How to Verify if a Laptop has a Wireless Card

Wireless is all the rage and the picture of someone working on a laptop at a park or café is enticing. Unless you specifically asked for wireless Internet capabilities when purchasing your laptop, it can be difficult to verify with a glance if the laptop is truly capable. Use this quick guide to verify that your laptop has a wireless card.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Look on the side of the computer for the a wireless card sticking out of the slot, or a slot that's labeled for a wireless card This is typical on older laptops before wireless became a built-in feature. For newer laptops, look for a switch on the side of the computer that turns wireless capabilities off and on, or a sticker with "Intel Centrino Mobile Technology," both of which verify an internal wireless card.
2. Open the "My Computer" folder and right click in the folder to bring up a small sub-menu and choose "Properties." Find the tab "Hardware" and click on it.
3. Click on the large "Device Manager" button which should be in the first section under "Hardware."
4. Browse the list, find "Network Adapters" and expand the folder by clicking on the plus sign. Verify that one of the names on the list contains "Wireless" in it, ignoring anything with 10/100.
5. Check to make sure that you have no yellow warning sign next to the wireless name. If so, there could be a problem with the driver. Troubleshoot your laptop to get the specific error causing the yellow warning.

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