Intel AC 7260 Wi-Fi PCI-e in Asus G73SW Laptop + Win10 Pro 64 - No-Go

Ok - so none of this has worked. Thanks so much Caledon Ken for sending me those drivers.

I even went so far as to remove the disk from the laptop, install another SSD, install Win 7 then install this driver on the system. NOTHING works! It says "This device cannot start (Code 10)".

I am guessing there is some kind of fundamental incompatibility between this card and the system.

Should I try another brand of card? Perhaps a Broadcom BCM94352HMB ?

Something like this perhaps: SSEA NEW For AzureWave Broadcom BCM94352HMB BCM94352 802.11/ac 867Mbps wifi Half Mini PCI E DW1550 Wireless Card with Bluetooth-in Network Cards from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Not all Wireless Mini PCIe Cards are compatible with particular Laptops. Also there won't be a 5 GHz aerial for ac standard in the laptop.

Before buying one you should look thru user groups and try to find out what maybe compatible with your particular Laptop, which is quite old ~2010 and predates Wireless ac(2013).

I see the latest BIOS added Windows BT. This from Feb 2011.

A better option would be to add an external USB wireless dongle with ac standard. Not so tidy but more likely to work and more efficiently.
This what I have used on my Laptop with an internal single band 2.4 GHz Wireless Card. I now get a nominal 860 Mbs connection on 5 GHz.

breakaway said:

Ok - so none of this has worked. Thanks so much Caledon Ken for sending me those drivers.

I even went so far as to remove the disk from the laptop, install another SSD, install Win 7 then install this driver on the system. NOTHING works! It says "This device cannot start (Code 10)".

I am guessing there is some kind of fundamental incompatibility between this card and the system.

Should I try another brand of card? Perhaps a Broadcom BCM94352HMB ?

Something like this perhaps: SSEA NEW For AzureWave Broadcom BCM94352HMB BCM94352 802.11/ac 867Mbps wifi Half Mini PCI E DW1550 Wireless Card with Bluetooth-in Network Cards from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I would recommend jumping on the ROG forum there are several G73 users still in that forum and ask them what has worked for them.

Right. My fault for not realizing that laptops were so picky with their cards! Normally pci-e is pci-e - it “just works”

There are several reports on the Asus ROG forum from people with their G73 - they’ve upgraded their wifi cards but as far as I can tell, no one has upgraded to a dual band AC adapter.

I guess it makes sense - the 5ghz didn’t work too well because of the antenna issue. I was wondering why when I had the card working in Linux I only get one bar for 5ghz access points.... because there’s no antenna!

I might still try that Broadcom chipset adapter, I mean it’s only $24 or so.

Well this has been an exercise in futility, but quite educational 😂

Hi, yes - it has two antennas. One white and one black.

The card is only good for 867 mbps (2x2 not 4x4 mimo).

In Linux, all 5 Ghz APs in the vicinity show only a single bar of reception while the other 2.4 Ghz ones show full bars. But realistically over such a short range (e.g. inside your home), lack of antenna is unlikely to make a significant distance.

I just don't want an external adapter because they're bound to get snagged on something, and the cheaper "micro" ones that don't stick out seem to have average performance.

See:

Yup - I did.

I don`t think this is a problem with the card or the motherboard - because the card works perfectly in linux.

I just found this thread - WiFi not working after replacing WiFi card [BCM94352HMB]

He's using a broadcom 94325hmb (like the one I was gonna get) but it doesn't actually work for him until he tapes off pin 51 and pin 20. He DID report that even without the pins taped, it works in Linux but not in Windows. However, he doesn't get "Device Cannot Start (Code 10)", the adapter shows up in windows but appears disabled with no way to enable it.



I wonder if its worth trying this in my card?