i have a presario f730us and the wireless light is amber, there is no wireless signal and the wireless driver does not show up under the device manager in networks.
so i wire to my router and get a signal. i downloaded the driver from the hp site and installed it.
it still didn’t show up in the device manager. then out of the blue a few days ago it started installling the wlan software and it started working again and the blue light was on.
the next morning i started the pc and back to the same problem. so i ordered a wireless card and replaced it. it is still not working. do you think it’s the motherboard?

Yes, there is a chance that you have a problem with the motherboard, but also it could be software related problem.
Back up all personal files and reinstall Windows from scratch using the recovery disc (or recovery partition on the hard drive if you have any).

If you still experience the same problem with newly installed Windows, this is the motherboard problem.

Let me know if reinstalling Windows fixes your problem please.

I have a compac presario F700 lap top. The USB ports have stopped working after my girl unplugged her Ipod without logging it out! Is there a board or chip or something that I can buy and replace?

If ALL USB ports stopped working at the same time, it’s either corrupted software or motherboard problem. You said new software didn’t fix it, so, it looks like the motherboard problem.

I was woundering about this USB power board that is shown in your lesson on taking my lap top apart!

I believe only one USB port is located on that board. There are two more ports on the left side of the notebook, correct. If those ports stopped working too, replacing the USB board will not help.
The circuit controlling USB ports is integrated into the motherboard.

I guess you can use a PCMCIA USB card now. You plug this card into the PC slot and get 2 or 4 USB ports instead. It’s better than replacing the motherboard.

The WiFi switch on the front of the laptop has broken (switch just slides easily as if it’s not connected to anything), naturally in the “off” position and I can no longer use the WiFi. I think I can probably find a new switch and replace it without too much trouble, but wondered if there might be a “work-around” or some other way to just bypass the thing. I don’t need that switch and would be happier without it, anyway.

I don’t remember this model off the top of my head, but basing on your description I assume it’s a physical switch.
Is it an easy repair? Most likely not. The wireless switch is soldered to the motherboard and I think the plastic knob on the switch is broken and stays in off position.
Here’s what you can try to do. Disassemble the laptop and access the wireless switch. Move the knob on the wireless switch (actually whatever left from it) into the on position with a needle. This will enable wireless connection and it will be on all the time.
You can always turn it off through software.

The laptop has not been charging the battery, but it would run off the AC adapter. The owner stated that it would “shut down” on him while he was using it. I have not been able to reinact that symptom(I don’t think he understands that it hibernates, because if you let it sit, it shuts the screen off), but I have discovered another symptom. First thing that happened was the plug on the AC adapter came apart, the wire was weak and worn out and the plug was pretty much dangling. After I unplugged it a few times trying to diagnose it, the plug just came apart. I thought I had figured it out, but replacing the AC adapter doesn’t seem to help. The laptop will run, but the battery never charged. According to Vista, the battery was charging, but the percentage would never go above zero. My first instinct now was that the battery must be dead, but I was wrong again. A new battery changed nothing.

New AC adapter, new battery and still same issue? Man, sounds like a problem with the motherboard. Apparently the battery charging circuit is not working properly anymore. That would be my best guess. Of course, I assume your new power adapter and battery are good.
Check the BIOS update. I know that on some Toshiba laptops had a similar problem and Toshiba fixed it with the BIOS update.
Here’s something else you can try. Remove the battery, start the laptop from AC and then insert the battery while the laptop is on. It might shock the motherboard and the battery will start charging.

If it were my laptop, I wouldn’t care because I never take mine anywhere.

I’m typing on a laptop with a similar problem right now (Satellite X205). I know it needs a new motherboard, but works absolutely fine from AC with the battery removed. There is no way I’m replacing the motherboard in this thing.

Is it possible that the power board needs to be replaced?

I really doubt that replacing the power board will make any difference. I think it’s just a board where the DC jack is mounted.

I feel terrible that I already ordered a battery that didn’t fix the problem

You shouldn’t. Without any test equipment I would do exactly the same. But when I’m not sure what the problem is, I always mention all possible needed parts upfront.
Just talk to the customer, explain what’s going on. If he’s going to approve a new motherboard, make sure to include the power board price into your quote for a new motherboard. I would.