I learn these lessons so you don’t have to!

When I wake up every morning, I usually power up the laptop that I keep by my bed…yes, I know…I’m an addict…shut up I proceed to check my e-mail and Twitter, and if I’m delayed, I’ll check my work e-mail to be sure there aren’t any pressing matters that need to be taken care of before I get to the office. God only knows what might happen on the way to work each day.

This morning, I couldn’t get a wireless connection. Everything worked just fine last night. Luckily this issue is easily fixed by resetting the modem and router. So I do this and restart everything. Still no wireless connection. I try to refresh the list of available wireless networks. It couldn’t detect any wireless networks. Fantastic!

So, I do what any highly skilled PC user would do…all of the above all over again.

Denied.

I deduce that either my router has died or my wireless network card has fried. I check to see if I can access the internet from my desktop PC, and I could…so that means the router works.

I took the laptop to work, and when I fired it up there, still “not able to detect a wireless network.”

First, I called The Geek Squad and was offered help for the low, low price of $299! Then, I tried logging onto Gateway Support’s live chat and was offered help for only $199! I should start a tech support business and rake in the dough.

Convinced that my poor, beloved laptop has blown out its wireless network card, I give up in despair and continue with my work.

At the end of the day, I thought, “Ron’s a genius, he’ll know what to do!” and he came up with some great suggestions, such as reinstalling the driver on the network card, because it may have gotten corrupted, and directed me on how to locate the hardware and drivers.

I did that, and still no luck.

But something that continued to baffle me was the error said, “Be sure your wireless radio is enabled.”

Huh? When I think of wireless radio, I think about my little AM transistor from when I was 6.

By this time, I’m ready to hurl the laptop off the top of the Batman Building.

Then…Eureka!

Hey, did you know that if you accidentally hit FN+F2 on a Gateway laptop, it turns off your wireless radio?

…neither did I until I realized maybe the “switch” is turned off…then I thought, “hey, where IS the wireless switch on this thing?” then I Googled it. Then I found it.

Life is good.

Oh, and I was wondering how on Earth those 2 keys possibly got depressed at the same moment in the middle of the night…