He never checked if the link still worked. But he liked to imagine some other broke student, at 2:00 AM, finding it and letting out the same quiet exhale.

“The Wi-Fi card is an Atheros AR5B125. Do not use the official drivers. Do not use Driver Booster. If you ever reinstall Windows 7, go to this address: tiny.cc/ar5b125 — I’ve mirrored the working driver there. You’re welcome.”

If Windows Update fails, the most reliable way to install this driver is by matching the Hardware ID. Many manufacturers use the same Atheros chip but label it differently.

The reality, Martin soon learned, was different.

He had bought the refurbished Lenovo G580 from a surplus store for $80. It was a brick—thick, smudged, and humming with the tired energy of a thousand spreadsheets. But for a computer science student with a negative bank balance, it was a lifeline.

“Easy,” he muttered. “I’ll just download the driver.”