Lenovo Edge E420 and E430 laptops with Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1000 (Intel(R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN) and Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 2230 cards are experiencing BSODs when connecting to a wireless network. These wireless network cards are included in Lenovo Edge types 1141 and 3254; and models 57U, BUU, and ALU.
The computers operate just fine when the wireless card is disabled and the computer is only connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable. It’s only when the WiFi is being used that Windows 7 will crash and dump the results, pointing at the netwsw00.sys or NETwNe64.sys file, depending on the wireless driver. Computers shut down every 5 minutes.
Windows Updates
This began occurring after the Windows Updates installed on April 16th on eight different Lenovo 420’s with a Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1000 (Intel(R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN) card, and four different Lenovo 430’s with a Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 2230 card.
There was a “bad Windows Update” released that day called “KB2823324“, but it has been removed and the replacement for it, “KB2840149” has been installed. Despite this, all of the laptops continue to bluescreen for as long as they are on a wireless network.
Driver Updates
All eleven laptops are running Windows 7 and are 64-bit. They all have the factory-installed image provided by Lenovo with some of the Lenovo programs uninstalled. Drivers have been fully updated using both Intel’s Driver Update Utility and Lenovo’s ThinkVantage System Update. Despite all of this, all of the laptops continue to blue screen.
| Lenovo Edge Laptop | Intel Wireless Card | Latest Lenovo Driver | Latest Intel Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| E420 / 1141 (57U, BUU) | Intel(R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN (Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000) | 15.03.10, 3/28/2013 | 15.6.1, 3/19/2013 |
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| E430 / 3254 (ALU) | Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 2230 | 15.1.0.18, 9/6/2012 | 15.6.1, 3/19/2013 |
Forum Searches
Intel forum posts (1,2,3, 4) suggest enabling FIPS, turning off ARM (Adaptive Radio Management), turning off the option “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”, turning off wireless-N, or only allow WPA connections. A lot of these are old posts and for other Intel wireless cards, but I know that turning off the n-radio did not work for me and enabling FIPS was not an option for security reasons.
Lenovo forum posts (1, 2, 3) suggest using “legacy mode” instead of “UEFI” in the BIOS; updating the bluetooth drivers, turning off bluetooth, or turning off “bluetooth collaboration”. The mention of “bluetooth” made me think of this “Solved BSOD” solution from Seven Forums that involves updating the bluetooth drivers only after ensuring that the bluetooth radio is turned on. The following is a table of the latest Intel bluetooth drivers.
Bluetooth Drivers
| Lenovo Edge Laptop | Intel Bluetooth | Latest Lenovo Driver | Latest Intel Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| E420 / 1141 (57U, BUU) | Intel(R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN (Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000) | 6.5.1.380, 3/25/2013 | 2.6.1212, 3/14/2013 |
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| E430 / 3254 (ALU) | Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 2230 | 2.2.0.026, 9/4/2012 | 2.6.1212, 3/14/2013 |
IT administrators might want to review Intel’s Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for IT Administrators or the Intel PROSet/Wireless Software IT Administrator Links, both of which contain Wireless+Bluetooth combined driver packages that are meant for network distribution. As an IT administrator, I find these problems really frustrating, especially when it’s happening to a large amount of users at once. When a solution is found, it will be posted here to help others.