Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 March 28

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

March 28

Wireless Module Not Found at Workplace

Hello. Each time I start up my laptop (HP dv6-2138ca running Windows 7) at my workplace, a black screen appears and claims "Wireless Module Not Found" then I continue to my Starting Windows screen. I cannot connect to my workplace wifi as a result. However, I have no difficulty finding wi-fi connections at home. What is wrong with my laptop? Thanks in advance. --Mayfare (talk) 03:27, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

One possibility is that they have extra security at work, and your laptop is denied access. StuRat (talk) 06:19, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

That would be a different message. Dbfirs 17:43, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

Looks like this is a BIOS message indicating the laptop does not sense the wireless module is physically installed. Seems like a fairly common issue.[1] A hard reset fixes this in some cases.[2] There are recommendations to do a system restore, but that does not make sense, as the error occurs before Windows ever starts. -- Gadget850 ^talk 07:53, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

Internet infrastructure and nuclear war

Is the internet infrastructure nowadays able to survive an atomic war? Wouldn't it be cheaper to have big nodes processing the traffic, instead of a distributed network? Noopolo (talk) 15:51, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

If there was a nuclear war, I think the last thing people will be worried about is the internet. However, as the internet operates mainly on underground cables, many cables would still be in operation, as the entire planet would not be carpet bombed by nuclear weapons. Some servers would be destroyed, but others would still exist, and connections between areas which have not been bombed may still be possible (e.g. Nauru and Tahiti). KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 17:45, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

I think people would be extremely interested in the internet after a nuclear war, as it might be the only way remaining to get information (like where the radiation danger is the least) and contact distant relatives. Then, long term, there's the preservation of human knowledge to be used to rebuild civilization. StuRat (talk) 18:57, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

:Ah. But would our hardware survive the multiple EMP's. What's the good of an intact optic-fiber cable network when nothing above ground (that can connect to it) works? --Aspro (talk) 21:11, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

I think we are missing the point that electricity, gas, and water supplies would be severely damaged/completely destroyed in the event of a nuclear attack. It would be completely implausible for people to whip out their PC and get on Facebook or Twitter. They would rather be more concerned with trying to find food and water. The task of getting in touch with family and friends would come later, however much they think of it as a priority. We're not talking about surviving a suicide attack at a train station. We are talking about bombs of up to 15 megatons here, with a radius of 30 miles. Multiple ones, overlapping. See the film Threads. Even the phone lines would be down, and I doubt the milkman will be delivering. Where the radiation danger is the least would not be relevant, as the military would prevent people from migrating, as a mass exodus from affected areas would only create traffic jams, which would prevent or hinder movement of military, emergency, and security personnel. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 11:36, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Electric supply is very vulnerable. See High-altitude nuclear explosion and the Soviet Project K nuclear tests which accidentally blew 1,000km of power lines.-- Gadget850 ^talk 12:26, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Yes, and trying to save Wikipedia on external HDDs is the last thing you will want to do when half of your city has a crater five miles wide and one mile deep, and nobody who is still surviving can find food or water without looting. Mobile phones will be off. There would be no way to contact anyone. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 22:36, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

There would likely be nations uninvolved in the war, where radioactive fallout would be the major threat to life. Having access to the internet to get info could be critical to survival in such places. StuRat (talk) 22:57, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

Cyber attacks are much more likely to occur before even a conventional all-out war, never mind a nuclear one. Most servers would be down, even before a nuclear attack. This would be to prevent the enemy (which, in this scenario, is you) from being able to counter-attack. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 04:23, 2 April 2015 (UTC)