XPS Desktops

[Ather]

After a 2 hour break of non-use, I returned to find Chrome frozen, and my computer offline. Diagnosis says my WiFi is disabled.  But there's no way to re-enable it because every time I try to enable my WiFi Adapter, it freezes my computer instead. How do I enable my WiFi so I can use the internet? F12 does nothing, and I can't connect through Ethernet. Modem is too far away on a different floor. I'm using Windows 10 Home and have a Qualcomm QCA9377 802.11ac wireless adapter, no Killer.

[JOcean]

Try reseating the card. If that does not help then uninstall the card in Device Manager then reboot the system and let Windows reinstall the card. If the card is not detected and fails to reinstall then it possibly is having problems. In that case run diagnostics, F12 at boot, and watch for errors. It may be that the card may need replacing.

[Ather]

I would if could find it.  All I can find is a very tiny black piece that says w.2 wifi

[redxps630]

the Wi-Fi card is installed correctly in your pic. It is not the small black chip. It is the white M.2 card that has V91GK DP/N written on it.  There could be a few reasons why your Wi-Fi is down, most likely a software driver corruptions and the least likely a defective Wi-Fi card.  a malware or virus accidentally downloaded could mess up the Wi-Fi driver.
Follow JOcean advice to uninstall driver first. If that does not work consider a clean Windows 10 install from scratch (wipe the hdd).

[Tesla1856]

I suggest you download and examine the PDF manuals.

Does the WiFi card still appear in Device Manager (or is there now an Unknown device)? Getting it to appear there (with proper name and not in-error) is your first objective.

[Ather · Accepted solution]

Seems my solution (turned temporary other problem) I found was to go to Safe Mode, enable it there, not show a change, reboot back to normal, get stuck, try unsuccesfully to load everything a few times, enter repair mode, get stuck on scanning and repair is complete for 5 hours, shut off, restart it, and now eveyrthing works.  

On the plus side, I now know where my wifi adapter is in my machine.  Didn't think it'd be so small.

[RoHe]

@Ather  - I also have Qualcomm WiFi in my XPS 8930. There haven't been any Qualcomm software updates installed here via Windows Update recently. The last Qualcomm driver update Dell offers is from March, 2022, so unlikely SupportAssist installed something recently, assuming you use SupportAssist/Dell Update, which I don't use.

Do other WiFi devices on your network still work? Have you tried rebooting the router/modem?  Does Bluetooth still work? (It's on the same Qualcomm card as WiFi.)

For starters, shut PC down normally in Windows. Remove power cord from rear of PC. Press/hold power button on PC for ~30 sec. Reconnect power cord to rear of PC. Boot up and see if WiFi is working again

If still not working, open Device Manager. Is your Qualcomm WiFi card correctly listed under Network Adapters? If it's listed, is it marked has having a problem in the Device Status box?

If not listed, click View>Show hidden on the DM toolbar. Now look everywhere in DM for any "Unknown" devices. If you find any, right-click and Uninstall. Now click Action>Scan for hardware changes, and see if Qualcomm WiFi reappears and works again. NOTE: Don't reboot PC before scanning for hardware changes after you uninstall any Unknowns.

BTW: When was last time you replaced the motherboard battery? If the battery is old/weak, BIOS may have "lost contact" with the WiFi card...

[Ather]

Other wifi was working fine. Haven't replaced Motherboard battery.  Only 4 years old come Mid March. Qualcomcard was listed as it should be. It just froze my system when I tried to enable it.

[RoHe]

@Ather  - What does Device Manager say in the Device Status box for the Qualcomm WiFi? And what about my other questions?

1. Does BT still work?
2. Did you find/uninstall any "Unknown" in DM?
3. Did you try unplugging and pressing/holding PC's power button?

You could also try this, in case there's some Windows problem is causing this issue:

1. At desktop, open a CMD prompt window, Run as administrator
   
   
2. At the prompt, type in: chkdsk c: /r and press Enter. Accept offer to run chkdsk at next boot and reboot PC. chkdsk will run before Windows loads so be patient. Note any error messages when it's done.
   
   
3. Back at the desktop, open CMD prompt as in #1
   
   
4. At the prompt, type in: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter. Be sure to include a space in front of each / and note any error messages when that's done.
   
   
5. Assuming no "unfixed" errors in #2 or #4, at the CMD prompt, type in: sfc /scannow and press Enter. Be sure to include a space in front of the / and note any errors when that's done.
   
   
6. Assuming no "unfixed" errors in #2, #4 or #5, reboot PC and test WiFi

What version of BIOS is running, and did you install a BIOS update right before the WiFi stopped working?

Four years might be pushing the limits for the battery and BIOS settings may have gotten scrambled and need to be reset.

And it's always possible the WiFi card died.

[Ather]

Not sure the BIOS version, but it's been a few weeks since last update. Thankfully, enabling through Safe Mode seems to have fixed it. After a repair started and got stuck for 5 hours.