Dell laptop cant connect to anything wireless

ford fiesta

I have a Dell Inspiron Laptop 1545 Windows 7, that wont connect to my Three/O2 dongle or my HP wireless printer (software installed) or any wireless device! This has been the way since I bought the laptop in 2010.

also...when i go to open Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility in the control panel, it wont open at all, so I cant check what status the wireless is at. Has not accessing this something to do with not connecting to anything wireless?

the wireless key is turned to 'ON' by the way.

any help would be appreciated, as I have been using USB's to connect to wireless devices, which has its own issues also!!

Thanks.

degsie

Check your BIOS settings to confirm wireless is enabled. Are any wireless devices showing up in device manager?

ford fiesta

degsie wrote: »

Check your BIOS settings to confirm wireless is enabled. Are any wireless devices showing up in device manager?

How do I check BIOS at start up again:rolleyes:?. The wireless devices are shown but only because they are connected via USB.

degsie

I meant are any network adapters showing up in device manager, like Dell Wireless 1397?

For BIOS try tapping F2 after powerup.

ford fiesta

degsie wrote: »

I meant are any network adapters showing up in device manager, like Dell Wireless 1397?

For BIOS try tapping F2 after powerup.

in the device manager...no nothing wireless listed

in the BIOS...the wireless devices are not listed, just that 'wireless' is active

me_irl

When rebooting, tap F8 to go in to Safe Mode. Can you get in to the WiFi Card settings that way?

Here's a link to download / update drivers (just in case!).

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-1545/drivers

ford fiesta

me_irl wrote: »

When rebooting, tap F8 to go in to Safe Mode. Can you get in to the WiFi Card settings that way?

Here's a link to download / update drivers (just in case!).

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-1545/drivers

Hi, thanks, will they update the Wireless drivers, not just USB ?

degsie

I'd suggest that the wireless card in the laptop is dislodged or non-functional.

degsie

me_irl wrote: »

When rebooting, tap F8 to go in to Safe Mode. Can you get in to the WiFi Card settings that way?

Here's a link to download / update drivers (just in case!).

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-1545/drivers

No point trying to apply a driver on a device that is not reported by BIOS or the OS.

ford fiesta

degsie wrote: »

No point trying to apply a driver on a device that is not reported by BIOS or the OS.

really?
the BIOS just states that WIFI is active, but doesn't mention any device (i dont think the BIOS would list this anyway), cheers.

me_irl

I didn't say to apply a driver.

I gave the link "just in case" you needed the drivers.

Have you tried booting in to safe mode to see if you can access your settings?

davo2001

Jess, the crap some people are spouting here is unreal!

OP, check Network and Sharing Center -> Change Adaptor Settigngs -> Does your WLAN adaptor appear in here? If not then check Device Manager -> Network Adaptors -> Does your WLAN adaptor appear in here? No? Then it's either faulty or not connected properly.

degsie

davo2001 wrote: »

Jess, the crap some people are spouting here is unreal!

OP, check Network and Sharing Center -> Change Adaptor Settigngs -> Does your WLAN adaptor appear in here? If not then check Device Manager -> Network Adaptors -> Does your WLAN adaptor appear in here? No? Then it's either faulty or not connected properly.

And yet others just repeat what has already been suggested!

ford fiesta

davo2001 wrote: »

Jess, the crap some people are spouting here is unreal!

OP, check Network and Sharing Center -> Change Adaptor Settigngs -> Does your WLAN adaptor appear in here? If not then check Device Manager -> Network Adaptors -> Does your WLAN adaptor appear in here? No? Then it's either faulty or not connected properly.

Yes it appears in both as "Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card" and status is "This device is working properly"

but I still cant connect anything wireless..

thanks for all help so far

mada82

I would suggest downloading and installing the network drivers again.

mada82

Also is there a wireless icon in the system tray (bottom right of screen), if so does it have an orange shape or red x going through it

degsie

ford fiesta wrote: »

in the device manager...no nothing wireless listed

ford fiesta wrote: »

Yes it appears in both as "Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card" and status is "This device is working properly"

I'm out.

ford fiesta

degsie wrote: »

I'm out.

...as in the device manager does not list any wireless devices.

but the wireless card is appearing and saying working properly.

i'll be out soon!

degsie

ford fiesta wrote: »

...as in the device manager does not list any wireless devices.

but the wireless card is appearing and saying working properly.

i'll be out soon!

Maybe you should read that back to yourself fully...

ford fiesta

i know it doesnt make sense. but no wireless devices (wireless printers, wireless modem) are appearing or working, even though the WLAN card is showing as "working properly".

Fysh

Dell's WLAN Card Manager Utility can act up sometimes (it's part of a proud tradition of Dell offering software of variable quality...). This is a separate component to the driver for the wireless card, so the management utility being the source of the problem would make sense if everything looks correct in the device manager.

I'd suggest uninstalling the WLAN Card Manager Utility, rebooting, and seeing if you are able to connect to wireless devices using the native Windows wireless network manager.

ZENER

Are you still using Vista ? This system came with that OS on release. As asked already, do you see the Wireless icon beside the clock in the Sys Tray ? Does it look normal or has it an orange star in it ?

Remove the Battery and open the RAM cover and check that the Black and White antenna leads are connected as in the picture.



Tap F12 after the DELL logo appears and go to System Setup > Wireless > Wireless Switch. Picture below illustrates what you should see, uncheck both options. This will take the Wireless Switch (Sniffer in Dell speak) out of the equation.



Check the TCP/IP V4 settings for the wireless device in Windows and ensure the connection is set to DHCP both for IP address and DNS.

Grab the screens if you can and post them if possible.

Ken

jhud

Please press FN key + F2 key together this will disable and enable wireless.