Unable to reinstall bluetooth drivers after reformat

Question

I've recently disabled the bluetooth adapter from the bluetooth icon in the system tray. After reinstalling windows vista, the bluetooth adapter cannot be detected and neither can i reinstall the driver. Following the instructions from http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&docid=2D785CBB1BBFF5F1E040A68F5B282502&journalid=93E99DAFF49F11DBA8E0734861584863&l=en&s=gen#en#us doesn't help as i do not see the bluetooth settings in control panel (drivers not installed, therefore bluetooth service isn't enabled). Taking out the internal bluetooth adapter isn't feasible as i have no access to other laptops that would accept the device. Kindly assist.

Soren01 · Answer

I had this same issue just yesterday, and I found a solution. Download the appropriate bluetooth driver (I had the 355 +EDR) from the dell website. Extract the files to a place you will remember, I chose c:\dell\drivers\bluetooth Then open windows explorer and browse to that directory and follow these steps : open the folder, find the Win32 (or win64 if you use Vista 64 bit) folder locate the INST application file. run that. When it is almost complete it will tell you to turn on the adapter. click the X to close that window (ignoring it). Installation will finish and wait for a few moments. Windows will install the rest of its drivers and all will be well. please note : DO NOT let windows update install any other drivers for bluetooth. Seems there is a known issue with them (at least with my 355 there is) Also note, this is assuming you have the adapter turned on in the BIOS. hehe

jgan · Answer

Thanks for advice! After following your instructions, i was able to install the bluetooth sofware however i was still unable to enable the bluetooth radio. When i right click, Enable Bluetooth Radio on the system tray icon, the prompt 'Activate Bluetooth using Fn+F2 or Radio On/Off Switch'. Even after enabling and disabling (and waiting forever), it doesn't enable the bluetooth radio. I checked the BIOS (and even updated to the latest firmware), it does show that the bluetooth is installed. I've also made sure that the adapter is on in the BIOS. After about 6 hrs of meddling around, i finally brought my laptop to a friend's place and installed my bluetooth adapter in his laptop. While the OS was able to detect the bluetooth adapter, the same prompt appeared 'Active Bluetooth using Fn+F2 or Radio On/Off Switch'. After awhile i figured that it could be due to the OS as he was using Windows XP. (I've made sure that i grounded my hands before taking out the adapter). Any other suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Soren01 · Answer

Well, during my issue, I looked all over the net and found that alot of people had been having issues with their bluetooth cards dying.  While this could be the case for you, I am not entirely sure.   Honestly,  When I finished with the driver install (after clicking the X) I waited around a moment, and when it didn't happen, I began fiddling around with the Fn+F2 and making sure it would turn ONLY the bluetooth on and off, since I was currently running on Wifi.  After a moment (maybe 3 mins) Vista said it was installing drivers for my new hardware.  I clicked to see what it was doing and it was the Bluetooth +EDR stuff.  After a few more minutes, the adapter came on, on its own and I could enable/disable it with the Fn+F2 all I wanted.   If you are still having issues, call tech support and have them walk you through the uninstall/reinstall.  Don't let them tell you to call back, make them stay on the phone through the whole process.

jgan · Answer

Thanks again for the follow up, i have finally resolved the issue. I really appreciate it! The problem was that i had downloaded the drivers that was intended for another system/model (they changed the drop list from XPS/Inspirion to Inspirion which confused me, i initially thought that it was a typo). This was why even after installing the drivers, Vista would say that the drivers were not 'digtially signed' and to turn on the adapter using Fn+F2 after everything was setup and 'working properly'. When i took out the adapter and plugged it into another friend's laptop, the same error occurred, and i am guessing that it was because of 1) different OS, 2) incompatible drivers (if i'm not mistaken, he's using the 350 adapter). I was about to give up when i remembered that i had made a ghost image of my parition when i was playing around with bartpe, making a bootable thumbdrive. After restoring the partition, i reinstalled the bluetooth drivers (that was in the image) and i was able to turn on the adapter from there! Once again, thank you for your help and suggestions! I hope that this thread would be useful for others that run into the same problem.

JoKing2 · Answer

Soren01 you rock.

I have been fighting this for nearly two days. I have an Inspiron 640m with a 355 Bluetooth card, it came loaded with Vista. I hate Vista. I wiped the harddrive and installed XP Pro, but then couldn't get the bluetooth to work. Turns out, if it is turned off in Vista, you can't turn it on in XP. (It is a known issue:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&cs=19&docid=2D785CBB1BBFF5F1E040A68F5B282502&journalid=006744F1FDB411DBBA152BF971751509&l=en&s=dhs#en#us )

So, I reinstalled Vista, but couldn't get the drivers to install. I have been trying various futile techniques and learning more about Vista's quirks than I ever wanted. Your technique had me done in 10 minutes.

Thank you!

(Now for the moment of truth... Re-uninstalling Vista and Re-installing XP Pro. Luckily, I have a slipstreamed copy with all of my favorite settings.)

Soren01 · Answer

Let us know how that goes. In my opinion, Vista is not all that bad. Yea, you take a bit of a performance hit, but that is kind of expected. I still play one of the most hardware intensive games out right now (Vanguard : Saga of Heroes) on my M1710 and get 40FPS or so on average and that is with the settings on high quality. I likely could get better performance out of XP, but I enjoy 'breaking in' new Os's and figuring out the little quirks. Of course, that is me....

Mmmm, Slipstreaming. Now that is something I will miss. Not really sure you can slipstream Vista. Of course, not that you would need to, it installs in 20 minutes or less anyway. hehe

Message Edited by Soren01 on 05-09-2007 08:36 AM

ayawodemaya · Answer

I tried everything that was mentioned on this thread.  Nothing worked. After a week of frustration I finally had to call Dell support.   They gave me a single executable file called BtwRadioOn_V2.  I ran the file and majic... the bluetooth light came on.   I would attach the file here but I dont see an attach button.  If really need help drop me your email address and I will send u the file.   Finally the headache is over.   Good luck

JoKing2 · Answer

Soren02,

Everything went smooth with the XP re-install. I can now control both the bluetooth and 802.11 cards with BIOS, Fn+F2, and with software. As I don't yet have any bluetooth devices, I keep it disabled. I am much happier with XP.

I will reconsider Vista after I build a new desktop. For now the benefits of having twin systems, desk and lap, wins. Also, XP is much faster than Vista on my notebook, for the tasks I do. (50MB+ Access Databases and 25MB+ Excel Workbooks).

ayawodemaya, Was the executable run in Vista or XP? Sounds much easier than my method.

Cheers

Message Edited by JoKing2 on 06-18-2007 04:28 PM

wak80 · Answer

Hi.. I also facing a problem after I downgrade my vista to XP.. the bluetooth 355 can't be detected.. If you have an easy way, please send to me how it can be detected by XP.. thanks guys..

Windows General

Unable to reinstall bluetooth drivers after reformat

Was this post helpful?