Intel Prowireless 3945 a/b/g

I'm not sure if that's the only fix, but it's the only one I've found. I've tried 5 different driver flavors and DELL sent me a replacement 3945 card (albeit it said refirb). Nothing worked until I changed technologies.

My guess is they sent me another faulty card and their RMA QA couldn't reproduce the issue. But it likely could be a problem in the driver and the way I configure and use my machine. I did try a fresh Windows installation and had the same issue. Didn't go the Linux route.

For $16.95 (shipped) I am happy to just have the problem gone. I really don't care to spend time debugging Intel or DELL's products.

FWIW, DELL products have rarely been a problem for me. And the support is normally very quick and efficient at resolving my issue. This is likely just a corner case that won't get fixed until many many more people have the problem. Such is life! :)

I don't really know how to install those PCI cards. Would one of those cards you put in the side be better?

So what you're suggesting is buying a wireless card to go into my Express Card slot. Disable and remove my 3945abg drivers etc.

Then install the new ones for my express card and it should all be fine?

Anyone have any suggestions as to which one I should buy for my Inspiron 6400 + Vista Home Premium?

The cards that you plug into the side will work also. The problem is the 3945, so as long as you are eleminating it, you will not experience the problem. Since the problem seems to be so sparatic and limited to specific AP's, a lot of people will have to start to complain about the card for Dell to do something, in my opinion. knitterb - like yourself Dell sent me a replacement card with the same results as the orginal. I have used the card with Linux (Fedora), and I experienced the same problems with it. I am glad to hear yours is now working as expected.

Message Edited by bigdan034 on 04-30-2007 01:26 PM

I would suggest to buy an internel wireless card, such as the 1390 we mentioned earlier. It is 2 screws to get the compartment open for the card, and all you have to do is disconnect the two antenne wires and pop it out. Pop the new one in, install drivers, and you are good to go. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, buy something for the express card slot. Install the drivers, disable the 3945, get rid of the drivers. I have no idea what is out there for the express slot, as I never really looked into it. Also, I do not use Vista and don't plan on using Vista, so make sure you find some reviews saying that the card DEFINATLEY will work with Vista and have no issues.

I know this may be clear to you, bigdan, but to the average forum reader, just to be clear...

I did not get my Intel 3945 working. I threw it away! I bought my own 1390 from eBay and now I no longer have issues.

I do agree that replacing the internal mini-PCI card is the way to go over a PCI Express card. They are cheaper...mine was only $16.95 (including shipping!!). You can probably find some 14 year old kid to do it for you and DELL does provide step-by-step tech docs on how to replace the wireless card.

I'm slightly confused.

The Dell drivers that came out today on the website, in appearance, in size, in version number are completely identical to the Intel ones.

But it's been 3 hours and 41 minutes and counting, and my internet has not turned off!

Mine would take from 2 hours up to 24 hours to turn itself off. If I went into Standby a few times during any 24 hour period I could prolong the problem a little. I've tried all of the DELL drivers and the ones from Intel (10.x and 11.x). About 5 different drivers, I beleive.

DELL is always behind the mfger on releasing drivers as they go through their own testing before releasing it to their customers.

I had this same problem awhile ago. I would startup my laptop, then anywhere from 15 minutes - 3 hours later my wireless card light would turn off without me flicking the switch. I called tech support and they said it might be the power management settings. I tried the new settings, installed Dell quickset to help manage it and restarted and this didn't solve my problem. I then gave up with Dell's support and asked one of my friends what he thought. He told me to open up the compartment on the bottom of the laptop and take out the wireless card and put it back in. Apparently since my laptop is in my backpack a lot, the wireless card somehow got loose and was causing the problems. It's been more than three months since I did that and my wireless card has not turned off. For all those considering buying a new card it's worth it to at least try and see if this works.

9 hours later and the new Dell drivers have not caused any disconnects yet.

Before, my record was just over 50 minutes before it broke. So nine hours with no problems = much better.

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@czuprykc wrote:
He told me to open up the compartment on the bottom of the laptop and take out the wireless card and put it back in. Apparently since my laptop is in my backpack a lot, the wireless card somehow got loose and was causing the problems. It's been more than three months since I did that and my wireless card has not turned off. For all those considering buying a new card it's worth it to at least try and see if this works.

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Good point czuprykc, this is a likely problem and a very simple place to start. I did try reseating a number of times, and I even received a new card, so in my case it wasn't the cause. But excellent point before going back to DELL support.

I see to be having this issue as well: I've tried all the steps suggested here - apart from replacing the card. I'm going to email tech support to see if they can help.

Sounds like a replacement card of the same kind worked for some people. My Broadcom 1390 is working flawlessly. No more random wireless power downs of any kind.

I'm glad to find this post, but disappointed that this issue hasn't been resolved yet. I have an E1705 I bought last week and it's doing the same thing: surfing just fine...then wifi light goes out and proset turns yellow, then the ProSet icon Says: "wireless networks found, double click to connect". The status in network connections control panel shows wireless connection is "enabled and connected", and when right click none of the menu options work (also, my ethernet connection to the router craps out when this happens and I have no access to the internet AT ALL; it's like it shuts down any and/or all network cards, except bluetooth). When I open ProSet and click connect, it says "Problem applying profile!". I've tried using windows to manage wireless but no better luck. Only workaround is to shutdown and reboot which is getting old. Oh, and BTW Dell, Yes I've Fn+F2, Yes I've enable wireless via BIOS, Yes I've downloaded the most current drivers from your site, and Yes I've followed all the instructions step by step and still no luck. I'm disappointed I paid an extra $29 for this wireless card, and most the people here have resolved the issue by purchasing the bottom-rung cheapo card on ebay for $20. What gives, DELL?