Wireless Card for HP Pavillion ZE5700

A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She would
like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
following document:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/su.../c00246219.pdf

There's a brief mention on p. 2-7.

Thanks in advance.

Daave wrote:
> A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She would
> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
> following document:

At http://www.epinions.com/content_154135072388 is a review of this notebook. It says that there was
a "FREE UPGRADE TO 54g(TM) Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN", which was likely to be a BCM4318. If hers
doesn't contain that card, I would suggest getting a PCMCIA 802.11G card from E-Bay. They are
considerably easier to install than the mini-PCI version would be.

Larry

Larry Finger wrote:
> Daave wrote:
>> A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She
>> would
>> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
>> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
>> following document:
>
> At http://www.epinions.com/content_154135072388 is a review of this
> notebook. It says that there was a "FREE UPGRADE TO 54g(TM) Broadcom
> 802.11b/g WLAN", which was likely to be a BCM4318. If hers doesn't
> contain that card, I would suggest getting a PCMCIA 802.11G card from
> E-Bay. They are considerably easier to install than the mini-PCI
> version would be.

Thanks for the reply, Larry.

How can she tell if she already has the card? I'll need to walk her
through this over the telephone, and since I've never had a PC with
wireless, I'm not sure what (or where) to look for.

Daave wrote:
> Larry Finger wrote:
>> Daave wrote:
>>> A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She
>>> would
>>> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
>>> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
>>> following document:
>> At http://www.epinions.com/content_154135072388 is a review of this
>> notebook. It says that there was a "FREE UPGRADE TO 54g(TM) Broadcom
>> 802.11b/g WLAN", which was likely to be a BCM4318. If hers doesn't
>> contain that card, I would suggest getting a PCMCIA 802.11G card from
>> E-Bay. They are considerably easier to install than the mini-PCI
>> version would be.
>
> Thanks for the reply, Larry.
>
> How can she tell if she already has the card? I'll need to walk her
> through this over the telephone, and since I've never had a PC with
> wireless, I'm not sure what (or where) to look for.
>
>
Look under device manager\network adapters. If a wireless card is
installed, then it will show up there, of course along with the Ethernet
nic.

Pen wrote:
> Daave wrote:
>> How can she tell if she already has the card? I'll need to walk her
>> through this over the telephone, and since I've never had a PC with
>> wireless, I'm not sure what (or where) to look for.
>>
> Look under device manager\network adapters. If a wireless card is
> installed, then it will show up there, of course along with the
> Ethernet nic.

I'll walk her though this on Tuesday. Thanks again, and I'll post back
if necessary.

"Daave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She would
> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
> following document:
>
> http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/su.../c00246219.pdf
>
> There's a brief mention on p. 2-7.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

Daave, is she looking for a wireless nic or wireless internet?
If wireless nic then any pcmica or usb will work, but only if she is in a
hot wifi spot that she has rights to join ( etc; office, home, wifi cafe).
If she wants wireless anywhere internet, then she should check with Sprint
or Verision for a cell PCMICA card or USB as they offer unlimited broadband
access for about $60 to $70 a month. I am on Sprint with a Pantech PCMICA
card. And a Dlink N DWA- 142 USB for my personal wireless network.

The Pavilion has Firewire, Hardwired Lan, Wireless G or B, and Infered
connections built in ( Mine is Pavilion ze5000 /w wireless B)

"Daave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She would
> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
> following document:
>
> http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/su.../c00246219.pdf
>
> There's a brief mention on p. 2-7.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

Is there something wrong in going to the horse's mouth and asking HP?

TeddyBare wrote:
> "Daave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>> A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She
>> would
>> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
>> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
>> following document:
>>
>>
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/su.../c00246219.pdf
>>
>> There's a brief mention on p. 2-7.
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>
> Daave, is she looking for a wireless nic or wireless internet?
> If wireless nic then any pcmica or usb will work, but only if she is
> in a
> hot wifi spot that she has rights to join ( etc; office, home, wifi
> cafe). If she wants wireless anywhere internet, then she should
> check with Sprint
> or Verision for a cell PCMICA card or USB as they offer unlimited
> broadband access for about $60 to $70 a month. I am on Sprint with a
> Pantech PCMICA
> card. And a Dlink N DWA- 142 USB for my personal wireless network.
>
> The Pavilion has Firewire, Hardwired Lan, Wireless G or B, and Infered
> connections built in ( Mine is Pavilion ze5000 /w wireless B)

I believe she's interested in a wireless NIC so when she travels, she
may use her notebook to go online at hotels and wifi cafes.

I walked her through determining if a wireless card is installed by
looking at Device Manager | Network Adapters, and the only item listed
was the regular NIC. Do *all* Pavilions have wireless (G or B)
connections built in? If so, shouldn't this show up under Network
Adapters? So far, from what I understand, she'll need to purchase
something like a PCMCIA 802.11G card. But are there other options?

Daave wrote:
> TeddyBare wrote:
>> "Daave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>>> A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She
>>> would
>>> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have any
>>> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
>>> following document:
>>>
>>>
> http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/su.../c00246219.pdf
>>> There's a brief mention on p. 2-7.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance.
>>>
>> Daave, is she looking for a wireless nic or wireless internet?
>> If wireless nic then any pcmica or usb will work, but only if she is
>> in a
>> hot wifi spot that she has rights to join ( etc; office, home, wifi
>> cafe). If she wants wireless anywhere internet, then she should
>> check with Sprint
>> or Verision for a cell PCMICA card or USB as they offer unlimited
>> broadband access for about $60 to $70 a month. I am on Sprint with a
>> Pantech PCMICA
>> card. And a Dlink N DWA- 142 USB for my personal wireless network.
>>
>> The Pavilion has Firewire, Hardwired Lan, Wireless G or B, and Infered
>> connections built in ( Mine is Pavilion ze5000 /w wireless B)
>
> I believe she's interested in a wireless NIC so when she travels, she
> may use her notebook to go online at hotels and wifi cafes.
>
> I walked her through determining if a wireless card is installed by
> looking at Device Manager | Network Adapters, and the only item listed
> was the regular NIC. Do *all* Pavilions have wireless (G or B)
> connections built in? If so, shouldn't this show up under Network
> Adapters? So far, from what I understand, she'll need to purchase
> something like a PCMCIA 802.11G card. But are there other options?

As I wrote earlier, the HP web pile says that the wireless adapter was optional on that model.

She could add the mini-PCI cardto the computer, but that would require some disassembly. A PCMCIA
card would be easiest. E-bay lists 114 entries for a Linksys WPC54G at varying prices, including a
"but it now" entry for $25 plus $8 shipping. I have used these cards for several years and have been
very pleased with them. Another option would be a USB dongle as long as that laptop has USB 2.0
capability.

Larry

Larry Finger wrote:
> Daave wrote:
>> TeddyBare wrote:
>>> "Daave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>>>> A colleague of mine owns an HP Pavillion ZE5700 notebook PC. She
>>>> would
>>>> like to know if she can install a wireless card. Does anyone have
>>>> any
>>>> experience with this? So far, a Web search has only yielded the
>>>> following document:
>>>>
>>>>
>>
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/su.../c00246219.pdf
>>>> There's a brief mention on p. 2-7.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks in advance.
>>>>
>>> Daave, is she looking for a wireless nic or wireless internet?
>>> If wireless nic then any pcmica or usb will work, but only if she
>>> is
>>> in a
>>> hot wifi spot that she has rights to join ( etc; office, home, wifi
>>> cafe). If she wants wireless anywhere internet, then she should
>>> check with Sprint
>>> or Verision for a cell PCMICA card or USB as they offer unlimited
>>> broadband access for about $60 to $70 a month. I am on Sprint with a
>>> Pantech PCMICA
>>> card. And a Dlink N DWA- 142 USB for my personal wireless network.
>>>
>>> The Pavilion has Firewire, Hardwired Lan, Wireless G or B, and
>>> Infered
>>> connections built in ( Mine is Pavilion ze5000 /w wireless B)
>>
>> I believe she's interested in a wireless NIC so when she travels, she
>> may use her notebook to go online at hotels and wifi cafes.
>>
>> I walked her through determining if a wireless card is installed by
>> looking at Device Manager | Network Adapters, and the only item
>> listed
>> was the regular NIC. Do *all* Pavilions have wireless (G or B)
>> connections built in? If so, shouldn't this show up under Network
>> Adapters? So far, from what I understand, she'll need to purchase
>> something like a PCMCIA 802.11G card. But are there other options?
>
> As I wrote earlier, the HP web pile says that the wireless adapter
> was optional on that model.

Yes, I know. I took TeddyBare's post to mean that *all* Pavilions had
the wireless connections built in. Perhaps I'm confusing connections
with cards.

> She could add the mini-PCI cardto the computer, but that would
> require some disassembly. A PCMCIA card would be easiest. E-bay lists
> 114 entries for a Linksys WPC54G at varying prices, including a "but
> it now" entry for $25 plus $8 shipping. I have used these cards for
> several years and have been very pleased with them. Another option
> would be a USB dongle as long as that laptop has USB 2.0 capability.

So it looks like she should get either something like a Linksys WPC54G
or a USB dongle. If she opts for the former, where can I find
instructions on how to install it?