wireless radio on XPS 1210

Piusno1

I cannot seem to get the wireless radio to work on my xps 1210 laptop, switching the switch on the side does not work. Pressing FN/F2 will not do it either. The wireless adapter is enabled in device manger ( intel Pro/ wireless) At home I use a wired connection to get on line. But brought it too a friends house and tried to connect by wireless, no joy. His laptop connected with a wireless connection no problem.

RoyalMarine

down the right hand side do you see an icon for it?
right click it and click connect to network.

this will show you a list of wireless connections avalable and give you the option to enter the password if it needs one.

if you dont have the icon down the bottom right, you can find it in control panel, network connections and select wireless connection.
right click that and select view available wireless connections.

Piusno1

Ya Icon is there, Tried that loads of times,when I click on the PROSet/wireless icon, it tells me unable to detect a supported network adapter. When I go to device manager and click on Adapters its there and enabled, so im stumped. Tried repairing the software but no joy.

RoyalMarine

id say give dell a shout if its still under warranty. if not then chance your luck riniging them and asking the tech agent for some help.

Crash

go into the settings for the wireless network connection, and there should be an option "allow windows to manage your wireless connectivity" or some such like that. the intel software is awful, and craps out for no reason sometimes. This may fix it.

RoyalMarine

ah jesus yeah didnt cop that your using the intel software.

as crash said, set it so windows manages the wireless connections.

AlmightyCushion

çrash_000 wrote: »

go into the settings for the wireless network connection, and there should be an option "allow windows to manage your wireless connectivity" or some such like that. the intel software is awful, and craps out for no reason sometimes. This may fix it.

Really. I've found the intel software great although lately is has crashed once or twice on me requiring me to restart the computer to fix it. It's never done it before that though.

Crash

I used find it grand, but it refuses to recognise the adapter now. not sure what causes it to be honest.

Piusno1

Would uninstalling/installing the Intell software do anything. I tried repairing the intell software from control panel. but when it went to reboot I couldn't get into windows. eventually I did. So theres something up somewhere. Ideas.......please.

DellCA

From what you've posted here, there are a few things I can suggest that might help.

* As Crash_000 mentioned, try using the Windows Wireless Zero Configuration service instead of the Intel PRO/Set software as that can sometimes help. It depends on what wireless settings you are using and what access point you are trying to connect to which will work better for you.

* In Device Manager, check the advanced tab of the properties window for the card and make sure the Power Management option is disabled. I have seen the Power Management option cause connection problems when on battery but work fine on AC power. I have also seen it prevent any connections, regardless of how you are getting power.

* Make sure the antennae are connected to the card. You can get the instructions from the service manual for the m1210. Basically, it is just opening up the door on the bottom and making sure they are connected:


Uninstalling the Intel software, rebooting (to clear any registry settings) and then updating/reinstalling the software (downloadable from the support site) might help as well, depending on what the problem is. If you haven't done it already I would actually suggest you start by doing that.

If none of these suggestions help, or if you have other questions on the system, I'll be happy to provide any other help I can.

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate

Piusno1

Thanks Larry for that responce.
I checked to see if the WLan was connected ok, it seems fine. Would uninstalling the software be the best option. Gos when I tried to repair it, it went wrong and hung the computer so as I could'nt get into windows. I was thinking of installing a USB Netopia Wi-Fi adapter which I have instead. It would do me. There would'nt be any conflick with whats installed already on the laptop ???

DellCA

Piusno1 wrote: »

Thanks Larry for that responce.
I checked to see if the WLan was connected ok, it seems fine. Would uninstalling the software be the best option. Gos when I tried to repair it, it went wrong and hung the computer so as I could'nt get into windows. I was thinking of installing a USB Netopia Wi-Fi adapter which I have instead. It would do me. There would'nt be any conflick with whats installed already on the laptop ???

There should be no conflicts at all if you decide to use the USB adapter instead. Just make sure you pick the correct entry in Network Connections for configuring the connection itself.

In my time doing tech support (getting close to 15 years now) I've found that unless there is some specific reason to do otherwise it is almost always better to uninstall the problem program, restart the computer, and then reinstall the program in order to try and fix things. The reason for this is that by uninstalling and restarting you have a much better chance of ensuring Windows "forgets" any settings that could be causing the problem. When you repair or do an install that just overwrites the existing installation there are times where files get overwritten with good copies, and other times where the installer sees a file is already there and skips over it (why install what is there already?), leaving the problem.

If your wireless connection shows connected, but you are not getting an IP address, then the problem is not with the wireless itself, but with communication to the network. Check for a firewall that is blocking the communication. It could be at either end, but is probably on the notebook. 3 or 4 years ago this was a big problem with McAfee and Norton firewalls that were installed before the wireless card was "active". Basically, the firewall checked the wireless card when being set up and, not seeing the wireless card connected, walled it off permanently. The solution was to disable or uninstall the firewall, get the wireless card connected and talking on the network, and then turn the firewall back on or reinstall it, making sure it was configured to let the wireless card talk. Another firewall related fix was to make sure the router was listed as a "trusted address", so the DHCP address requests didn't get blocked.

For WinXP and older, running the Network Setup Wizard fixed a number of problems. The key was to tell it you connected to a Residential Gateway (the router) and that you would manage all of the connections. If you had a "Network Bridge" listed it should be deleted as all I have ever seen it do is cause problems with one or both network cards on the computer. Internet Connection Sharing should also be disabled since all computers go through the router.

I can't think of anything else to check right off hand, but if none of that works let me know and we'll go from there.

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate