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Dell TrueMobile Series 1150 wireless miniPCI card cannot connect to WiFi network, W2k
I recently installed a Dell TrueMobile Series 1150 wireless miniPCI card (driver version 7.44) in my Latitude C800 running W2k SP4. (By “installed” I mean replaced the cable modem card in the bay under the laptop, and connected the antenna connector to the laptop connector and corner card connector.) I also installed Dell TrueMobile Client Manager v2.58. When I loaded the Client Manager, I left the Network Type as Residential Gateway (not Peer-to-Peer), and input the network name: HOMEOFFICE and the wireless key for WEP.
Unfortunately, I cannot get either internet connection or file sharing via WiFi.
Client Manager recognizes the wireless network: “HOMEOFFICE”, with Radio connection: Excellent, an Access Point name, Channel: 1 and Encryption: On. However, Control Panel/Network Connections shows the TM 1150 as “Network cable unplugged”. Its Properties show as checked: Client for MS Network, File and printer sharing for MS network, Pure Networks Device Discovery Driver, Pure Networks Wireless Driver, NW Link Net BIOS, NW Link IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transfer Protocol, NetBEUI, Internet Protocol (TCP\IP) – in that order. The Wireless Configuration service is set to Automatic, and is Started.
I tried using NetMagic on this laptop, but it didn’t recognize the WiFi network atall.
On my other (XP) laptop, internet connection and file sharing both work through WiFi, using WEP, via my Netgear WiFi router. My router Wireless details are SSID: HOMEOFFICE, Channel: Auto, Mode: b and g, Security Option: WEP, Authentication Type: Automatic, and Encryption strength: 64 bit.
Am I missing some software or settings to connect this m/c to the WiFi network?
DELL-Larry R
1.7K Posts
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October 28th, 2008 16:00
DELL-Larry R
1.7K Posts
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October 28th, 2008 20:00
The patch is for Win2K systems using the TM1150 card. It should be listed for the C800, but I'm not sure why it isn't (I had to ping and old coworker to find it again).
The driver versions are correct. A newer revision was released after the 7.42 version to fix a Win2K specific problem. The problem did not exist in WinXP so the driver was not ported "up" to that version.
Try this (order important):
- Uninstall the Client Manager (Add & Remove Programs) and the card from Device Manager
- Restart the system
- Cancel the "Found new hardware" window(s)
- Install the driver for the TM1150
- Install the patch I list above
- Install the Client Manager software for the TM1150
- Reboot and then test the connection
The nice part is the configuration for your networks should be saved (the conf file doesn't get deleted) so it will still be there when you reinstall the software again. I believe this is the order I used most effectively when the patch above didn't fix things the first time. It has been about 4 or 5 years since I dealt with the problem regularly, however, so I'm sure I'm forgetting something simple but I just can't think what it is.ianreece
27 Posts
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October 28th, 2008 20:00
Hi Larry
Tx for the input. I loaded that patch (which does not refer to the C800 in the installation description), rebooted, but I still have “Network cable unplugged” for the TM 1150 when running stand-alone (ie not in the dock). Is there a patch specifically for the C800? It doesn't show up when I search for Drivers and Downloads for C800/Service Tag with Windows 2000. (PS The driver for TM 1150 that is listed is version 7.42 A20 for Windows XP. I have used V7.44 for C800/W2k.)
It's bizarre: Client Manager detects a good signal and a MAC address, but CP/Network Connections says the TM 1150 isn't connecting!
Run cmd ipconfig /all shows:
Windows 2000 IP Configuration
Host name: given, but not disclosed here
Primary DNS Suffix: blank
Node Type: Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled: No
WINS Proxy Enabled: No
Ethernet Adapter True Mobile 1150:
Media State: Cable disconnected
Description: True Mobile 1150 Series Mini PCI Card #2
Physical Address: given, but not disclosed here
ianreece
27 Posts
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October 29th, 2008 18:00
No joy yet. Lots of questions, however! But first, thanks for the research!
Notes on the steps suggested:
Update Your Driver:
For Windows 2000:
One, the card needs to be in Device Manager to do this. Two, when I "check the Install one of the other drivers box", I get three drivers in location C:\WINNT\inf - Agere oem14.inf (V7.42.0.3), Dell oem15.inf (V7.44.15.449), and Dell oem56.inf (apparently identical to oem15, using notepad to review the .inf file). R36669 is not in C:\Dell\Drivers on my PC, R36669 does not appear on the Dell site, nor is it in the Drivers and Utilities CD.
5. Install the patch I list above When I click on R35762.exe (or look at Compatabilty for this file on the Dell site), the patch is for Dimension PCs (not Latitude laptops) running W2k SP2 - I'm on SP4. It unzips two files to C:\Dell\Drivers\R35762, and a notepad file opens saying to click on file disisa.exe in R35762 folder, and that the m/c will close down after - it does. The first time I did this, at Restart the card was again listed in Device Manager, without apparently asking me to accept "finding new hardware". To get around this(?), I actually detached the card from the underside bay the next time (in step 1), but had the same issue with your step 4.
7. Reboot and then test the connection When was I supposed to reinstall the card? At "finding new hardware" at this reboot?
I guess my questions are, how to do step 4 with no card and no R36669? - using oem15 or oem56?, is R35762 the right/relevant patch?, and when to allow/force the reinstallation of the card?
ianreece
DELL-Larry R
1.7K Posts
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October 29th, 2008 19:00
Sorry about the confusion. As I said, it has been a few years since I worked directly with this.
For the patch, yes it is the correct one as there is only one patch for all TM1150 cards in Win2K having the problem. The patch is for service pack 2, as that was the current version when the problem came out, and service pack 3 was supposed to have resolved the issue (although there were occasions when we still had to run the patch even then). I never tried the patch with service pack 4, however, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.
For the driver, I forgot cancelling the "found new hardware" would leave off the entry instead of adding an "unknown device" entry. Just tell Device Manager to check for new hardware and when it asks for the driver to use, point it at the folder per those directions. At worst, if it "finds" drivers on its own, follow the directions about changing the driver (I believe 2K has a 7.22 driver from MS).