Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Mini PCI Card (802.11b/g)

Model: WM3B2200BG

Here is a link to the latest Intel drivers (it is a very large download).

Here is a very detailed video of how to replace a Mini PCI modem or 10/100 NIC card in a laptop. While it does not show the installation of an Intel Wireless card, I think it is a valuable illustration of the ease at which this card may be installed. Please note that the wiring harnesses pictured in the video are not pictures of the wireless antennas (there are ample pictures below of what the antennas look like). If your laptop has a wiring harness, you will need to just push it aside. The antenna (for instance, the Dell 8000 has only one antenna; attach it to the connection labeled "Main") or antennas (like most newer laptops) are the only things that attach to the Mini PCI card.

If your laptop did not come with preinstalled antennas, we have them available here!

Some time ago we went in search of a mini PCI card with a stronger wireless signal. We had a couple of Dell 8600 laptops at the time. One had a Dell 1350 card and the other had an Intel 2200 Pro/Wireless card. With the Dell card, we couldn't get signal on the far side of our house, but we had a relatively stong signal in the one with the Intel 2200 card. Please note that there are many factors that determine the signal quality, and that while we did indeed get a stronger signal, we do not know if you will have the same experience. The cards here are a superset of the Intel 2200 Pro/Wireless cards; in addition to 802.11b and 802.11g, these also provide 802.11a.

Anyway, we were so pleased with the signal boost that we purchased a huge quantity of these cards and have been selling them on Ebay ever since. Unlike most of the sellers out there, we actually offer support. We've sold thousands of these cards; there aren't many questions we can't answer. In addition, we have a software engineer in house to help figure out any issues we haven't encountered yet.

Installation on most computers is a snap (though it takes a little longer on computers where the mini PCI slot is under the keyboard). Installation amounts to unplugging the two antenna wires, pushing two clip levers, lifting the card up, removing it, snapping the two antenna wires on the new card, and snapping the new card back in place. It took no more than 5 minutes in our Dell 8600.

If you have an off-brand wireless Mini PCI card (like the Dell 1350 wireless card) or happen to have the Intel 2100 mini PCI wireless '802.11b' card, this is a very cheap upgrade. Most laptops that did not come with an internal wireless card already have the wireless antenna installed; you just need to install a card and plug in the one or two antenna connections (most laptops have two; the Intel card will choose the one with stronger signal). You will typically get much better signal with an internal wireless card than using a PCMCIA or PC Card.

Another benefit is that if you install an Intel Wireless card in your laptop (and you have a Pentium-M processor), you can now call it a Centrino, which will increase its resale value. After installing the Intel card in our Inspiron 8600, the BIOS recognized that the laptop was now a Centrino and displayed the "Intel Inside Centrino Mobile Technology" banner instead of the "Pentium M" banner that it had displayed previously.
Please check compatibility with your laptop. These cards should work in the mini PCI slot in most newer laptops, but I do not guarantee that it will be compatible with yours. Returns will be handled in the form of an identical replacement card.

Recently, HP, Compaq, and IBM have implemented a BIOS lock that is intended to force you to buy your card from them. For IBM laptops, there is a CMOS modification available on the net that should help you circumvent it or you may purchase an IBM specific card (made by Philips or Intel) from one of our auctions here. Be advised that we are not responsible if the CMOS modification voids your warranty. For HP/Compaq owners, we offer Intel 2200 cards with HP/Compaq IDs, but we do not offer Intel 2915 cards with HP/Compaq IDs.

Toshiba has taken a different route (your laptop won't reject the card, but it may refuse to turn it on). If your laptop will not turn the card on, we can give you instructions on how to get around the issue, but the wireless on/off switch will no longer work. If you do not want that hassle, we offer Toshiba versions of the Intel 2200 cards here. If you are having trouble locating the mini PCI slot on your Toshiba laptop, it is probably under the keyboard (most of them are that way).

Now that we have the BIOS lock issues figured out (you may need to buy a manufacture specific card from one of our other auctions), we now only know of one laptop that cannot be upgraded (IBM Thinkpad 570). Laptops with P3, P4, P4-M, Pentium M, Celeron, Celeron M, and even several AMD Athlon laptops have worked just fine (though please note...we've only had one or two buyers try it with AMD processors...there is the potential that some of them are incompatible). But even though we only know of the one laptop that is not compatible...we still do not guarantee compatibility...we only offer replacement with an identical card...and we do not give cash back refunds.