Laptop not finding wireless networks

cobijones

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has ever had problems with their laptop not finding wireless networks. I thought it may have been a problem with the router but another laptop can find my wireless network no problem.
My laptop cannot find mine or neighbours networks.

I have set the TCP/IP settings to automatically find IP address and DNS settings and the wifi light is on on the keyboard.

Can anyone diagnose what the problem may be or has anyone fixed anything similar before, reinstalling drivers, etc?

Also is there any problems with having two laptops recieving wireless connections off the same router? Could this be anything to do with the problem I'm having? Thanks

Sponge Bob

Is there a slider button (typically) on the side of the laptop with a little 'antenna' symbol by it. Slide it along and see what happens , give it at least 1 minute to start up properly once fully slid ??

cobijones

Thanks for the reply, no there is no slide as far as I can tell, there is a little wireless antennae icon on the f2 key, when you press the fn key it activates it. I tried what you described above with this but no joy. I have a feeling the antennae my be damaged. Are these easily replaceable or where are they located in the laptop?

cobijones

I brought it to a helpdesk in college, they said I need a new wireless card, altough they didnt do very thorough check. I was thinking of unistalling and reinstalling the wireless drivers first altough I have no idea how to do this!

Its a dell latitude d510 - can anyone point me in the right direction of how to do this. I checked the CD's that came with it and cant find any that say wireless drivers. Thanks

coylemj

Is there a status light for the Wi-Fi function i.e. is there a light that looks like a Radio/TV transmitter or something similar? Most laptops have a status light for Wi-Fi and another one for Bluetooth - can you see a light that's on and which looks like a radio transmitter?

Sponge Bob

It may also be turned off in the bios in which case a Fn+F2 would not always work .

They cost a bloody fortune to replace ( normally) , get one of those linksys usb wireless dongles instead. D510 is about 4 years old is it not ??

cobijones

Sponge Bob wrote: »

It may also be turned off in the bios in which case a Fn+F2 would not always work .

They cost a bloody fortune to replace ( normally) , get one of those linksys usb wireless dongles instead. D510 is about 4 years old is it not ??

Yeah its fairly old, still gets the job done(apart from this problem!)

Thanks, ill try get one of those dongles then.

Out of interest how would I get into the bios to see if its turned off?

Cabaal

moving to wireless

Sponge Bob

as it starts you see the dell screen and an option to press F2 or F10 .

this brings upa text screen which shows devices, if the wireless is blank then either

1. It is not there ( dead)
2. It is not there (loose , requires popping back in )
3. It is there but switched off so switch it on

leave drivers till you check all that

gav240

go into the wireless network connections properities
click on configure
click advanced

set ap compatibility mode to higher performance
set ibss to 802.11b/g auto
set minimum power mode to disabled
try power saved mode in disabled
hope this helps

dub45

You neglect to say if the wireless has ever worked on the laptop?

Have you checked the device manager to see if the wireless card is installed properly?

You could try the dell site for an up to date driver.

cobijones

Sponge Bob wrote: »

as it starts you see the dell screen and an option to press F2 or F10 .

this brings upa text screen which shows devices, if the wireless is blank then either

1. It is not there ( dead)
2. It is not there (loose , requires popping back in )
3. It is there but switched off so switch it on

leave drivers till you check all that

Thanks , had a look in the bios and all the wireless apps are set to on.

gav240 wrote: »

go into the wireless network connections properities
click on configure
click advanced

set ap compatibility mode to higher performance
set ibss to 802.11b/g auto
set minimum power mode to disabled
try power saved mode in disabled
hope this helps

Thanks, tried this, didnt see an option for power saved mode or ap compatibility but it didnt seem to make any difference.

dub45 wrote: »

You neglect to say if the wireless has ever worked on the laptop?

Have you checked the device manager to see if the wireless card is installed properly?

You could try the dell site for an up to date driver.

Sorry , yes wireless did work up until a few days ago, I have another laptop which works perfectly with wireless. The Intel Wireless device is listed in the device manager , when I click it , it brings me to the wireless properties section.

My next step will be to reinstall the drivers, to do this , will I have to uninstall the current drivers and then install updated drivers(from the dell website - if there is any)?

wandererz

You should be able to install them directly without having to uninstall the other drivers.

You can download the drivers from the dell support site here

If that doesn't work then a new wireless card may be required.

As per the manual it is a MiniPCI card. Should be able to pick one up for 15-40 euro or so.

If you do need one, then check out my ad on adverts.ie or else any of the online stores should be able to sort you out.

cobijones

I tried reinstalling the drivers and no luck. I am going to have to buy a new card. The one in the laptop is Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g.

Do I have to get the same one or just one that is compatible with the laptop. Does anyone know of anywhere online that I can get one? Had a look at the adverts.ie one, not sure if its compatible.

dub45

You could just get a usb one if you could put up with the inconvenience of it sticking out or you could try a pcmcia one presuming that your laptop has a slot.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=336044

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=332599

cobijones

Thanks, i think for the long run , I might be just as well replacing the card. Im not sure i have a slot for pcmcia one, the slot in the laptop looks abit wider than the card in the picture.

cobijones

Thanks for all the info so far lads, one last question (probably!). The card in the laptop is an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Mini-PCI Adapter, do I need to get the exact same model or can I get another card model and just install the new drivers. Thanks