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Ethernet and wireless not working (brand spanking new Inspiron N4050)
I just bought a new laptop today here in Chile, South America. It's a Dell Inspiron N4050, running Windows 7 Home Basic, Service Pack 1. I haven't been able to connect to the internet via an ethernet cable nor wirelessly. The wireless indicator is on (duh!) and the ethernet cable works with a PC sitting next to the laptop. I have a ARRIS modem (yes, the third world) and it works fine wirelessly with other devices here such as phones and laptops. When I plug in the ethernet cable it tells me that it can't identify the network. I do see all the wireless connections but it's the same, unable to identify network. I've tired all sorts of things, having studied computer science myself I'm not a total beginner, but the OS is in Spanish so it's really hard to make sense of things. If I can't fix this soon I will be forced to reformat the computer. The pros of doing that is that I will get the OS in English and lose all the rubbish Dell pre-installs on their products. The setback is that I won't have the drivers installed for the NIC and other things (although they should be on the optical disc that came with the notebook). Perhaps the problem is the modem, maybe I need a driver for it. Somehow I don't think that is the case because I brough my own hard drive from my country of origin and I put it inside the PC and it connected instantly with the internet via the modem. Any thoughts?
ipconfig:
IPv4: 169.254.113.41 (link-local address)
Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0
Default gateway: none
PudgyOne
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July 6th, 2012 03:00
JimmyCarter,
Did you setup your wireless router?
How to login to your wireless router and use these Recommended Wireless Router Settings I use chhannel 11. I would make a new SSID to make connecting easier.
The 169.254 ip address can be from an electrical storm or a power flicker. Try the power cycle listed below.
Power off your ISP modem/router and your wireless router(if any) for 30 seconds. Then power on the ISP modem/router. Wait 15 seconds, then power on the wireless router(if any)
Restart the computer and try to connect.
What happens?
Rick
JimmyCarter
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July 6th, 2012 14:00
I didn't do anything with the modem because it was already set up and running fine with other devices, wired and wirelessly. It's not even about the wireless more than the fact that I can't even connect via ethernet. The computer just refuses to recognise the network. It's able to find all the wireless networks too but it won't recognise any of them once I choose to connect with them. Another thing is that the modem has a battery built inside of it so that even if I unplug the power source it's still on, for some minutes or hours, so I don't really know how to turn it off.
PudgyOne
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July 6th, 2012 15:00
JimmyCarter,
Try the power cycle first. I have seen some devices connect and others not connect.
What channel is the router on? Try channel 11 instead of auto.
Rick
JimmyCarter
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July 6th, 2012 20:00
Well I started with the audio driver because it was at the top but other than that it was in the order specified on that page. I can't imagine how that would make a difference since I'm having the exact same problem as before the reformat, only difference this time is that I have no driver for wireless access.
JimmyCarter
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July 6th, 2012 20:00
I reformatted the computer with Windows 7 Ultimate just now - I needed to change it from Spanish to English anyway. I installed the necessary drivers from the Dell disc that came with the laptop but for some reason they didn't include a driver for wireless access. That's alright though since I prefer fixing it via ethernet. I can download all the other drivers once I can connect with the modem via the ethernet. As before, it is unable to identify the network. I have tried to access the router on other working devices via a web browser using the default gateway but it always times out. Maybe the modem doesn't have a user interface (HTTP server) or something.
PudgyOne
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July 6th, 2012 20:00
JimmyCarter,
The desktop/notebook system utility and the chipset drivers know what is installed on each specific system. So it they're not installed first, the rest of the drivers fail to install.
Start with the desktop/notebook system utility and the chipset drivers and follow the list. How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct Order
Everything should start working, even the adapter.
Rick
PudgyOne
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July 6th, 2012 20:00
JimmyCarter,
When you reinstalled the operating system, did you install the Desktop/Notebook system software and the chipset drivers first? If not, the rest of the drivers will fail to install. How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct Order
Start with the Desktop/Notebook system software and the chipset drivers and follow the list.
Rick
JimmyCarter
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July 7th, 2012 12:00
Never mind that. I called the service provider and they reset the modem which took care of it.
PudgyOne
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July 7th, 2012 13:00
JimmyCarter,
Glad you got it workinbg! :emotion-21: Thanks for posting back.
Take care,
Rick
JimmyCarter
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July 7th, 2012 17:00
Yes, I was getting pretty annoyed. I thought about pressing the reset button a few times but 1) other people were using the modem most part of the day and 2) where I come from we use routers and they typically have two buttons; restart and reset. So the restart button is pretty obvous but the reset button wipes out whatever memory might be there and pretty much defaults it. I was afraid I'd mess it up if I reset it in that sense but the reset button on the modem pretty much just restarted it.
King MAN
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February 4th, 2013 08:00
Hai,I had changed my os for Dell Inspiron N4050 Recently.While Installing OS,during hard disk partitioning,I had deleted the dell backup and restore program.And Now after installing the OS I have installed Dell Drivers and utility software CD.There my laptop shows that wireless LAN driver is not installed successfully.
what i can do now...?
OS THAT I HAVE INSTALLED IS WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 32bit.