My gaming PC is a little over a year old and had been working normally before it was left powered off for about six months. When I turned it on again, the built-in motherboard Wi-Fi could not detect any wireless networks. I rebooted, ran Windows' network repair tool, removed the Wi-Fi driver, and allowed Windows to reinstall it, but nothing changed. I then tried a factory reset, which failed at around 30%. I also created recovery media on a 32GB USB drive and booted from it, but that process eventually failed as well. I do not currently have another computer available to create Windows 11 installation media. What should I check next to determine whether this is a Wi-Fi hardware problem, faulty RAM or storage, or something else?
3 Answers
Because both the factory reset and the recovery USB failed, this probably goes beyond a simple Wi-Fi driver issue. Check the BIOS first to see whether the onboard wireless adapter is detected. It would also be worth testing the RAM and checking the SSD’s health before attempting another Windows installation, since bad memory or storage can cause resets and installs to fail.
Wi-Fi failing after the computer sat unused for months could indicate a hardware problem rather than a Windows problem. Try connecting the PC directly with Ethernet. If the wired connection works but the wireless adapter is missing in BIOS or Device Manager, inspect the Wi-Fi antennas and check whether the motherboard or adapter is still under warranty.
You could also consider updating or reflashing the motherboard BIOS, especially if the onboard Wi-Fi is not being detected. Use the exact BIOS file and instructions for your motherboard model, and avoid interrupting power during the update. Before doing that, check the antenna connections and BIOS settings, since a loose antenna or disabled wireless device may be the simpler explanation.
I’m not very experienced with BIOS updates, so I’ll first identify the exact motherboard model and follow its official instructions carefully.
I’ll try connecting it by Ethernet and check the warranty. That should at least help determine whether the problem is limited to the wireless hardware.