USB Dongle

shortys94

Hey

I have a dell inspiron 1300, with an express card slot, i dont have built in wireless and im pretty sure these express cards arent out yet, unless some one can show me where to buy them, anyway i want to know if anyone else has a dell inspiron 1300 and has bought a usb dongle that works for the 1300,for wireless connectivity and if efficient and inexpensive, i bought my 1300 when they were selling for 400

anyway any help appreciated

RichyX

A full stop wouldn't have gone amiss there mate.

A usb dongle will work fine with your laptop as I've done the same in the past with my Inspiron 6000. I'd recommend getting a cheap second hand one off ebay as places like Argos etc. can be a little pricey.

Tom Dunne

Erm, if you are asking if a wifi USB dongle will work with a 1300, then yes.

I got on for my mother-in-law when they were 400 also, bought a USB dongle off a fellow boardster and it is working fine.

I got caught off-guard with the Express-card slot myself, had a PCMCIA card all lined up for it. Damn future-proofing. Last time I checked, there was only one manufacturer making Wifi cards in this form factor.

shortys94

No you see I have a linksys wireless G dongle yet it gave me a blue screen once and I am reluctant to use it now as I do not want to do a system restore again, anyway any makes/models other than linksys which work on the laptop

Tom Dunne

All models should work, sounds like you have a driver problem.

Anyway, netgear are another reputable brand.

shortys94

erm well its confsuing maybe my linksys dongle is alright to use, not sure if its a driver problem, maybe you can help, heres the problem,

When I got 1300 there was a problem with the dvd software supplied and at the time I had my dongle installed on the 1300 and using it, i still had problems playing dvds after a day or two so I called Dell and asked them to help, I inserted a dvd and it began to play it for them, but i got a blue screen stating drivers irqul not less or equal, so they told me to uninstall the dongle as it was probably causing the dvds not to play, but later i still had problems with the dvds, it was in the end a software problem, but does this mean that it is ok to use the dongle, or if i use it will i get abother blue screen?

sorry if this is confusing. also, if i did get a blue screen is it possible to remove the dongle driver without system restore?

Tom Dunne

shortys94 wrote:

When I got 1300 there was a problem with the dvd software supplied and at the time I had my dongle installed on the 1300 and using it, i still had problems playing dvds after a day or two so I called Dell and asked them to help, I inserted a dvd and it began to play it for them, but i got a blue screen stating drivers irqul not less or equal, so they told me to uninstall the dongle as it was probably causing the dvds not to play,

Ah yes, the old "it's the Wifi adapter interfering with the DVD player" problem. Gob****es.

shortys94 wrote:

does this mean that it is ok to use the dongle, or if i use it will i get abother blue screen?

sorry if this is confusing. also, if i did get a blue screen is it possible to remove the dongle driver without system restore?

Yes, you can remove the dongle driver and uninstall the software. Go to
Start->Settings->Control Panel->Add/Remove software.

TerrorFirmer

rofl @ the "usb drivers make your dvds not work" bit

On the topic, I've never used a usb dongle, is the range and strength good? Would be interested in one as I have a laptop without a pcmcia slot also...

shortys94

erm well depends really, the linksys one has been pretty good on my desktop but it seems to have degraded in quality over the months, but i suppose your router has to be of good quality also, handy little things all the same....

anyway how do you uninstall the driver, sorry about stupid qs

TerrorFirmer

It should be plug and play so there shouldnt be any drivers to install but if so, its in control panel -> add/remove programs

I got a BT wireless modem today and it actually game with a free usb turbo-g dongle - class value

shortys94

i didnt think u uninstall drivers from add/remove programs

Tom Dunne

The uninstall program usually removes the drivers along with the software.

@ Havok : I use USB dongles quite a bit around the house without problems. The laptops has been used the other side of the house from the AP (approx. 20 meters) and in the back garden without problem. The only thing is the feckers stick out too much at the side or back of the laptop.

shortys94

thanks tom , havok, will try it

TerrorFirmer

im using the free usb adaptor on my vaio as we speak to type this, its nice, but pretty big! the vaio is small enough already without this thing sticking out

shortys94

yea well i installed dongle, worked fine, but when i turned on laptop this morning laptop did not recognise usb device, the dongle, and i installed it again, working now, but why did that happen?