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Unable to use Wifi on laptop
Hi, I've just recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 3521 laptop which came with a Ubuntu installation. For obvious reasons I shifted to Windows 7 x64 Ultimate but immediately my machine no longer detected networks. In fact, I can only see the option to use wired connection now (after installing some drivers from Dell) in the system tray network notification. I've already tried all drivers downloaded from the website, one package simply ended with an error (I checked the log which stated my platform wasn't supported, which is odd given that the driver was listed for my machine!). And another halts at a screen asking me to switch on Bluetooth via the wireless button (Fn+F2), whereby even after switching it on the installation would not continue. What's even more odd is that Bluetooth seems to be working (I get the icon in the system tray). The previously mentioned network drivers are at ~200 and ~300mb respectively and I've also tried the third listed driver of a much smaller size, which installed fine. As far as I can see, I now have wired connectivity only (for internet) as the machine shows no support otherwise.
Immediately after I encountered my first round of problems I checked under Device Manager and it had listed some devices with no drivers. After installing some of the drivers from Dell I still have 1/4 problematic devices without a driver, which is a "Network Controller". Windows update has not found drivers either. I truly do not know the extent of the complication. All I can trace it back to is when a vendor at a shop (where I had Windows installed) deleted/formatted a partition listed as Dell OEM of around 300mb to allow me to have more partitions. He stated I could get this online anyways, now I do not know if critical/irreplaceable software has been compromised. Please, Please help me. I will gladly provide any further information.
Thank you.
DELL-Rajath N
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1.8K Posts
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May 10th, 2013 14:00
Hi unDeny,
I appreciate your efforts to fix the issue and for providing the Hardware ID’s. From the information, I have found that the system has Dell Wireless 1703 card. You will need to download and install the drivers from the link provided below:
http://dell.to/12jyxu3
Please reinstall the drivers in the correct order by referring to the information provided in the following link, if you still experience issues:
http://dell.to/X1IKGu
Let me know if you need further assistance.
unDeny
9 Posts
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May 10th, 2013 13:00
This is the Hardware ID of the device not working which is listed as a "Network Controller:
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0032&SUBSYS_02091028&REV_01
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0032&SUBSYS_02091028
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0032&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0032&CC_0280
unDeny
9 Posts
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May 10th, 2013 13:00
I already seem to have the following devices working, listed under "Network Adapters" in Device Manager:
1) Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
2) Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI)
3) Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
unDeny
9 Posts
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May 11th, 2013 02:00
Hi, thanks for replying. Well I've gone through the list and checked the Drivers & Downloads section back and forth and I cannot find a few of the sections/categories listed in the link you provided for the correct order of installation. I only see the following categories listed (could you please list them in the correct order for me? I need to get this right.):
1) Applications:
Dell Quickset Application
Dell Digital Delivery Application
2) Audio:
Realtek Audio High Definition Driver
3) Bios:
Dell Inspiron 3521 System Bios (vA06)
Dell Inspiron 3521 System Bios (vA04)
4) Chipset:
Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller Driver
Intel Chipset Driver
Intel Management Engine Interface Driver
Realtek Card Reader Driver
5) CPU
Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor Software
6) Input
Synaptics Touchpad Driver
7) Network
Dell Wi-Fi + BT Driver - 9.2.0.504, A02
Dell Wi-Fi + BT Driver - 6.20.55.58, A03
Realtek Ethernet Controller Driver - 7.061.0612.2012, A01
8) Serial ATA
Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver
9) Video
AMD Graphics Driver - 8.982.6.0, A02
AMD Graphics Driver - 9.0.12.1, A03
Intel Graphics Driver
unDeny
9 Posts
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May 11th, 2013 03:00
Also, in this list there seems to be a gap in the installation order for the "Network" category, amongst "Item 7 - Network Interface Card (NIC) / Ethernet Controller" and "Item 10 - Wireless Network Card". From the Drivers & Downloads section of my device, can you please tell me which is which :P?
unDeny
9 Posts
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May 11th, 2013 03:00
Ok, after a bit of searching I seem to have located the 1st item on the Download Order, which is the Notebook System Software -- www.dell.com/.../DriverDetails -- Please tell me if this is the correct one, it does seem a bit old. However I cannot seem to find:
(A) Item no. 3 - PCMCIA/Smartcard Controller (or in fact, "Security" category under the Drivers & Downloads section for my machine -- www.dell.com/.../inspiron-15-3521)
(B) One or more of the downloads listed under Item no. 13 - Other Devices.
Could you please take the trouble to sort this list according to my machine?
DELL-Rajath N
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May 13th, 2013 17:00
Hi unDeny,
Thank you for your reply and for providing an update. The list of hardware components provided on the link to install the drivers in the correct order is generic and your system may not have all the components that is listed on the page. Please refine the search by punching in the Service Tag and install the drivers displayed in the correct order.
For the wireless card, please download the driver that lists Dell Wireless 1703 card.
Please let me know if you need further assistance.
unDeny
9 Posts
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May 14th, 2013 15:00
All in all, I would just like to add that I was able to resolve my Wifi issue by simply switching to Windows 8 Pro. It may have been an OS/Installation problem that was limiting my experience previously. Windows usually detects such driver anomalies and remedies them, which is why this struck me as odd. Probably down to the fact that the machine I am using is new and/or a failure of the system to resolve the issue.
DELL-Rajath N
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May 15th, 2013 15:00
Hi unDeny,
Thank you for providing an update and I am glad to know that the issue has been resolved. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
ddcomp
8 Posts
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August 24th, 2013 06:00
the issue has been resolved?! I have some problem and I do not instal win8. What can I do? I reinstall win, I respect srivers install order...
WIN7PRO - DELL 3521