that's the base level desktop 1Gb NIC.

http://ark.intel.com/products/47620/Intel-82579LM-Gigabit-Ethernet-PHY

 

[Ich_bin_noob]

The computer advertised it came with a " 802 11 ABG wireless card ".... but in device manager I see the 82579LM... are they not the same?

I only ask this because I contacted the seller and they said t hey would send me a wifi card.... and when I received it, it was the exact same 82579LM that was in the computer already.

 

[dgingeri]

There would likely be both NICs in a laptop: a wired 82579LM NIC and another wifi NIC that could be based off an Intel 3945, a RealTek, or a Broadcom chip. (There are at least 3 different RealTek chips that support wireless G and two Broadcom chips that support wireless G.) It is also possible that the driver for your wireless NIC isn't loaded. I got a refurbished HP laptop a few months ago, and it only had the basic drivers loaded. I had to get a flash drive and load the wireless and wired NIC drivers on it before I could access the internet. Check the Device Manager and see if there are any unrecognized devices.

 

[Ich_bin_noob]

Device manager shows 3 network adapters... Blutooth Device / 82579LM / GOBI 3000 Broadband Modem. All of them have the latest drivers and are working.

The unit is refurbished so whoever had the computer install took out the Wireless Adapter and in its place install the Broadband Modem. I downloaded the latest drivers for all the network adapters but it still does not detect the wireless network... assuming this is because there is no wireless adapter installed. The company that sold me it doesn't seem to know this because the description did not mention broadband modem.... Really confused as to why they sent me another 82579LM when I asked for a wireless adapter...

 

[dgingeri]

Well, it certainly wouldn't be an 82579LM card they sent you. That 82579LM chip would be embedded on the motherboard because it doesn't use the PCIe interface that a wireless card would. It uses a special interface directly from the chipset.

In most laptops, the wireless adapter and the Bluetooth adapter are on one card using one chip from Broadcom or RealTek. (I worked as a support tech for 13 years, up until 5 years ago. I have had more than enough encounters with laptops to know this.) The device manager may not even recognize the wireless adapter is there because the driver isn't loaded. It just recognizes the Bluetooth with generic drivers and doesn't even see the wireless. I've seen that a lot.

What is the make/model of this laptop? I might be able to find the proper drivers for you to install.

 

[Ich_bin_noob]

It was a driver issue, I was looking for and installed the wrong driver. Doh. Thanks for your help.