Wireless on new Inspiron 1545 runs EXTREMELY SLOW.

I have a similar problem for which I already opened a new thread. I have an Inspiron 1525 and only get 2 bars at a specific location. I have a Dell Precision M6300, on which I get a stronger signal. However, I noticed that the wireless card on Inspiron 1525 is Wireless-N & when I check the speed, it is close to 48 Mbps. The Dell Precision has g and I get same speed. The 4 bars I get on Precision seem to be equivalent to 2 bars on Inspiron 1525.

In your case, it is probably some setting on the router. I have a Linksys WRT110 and I had to change the default setting to N. So check your router's setting.

As recommended, I will try it out after a firmware upgrade on my router as well as driver upgrade on my wireless card. I will let you know what I find out.

How does the signal strength look on that particular laptop?  If it's a low signal that's causing the issue, it could be a disconnected antenna lead.  It could also be location-specific interference, assuming you haven't tried the other "faster" computers where the laptop usually is.  To further troubleshoot, you might try testing the laptop at a free hotspot and see if it connects at a faster speed.

My generic suggestions would be to make sure the drivers for the card is up to date (you don't say what type of wireless card?) and also to make sure your access point/router has the latest firmware installed.  As the network is B only, try forcing the card to that in its driver properties.

Lastly, if you have multiple computers on the network, it might be worth considering an upgrade to 802.11g in the near future.  Wireless is half-duplex (only one card can talk at a time) so each machine will eat into the theoretical 11mbps that is available (assuming they all connect at that speed).

Thanks for your help!  I have updated the card...so that isn't it...how do I make sure the firmware in my router is installed.  I have no idea what you mean...

Thank you.  I have a Linksys router...how do I make any changes to settings on the router?

yp_ed ... can you please provide us with the specific model of linksys router which you have?

I have a Linksys WRT110. Visit the Linksys website http://www.linksys.com & check the support section for any update to your firmware. You will need your model number which can be found under your router.

To change your router settings, you will typically enter the IP address of the router which is generally http://192.168.1.1 . Check your router documentation for more information on how to change the settings.