Question

SONY VAIO Wireless Device Switch Setting Utility doesn't show WLAN

Asked by: devoid

Hello. I've read several posts that are similar but I cannot manage to solve the problem.

Problem: I've just downgraded my computer to XP Pro (SP3). I've installed all drivers following Sony's instructions. The Wireless Switch Setting Utility (v. 4.0) only allows me to connect the WWAN (GlobleTrotter) or Bluetooth But the WLAN doesn't even appear in this utiity. Therefore, I can't use the WLAN because my computer doesn't see any network. The hardware switch on the front of the laptop is in the 'ON' position, and the Bluetooth and WWAN lights are illuminated, however the WLAN light isn't, and I can find no way of enabling it. The Bluetooth and WWAN are working.

The  device manager tells me that there are no problems with Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 ABG Network connection (updated driver 12.4.3.9). No question marks or exclamation marks.

I've tried uninstalling Sony's Wireless Switch Setting Utility, but even without that software I'm now unable to make the WLAN work.

Would annyone please help me asap. I need to travel and I 'm stuck with this problem.

Bruno

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-09-28 at 11:15:20ID24767723
Topics

Wireless Networking

,

802.11 Wireless Access Points

,

Wireless Local Area Network

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
13

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. XP Home - Wireless WIFI (WZC), Linksys and Sony VA…
    Have a wireless LAN serviced by a Linksys WAP11 access point. Configured pretty much down the 'Typical Configuration' easy setup line (no WEP, channel 6, etc). Only real difference from out of the box is the SSID has been changed from 'linksys'. Have several laptops running P...
  2. WPA2 Personal WLAN Connection
    I recently got a Linksys Wireless-G Access Point (model# WAP54G) and connected it to my wired network via a Netgear switch (model# FS526T). I tested it with no security enabled and was able to connect to the network via my Fujitsu notebook (model# Lifebook S series S6120D). ...
  3. Sony Vaio laptop keeps lossing wireless connection.
    Hi Experts, I have a Sony VIAO VGN-SZ200 SERIES which i'm having a problem staying connected to the wireless router. I configured it and it works for 30 or 10 or an hour , but then all of a sudden it losses the signal. These laptops have a switch next to the power button...
  4. Wireless Switch Icon missing on Vista taskbar... wlan q…
    New Sony laptop (VGN-SZ430N) running VISTA Business. Configured box for client last week and wlan conectivity AOK. Now the "Wireless Switch Icon" (from VISTA help screen) is not visible on the taskbar and wlan light is not on even though the wireless switch is tog...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-09-28 at 11:16:48ID: 25441731

Computer model VGN-TZ21WN

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-09-28 at 11:29:25ID: 25441855

One thing you can try is to go into the properties (in Windows Network Places) for your wireless connection and select to have Windows control your wireless connections instead of the other utility.  This will add the wireless icon by your clock where you can try to connect that way.

If  you cannot find this setting on your Network Places properties, I am sure that the utility for the laptop has this option to have windows manage your connections.

Just a thought.

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-09-28 at 11:30:55ID: 25441872

With wireless connection enabled and go into Properties of it within Windows you can click the "Wireless networks" tab and the toggle for it is at the top where you can select or de-select the option.

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-09-28 at 15:49:45ID: 25444297

Windows already "controls the wireless connections". The problem is that it doesn't see any networks. I've also tried the opposite but still the Sony Wireless Switch utility does not show anything related to WLAN.

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-09-29 at 07:43:49ID: 25449576

Does our F2 key have a radio tower picture on it?  If so, Hit your Function+F2 key to see if your radio is off even though your wireless is enabled.

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-09-29 at 08:18:19ID: 25450014

Thanks Jeff, but the F2 key has a speaker icon (mute icon). The Function Keys include: volume+, volume-, contrast+, contrast-, LCD, zoom, and hibernation. They don't work anyway.  Apparently it only works the Fn+Scroll lock.
NO NETWORK SWITCHING IN FUNCTION KEYS.


 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-09-29 at 08:22:58ID: 25450076

The network adapter is working but internally (hardware) it seems  to be OFF. And there aren't any function keys to TURN ON the network card.
Do you think XP SP3 may be the problem?

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-09-29 at 08:29:24ID: 25450140

I manage many many laptops and computers.  To be honest, yes SP3 has messed with most laptops wireless adapters.  Funny you mentioned that actually.  Didn't think of it till you mentioned it.  If you want to try, you can uninstall SP3, reboot, and try again.  It worked for my corp laptop.   I still run SP2 for this reason, and also for IE8 incompatibilities.

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-09-29 at 09:25:29ID: 25450698

Problems unistaliing SP3. Removing IE8 first...I'll keep you up-to-date

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-10-02 at 11:59:02ID: 25480947

I decided to reformat the HD and reinstall XP SP2 + VAIO drivers and applications. Everything seems to be working fine and so far I can see WLAN, WWAN and BT in Sony's switch utility. The leds for all these wireless are finally on and I can turn them off with that software. Finally, I can detect and connect to WLANs. I also updated the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 ABG Network connection (updated driver 12.4.3.9) prior to installing SP3.

This suggests me that I've made a mistake during the previous XP install. For some reason the WLAN was not detected by Sony's switch utility the first time (so misteriously I couldn't turn the WLAN on: that utility has the power to switch on/off the device).

So I decided to take the risk and proceeded to install SP3. Before that, I saved a RESTORE POINT . No problems during the installation. Everything is still working. So far so good. I've just update to IE 7.0 (no mess with IE8) and now it's time for the rest of the software...

It's been a pain...don't like VISTA ...don't like SONY.

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-10-02 at 12:05:49ID: 31634507

NOT SURE THAT THE PROBLEM WAS SP3. PROBABLY THE INSTALLATION ERROR OCURRED PRIOR TO UPDATING TO SP3. FOR SOME REASON, I GUESS THAT THE WIRELESS SWITCH SETTING UTILITY DID NOT DETECT THE WLAN ADAPTER...AND THERE WAS NO WAY OF TURNING IT ON. I HAD TO FORMAT THE DRIVE, REINSTALL EVERYTING...NOT THE EASIEST WAY.

 

by: devoidPosted on 2009-10-02 at 12:07:57ID: 25481031

JeffParton: Thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-10-02 at 12:34:33ID: 25481265

You are very welcome.  I wish it wouldn't have had to lead to a re-install.  Thanks for the points and the generous acceptance.  :)

Good luck.  Take care.

Jeff

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...