zeclubbeur Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Hello I have a HP pavillon dv5245ea with the 3945 wifi pcie card. I would like to know if I could change it by another compatible with mac os ? thx Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/67528-change-wifi-card-on-a-laptop/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azurael Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 It's easy to change the wireless card on most laptops; a simple matter of unplugging the antennae, undoing the two retaining screws (with Mini PCIe cards) and swapping the card then doing the reverse. You're looking for any cards based on the BCM94311MCAG reference design for PCIe laptops like yours for full OSX compatibility. Two I know of are the 'real' Apple airport card (obviously not the old one for PPC Macs; that's not even a standard mini-PCI card, let alone PCIe. The one you're looking for is available as an upgrade kit intended for Mac Pros, I can't remember the part number off hand) and the Dell Wireless 1500. Good luck. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/67528-change-wifi-card-on-a-laptop/#findComment-479906 Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_uman Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 While it's true that changing a PCIe card is easy enough, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that the new card will work with OS X. A major headache for Acer/Compaq etc is that there is a killswitch on the laptop which kills power to the PCIe card. Unfortunately, OS X doesn't see this/support this, so the card ends up unpowered. Some folks are working on workarounds but AFAIK there is no general solution. I'm in the unhappy state of having both an unsupported chip (Atheros 5007EG) and a PCIe card. It's easy to change the wireless card on most laptops; a simple matter of unplugging the antennae, undoing the two retaining screws (with Mini PCIe cards) and swapping the card then doing the reverse. You're looking for any cards based on the BCM94311MCAG reference design for PCIe laptops like yours for full OSX compatibility. Two I know of are the 'real' Apple airport card (obviously not the old one for PPC Macs; that's not even a standard mini-PCI card, let alone PCIe. The one you're looking for is available as an upgrade kit intended for Mac Pros, I can't remember the part number off hand) and the Dell Wireless 1500. Good luck. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/67528-change-wifi-card-on-a-laptop/#findComment-480074 Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeclubbeur Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 Thanks a lot for your answers. But, I saw by googling that hp notebooks have a bios security that prevent installing another card... So, that's why I ask to you which card I can install on my hp laptop. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/67528-change-wifi-card-on-a-laptop/#findComment-480160 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azurael Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I thought only IBM did that Something about not being able to guarantee the laptop will meet FCC regs with the new wireless card (despite the fact that the wireless cards themselves have to be certified.) Anyway, f**k 'em. I'm sure there's a BIOS patch to make it work, though your warranty will of course be invalidated, if you have any left... Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/67528-change-wifi-card-on-a-laptop/#findComment-480448 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsterixTheVicking Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I have the same problem with my HP Bios F.39. Is it possible to patch my BIOS and how? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/67528-change-wifi-card-on-a-laptop/#findComment-480839 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts