Thinkpad X200 Tablet + Windows 8.1 64-bit dysfunctional WIFI

Problem:

Wireless networking is not working reliably or at all

Device:

Lenovo Thinkpad x200 Tablet (Product ID: 7448CTO)

Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN

Diagnosis:

Wireless networking doesn't work on Windows 8.1 64-bit - unable to connect to known (previously working) wireless access points (WAP), or always says "Limited connection", "No internet access".

Swapped hard drive with Ubuntu 14.04 loaded. Wireless networking works fine.

Cause:

Bad driver

Solution:

Update wireless networking adapter driver.

1. Go to: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-x-series-tablet-laptops/thinkpad-x200-tablet?beta=false
2. Download "Intel Wireless LAN (bg, abg, abgn) for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), XP - ThinkPad":

   Download File	Version	Released
   "Intel Wireless LAN (11abgn, abg, bg) 248298 KB"	14.03.0000	6/3/2015

3. The file will be named "8aw217ww.exe"
4. Double-click the file and let it *copy* the driver files in C:\drivers
5. Use Window Explorer to open the C:\drivers directory. Navigate to: C:\drivers\WIN\WLANINT
1. (Optional) Delete the Vista and XP folders (we don't need these drivers)
6. Install the driver:




1. Launch the Device Manager (press Windows button then type "Device Manager")
2. Expand the item "Network Adapters"
3. Right-click on the item "Intel(R) WiFi Link 5300 AGN" and click "Update Driver Software..."
   
4. Choose "Browse my computer for driver software"
5. Under "Search driver software in this location:" click "Browse" and navigate to "C:\drivers\WIN\WLANINT\Win7\S64\Drivers" and click "OK"
   
6. Click "Next" to start installing the driver

After the driver successfully installed, my wireless network immediately started to work again.

In my experience, I did not have to uninstall the current driver nor do I need to restart Windows for the changes to take effect. Your experience may vary. But just to be safe, restart Windows anyway.