Broadcom Network Card for Inspiron 6400

Hi silkphoenix,

The given error code may occur due to a corrupt driver. You may follow the steps below to uninstall the drivers completely and then update the drivers :

• Click on Start -> Control Panel -> Uninstall a program and uninstall the ethernet driver
• Open device manager and right click the ethernet card and click uninstall the driver
• Place a check mark on remove the driver software and click on OK to uninstall the drivers and restart the computer.
• Download/install the Broadcom driver from Here. Follow the onscreen instructions and restart when prompted.

Please reply with the findings. Will take it further from there.

Hello Sundeep B,

I went to Dell and downloaded the R150593 driver. When I tried to install it, it gave me the message:  "This self-extracting zip file is part of a multidisk zip file. Please insert the last disk of the set."

So what am I supposed to do? FYI, This message appeared when I tried to install some other drivers as well, but have no idea what to do as I do not have any other disks.

Your kind assistance is much appreciated.  Thank you.

Thank you, Sundeep B. I'll try your suggestion and will post my result here.

Hi silkphoenix,

Please try installing the driver from the alternate link Here and see if it helps. You may refer to Installation Instructions in the link for proper installation procedure.

If the issue persists, please share if you are trying to download and install the driver from the same system (Inspiron 6400) or if you are downloading the driver on an alternate system and then installing the driver after copying it to your system.

What happens when you right click on the setup file and  select run as administrator.

Hello  DELL-Sundeep B,

I went to your link and tried to install the driver. I received the following "error":

"Click Remove to remove Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller from your computer. After removal, this program will no longer be available for use. If you want to review or change any settings, click Back."

I clicked REMOVE. Another "error" came up:

"The wizard was interrupted before Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller could be completed installed. Your system has not been modified. To complete installation at another time, please run setup again."

Which I did and the same "errors" keep appearing.

I went to the Device Manager and the yellow "!" mark was still there. I chose "Update Driver", it searched for the driver in my laptop, and it found the driver, but then gave me the error "There was a problem installing this hardware: Ethernet Controller", An error occured during installation of the device. Access is denied"

I am the only log-in in my laptop and I am the only Administrator.

As of now, I have no idea what to do next.

I am currently using Wireless connection to get on line. But I am far away from the router and my connection is that good. So I would prefer to use Ethernet connection instead which I get much better signal and connection speed.

Any suggestions/comments are much appreciated.

PS: I have also uninstall the Controller, and when I reboot, my Inspiron 6400 reinstall the Controller again, that's when I tried the above steps to reinstall the driver.

Thank you.

It gave me the same error messages as in my last post.

So do you think the "overheat" problem could have damaged the ethernet controller?

Thank you.

Its possible.

Try uninstalling the network card driver.

Then install the Intel Chipset Driver.

www.dell.com/.../inspiron-e1505

Then install Broadcom Driver.

Rt click and run as admin on each.

Hello  dallascowboysworldchamps.

I followed your procedures and I received the same error messages in my earlier post. The yellow "!" still appeared on my Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller #2 (now it has #2 on it since I uninstalled it and after I rebooted, it created another one).

So what's next?

Thank you.

PS:  I tried the Update Driver option, just in case, and it said "There was a problem installing this hardware: Broadcom 440x 10.100 Integrated Controller # 2. An error occurred during the installation of this device. Access is denied" (I can't choose the Administrator option since it didn't give me any to choose to begin with).

I have also went to Properties and it said "The drivers for this device are not installed. 9Code 28). So I clicked "Reinstall Driver", the same error message: Access is denied.

Try going to Start button/ All programs/ Accessories /System Tools /System Restore.

Run System Restore and see if you can go back to a previous date when it was working.

I tried that already but my system won't go back to two days ago.  None of my previous days could be restored.

Well at this point you are looking at a format and reinstall of Windows.

If that fails then I would suspect your network card is damaged.

If your network card is damaged then your looking at a motherboard replacemnent.

A cheaper route would be to buy an expresscard network card.

You might try Windows Update and updating to SP4 sometimes updating resolves code28 errors.

When you plug in a network cable are you getting a link light on the port?

I am sorry haven't posted any update since I was having problems getting on line because of my weak wireless signal. I think the problem is probably the motherboard since everything else works fine in my laptop. I am going to get a new Inspiron 17 with Windows 7 Home but will upgrade to Professional so I can use its XP Mode for my older softwares. I'll keep on trying to find a solution for the network card problem. If I come across any solutions, I'll definitely post the update here.

If any of you have any other suggestions/comments, please kindly post them.

Thank you for all of your kind assistance.

That's overheating quite a bit, the components will begin to fail on that heat. Is the fan running loudly or not at all?

Power off the system and use both a can of compressed air and a vacuum cleaner to clear out the system vents.

 See Windows Reinstallation Guide and Related Wikies page 451 (its actually an Inspiron 6400 I have used to demonstrate this):

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/3524/t/19480753.aspx

Edit: although you have said this, ensure that you use the vacuum cleaner also to remove the dust.

In addition purchase a USB cooling pad such as the Targus AWE61EU (which is the one my uncle is using with my old Inspiron 6400). http://www.amazon.co.uk/Targus-Laptop-Chill-Mat-AWE61EU/dp/B009010WIK See page 453 to page 454 for more details.

Edit: although you have said this, ensure that the vents have a fan under them on this model. Some cooling pads are no good.

Once you have done the above two steps and have the cooling pad. Run the full Dell Diagnostics page 410 of the guide.

If diagnostics pass, one other thing to do would to would to power up your Dell and press F2 and remain in the Dell BIOS to see if the system heats. i.e. whether it is a Windows or virus problem, throttling the CPU to 100 % and causing it to overheat and act slow or whether it is a hardware fault.

Edit: Its suspect of a virus problem given that you cannot run the Dell setup files correctly. The error messages you mentioned usually come from an incomplete download or a virus/malware problem which limits the ability of users to install .exe files aswell as hindering some administrator privileges. This is why leaving the system on the Dell BIOS screen or booting up using a Linux Live CD will be a good test on the temperatures.

I just tested the download link you were given. Ensure that the R150593.exe file is 9409 KB, by the way this is the Broadcom Diagnostics and not the driver which is R149798.exe and is 4648 KB.