Inspiron 15R - "a physical WiFi adapter is not installed"

I have recently gone as far as restoring my computer to its "factory" state to try and combat this issue.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure there is much else I can do at this point - the issue has not been resolved.

I re-installed factory drivers for my adapter, then replaced those with updated drivers from Intel. I was 'alright' for a while, but have had to launch Device Manager to re-enable the adapter, or restart my computer entirely because it failed to display my adapter at all. At this point, I get no result with either.

I have tried to 'recognize' the adapter as a new device (added hardware), but that didn't solve anything - it duplicated it in Device Manager and then displayed the yellow exclamation point indicating it needed new drivers - I attempted to update but it displayed an error, so I ended up uninstalling the duplicate.

At this point, I feel like it's the hardware that is the problem, and not my computer's ability to recognize it. Though I have been able to connect to my network in the past, its ability to function would be patchy, at best, if I could get it to work at this point. Should I try to reset/replace my wireless card, or is there something else I can try?

My 'network card' is fine, according to a diagnostic, and my Bluetooth works fine.

Any help is appreciated! (:

- Elise