My gaming PC is a little over a year old and worked normally the last time I used it, but it has been powered off for about six months. When I turned it on again, Windows could not find any Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi is built into the motherboard. I restarted the PC, ran Windows' network repair tool, removed and reinstalled the Wi-Fi driver, and still could not detect any networks.
I also tried performing a factory reset, but it failed at around 30%. I then created recovery media on a 32 GB USB drive and tried booting from it. The process appeared to start successfully but had failed by the next morning. I do not currently have another computer available to create Windows 11 installation media.
Could this be a hardware problem with the motherboard, Wi-Fi adapter, memory, or SSD? What checks should I perform before attempting another Windows installation? I may also try connecting through Ethernet if possible.
2 Answers
Wi-Fi disappearing after the PC sat unused could indicate a hardware issue rather than a Windows problem. Try connecting the PC with an Ethernet cable. If wired networking works, inspect the motherboard’s Wi-Fi antennas and connections, check whether the adapter appears in BIOS or Device Manager, and consider using the warranty if the adapter is not detected.
Updating or reflashing the motherboard BIOS may help if the onboard Wi-Fi is not being detected, but use the exact BIOS file and instructions for your motherboard model. Before doing that, check the external Wi-Fi antennas, load BIOS defaults, and confirm whether the adapter appears there. A BIOS update should not be the first step if the system is unstable, so testing the RAM and SSD is still important.
I’m not very experienced with BIOS updates, so I’ll first check the antennas, BIOS detection, and hardware health before attempting a firmware update.
I’ll try connecting it directly with Ethernet and check whether the system is still covered by warranty. That should help determine whether the issue is limited to the wireless hardware.