D600 Wireless Question

It does not have a Centrino label. The label says "Intel Inside pentium M". If I go to device maanger, I do not see a wireless card under network (only a Broadcom 570x). Where else can I look to confirm whether I have an integral wireless adapter in my D600?

correct

The D600 offers five wireless choices: Intel Pro 2100 (802.11b), Intel Pro 2200 (802.11b/g), Dell 1350 (802.11b), Dell 1450 (802.11a/b/g), or none. If the machine has a "Centrino" label, it includes one of the Intel wireless cards.

Jim

Removing the cover reveals an AIR-MPI350 wireless LAN module. Now, why don't I see it in Device Manager? And why, when my wireless G access point is in operation, don't I get any reaction from the laptop (an associate who has a similar laptop says that his indicates to him whenever he is near a wireless network point).

Sounds like a pretty conclusive "no" already. Since all four the wireless adapters for the D600 are mini-PCI, the definitive test would be to open up the cover and see if there's an adapter present, as shown in this section of the D600 Service Manual.

(Power needs to be off before opening the cover!)

Jim

Removing the cover reveals an AIR-MPI350 wireless LAN module. Now, why don't I see it in Device Manager?

Perhaps it's not enabled. Fn-F2 should enable it. Press the "Fn" key, hold it down, press "F2", then release both. Reboot and see if the card is found.

Jim

When I do this, I get a large icon of an antenna show up (to signify that it is turned on?). But there is no other indication anywhere that anything has changed. Nothing under network connections.

Hmmm...sounds like it was off when the system was first set up! What happens if you reboot after enabling the device? Is it then detected by XP, and the proper drivers installed?

Jim

I followed your instructions, Fn-F2 (saw "antenna" in lower right)and then rebooted but nothing changed. Could it be turned off in the bios?

Could it be turned off in the bios?

Yes it can be. I haven't been able to locate details of how to enable it. Press "F2" as the system is starting, and see if you can find the setting. Sorry I can't provide more detail!

Jim

Jim is correct.  If you press F2 to go to the BIOS on startup, you will find a selection to enable the wireless networking in there.  (Just had to do it on my D600 the other day.)

Yes, that was the problem. I turned on the wireless card in the bios and rebooted. The card now appears in Device Manager and detects available wireless connections.

 

Now my problem is configuring the card to actually connect to my Linksys Wireless Access Point. It says it is connected but I cannot ping any point on the network. I guess I need to find some instructions on the wireless card configuration next.

Good to hear! The rest should be pretty straightforward. The 1350 can be configured through XP, or through the Dell-provided utility. The SSID and WEP/WPA settings need to match those of the Linksys. If you have a MAC address restriction list in the Linksys, you'll need to add the 1350's MAC address to it. If you have something that's assigning IP addresses via DHCP, then the only network setting you'll need to make is "Obtain an IP address automatically".

If you encounter problems, you should describe your network setup in more detail (access points, routers, ISP connection), so we can see the setup in its full context.

(edit) For the record, this isn't a Dell 1350, but a Cisco Air MPI350 module.

Jim

Message Edited by jimw on 06-17-2004 09:26 PM

 I have a Linksys WAP54G wireless access point. The D600 shows that the wireless connection is made "wireless connection, signal strength excellent" icon in tray. But if I try to ping my office Linksys BEFSR41 4-port router (192.168.1.1) from the D600, I get desitination host unreachable. I have used this same wireless setup before with a Dell 5100 and a Linksys PCMCIA wireless card. So I am inclined to believe that it is in the setup of the D600 Air MPI350 module.

I downloaded the Cisco Aironet Client Utility and ran the link test. It says that the link quality is excellent. However, if I try to ping the access point (192.168.1.245) I get the same destination host unreachable.

Under wireless connection properties, I have the SSID entered, network authentication "open", encryption "wep" (to match access point). Then I am not sure whether I should have a network key entered or have "key is provided for me automatically" checked (I have tried both and there does not seem to be a difference). When I show the Cisco utility, it indicates access IP address as 0.0.0.0 and the client adapter IP address as 169.254.9.165.

I have "obtain IP address automatically" and "obtain DNS server address automatically" checked under TCP/IP under wireless connection properties. I am not sure whether or not to check "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication". I have tried all of these configurations both ways but nothing seems to make a difference.

Then I am not sure whether I should have a network key entered or have "key is provided for me automatically" checked (I have tried both and there does not seem to be a difference).

The symptom sounds like a WEP key mismatch. Can you temporarily disable WEP on the access point and see if you get an IP address? If so, you'll need to manually copy the WAP54G's WEP keys and install them on in the Cisco utility, or via XP's. The only portable way to transfer WEP keys is using the "HEX" representation. Since the card and the access point are from different vendors, using a "passphrase" won't work.

Jim