Hmm... I don't know what to suggest about that. I'd expect that you would at least see
something regarding the wireless adapter in Device Manager, and you do seem to have the right drivers...
You said the warranty has already expired- how old is the computer, and did the wireless
ever work on it?
If there really is some serious problem with the built-in wireless, you can certainly try an external wireless card; your computer does have a PCMCIA slot for one. Any model of card that is compatible with your version of Windows
should work, but there are some things to think about in that regard:
1. Technically, wireless standards are just that- standard, so devices made by one company
should be able to communicate perfectly well with other brands of wireless devices, but in the real world that isn't always true. If you already have a wireless router or access point installed on the network where you plan to use the laptop the most, I'd highly suggest buying a wireless card made by the same company that made the router/AP.
2. Even if all of your wireless devices are from the same manufacturer, you can still experience problems if you mix 802.11b and 802.11g devices. As with mixing different brands, you
should be able to use a Wireless G device in a Wireless B environment, because Wireless G is supposed to backward compatible with the older/slower Wireless B standard. Again though, this isn't always the case in practice. If you have an 802.11g router or AP, buy an 802.11g card.
3. Unless you're certain that you'll have the need to connect to an 802.11a network, don't worry about finding a card that supports 802.11a. The vast majority of wireless environments that you'll encounter these days will either be using 802.11g, 802.11b, or a mixture of both.