Wireless laptop connection weak

I was given an old Dell laptop by a friend which worked pretty well on my
wireless network until recently. The signal was generally strong but is now
very weak unless I move the laptop close to the router. I've tried pulling
the WPC54G card from the computer and reinstalling it and found that the
exposed plastic top is broken and can be removed from the card exposing the
metal frame below. The plastic top was broken before I received the laptop.

What could be the reason for the sudden drop in signal strength? Could it
be a software problem or is is more likely to be related to the broken
plastic top?


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