Switching Wireless Cards - Latitude E6540

Yes, of course.  The card is in the BIOS Info screen...  reads "Intel Wireless" just like the 6325 card did.

UPDATE:  Tried and tried and tried to get the driver to install.... with the card in, out, while chanting ancient Indian prayers....  no go.

So I decided to go BACK to the stock card...  reversed the process and tried to install the Dell 6325 and Bluetooth driver packages... 

GUESS WHAT!  The 6325 package gave me the SAME Installation Blocked message...

There's some kind of BS going on here... Some kind of locking the system down collusion between or among Dell or Intel...  No reason for drivers to be BLOCKED...

Is this a whitelist issue?  Is Dell physically blocking parts?  What's going on?

I had to spend about 4 hours last night verifying and restoring disk image files to get my system back to a place where I could use it on wireless again....

Hi CAUTERY1,

I regret the inconvenience. Dell supports Intel Centrino N 6300 card on this system model. Therefore there is no question of blocking the replaced card.

I appreciate your technical expertise and good know the wireless is working now. I would like to know if the wireless is working with the old wireless card after restoring the system to the factory installed state.

If it is the old card on the system, I advise you to perform the same step of uninstalling the driver, and then replacing the old card and updating the driver.
You may click on the below link to uninstall the driver:

http://bit.ly/16iJAY9

Let me know the status.

First, let me apologize for the tone of my last response...  I was really tired and frustrated, but that isn't an excuse.  I will try to be more patient.  :emotion-1:

STATUS:

1) Old card re-installed in system.

2) Final post setup-image restored to HDD.

3) System running normally (well not exactly normal, but that's a separate issue....  The Intel Diagnostics are throwing errors on the network wireless similar to: An Administrator Profile has failed to secure an IP address from the DHCP Server.  This error continues IN SPITE of the fact that I have put Static IPs on all enabled adapters (wired, wireless, and bluetooth), and I have disabled both Microsoft Mini-port virtual wireless adapters).

Bottom Line, I am back at square one on the wireless...

A) I would LIKE to get the Intel Ultimate-N 6300 Wireless Card running on this system...

B) At some point in the future, I would like to be able to upgrade to the newest Intel Dual Band-AC 7260 + Bluetooth for Laptops card working on this E6540... even if is with a generic driver package...  The 4th Gen processor et al. supports it, and it is a MUCH more capable wireless card, and I need the band-width over wireless to do my job with customers.

But, let's take it one step at a time...

So, are you asking me to try this again...  IF so, here are the steps/order I propose to follow.  Please advise if I am misinterpreting your instructions.

1) Put system on wired ethernet.

2) Uninstall the 6235 card with the Device manager and check the "remove drivers" option.

3) Uninstall ProSet Wireless Software (with delete settings).

4) Uninstall ProSet Bluetooth software.

5) Shut down system and remove 6235 card.

6) Reboot system and run your driver removal program to make sure drivers et al are fully uninstalled.

7) Shut down system...

8) Install 6300 card.

9) Boot system up and run the Dell package for installing drivers and ProSet Wireless for the Intel Ultimate-N 6300 wireless adapter.

10) After drivers fully installed, cold boot the machine and verify/diagnose function and driver/software install.

Until I hear back, I will be working on an unrelated Intel HD Graphics driver vs. Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop driver issue...

cautery1,

Please continue with DELL-Sujatha K

�

When you removed the Intel adapter and installed the Intel 6300, you removed the battery and pressed and held the power button for 30 seconds? This allows the computer to look for new hardware.

�

Download the drivers for the Intel 6300 from Intel Download Center and save them to your desktop.

�

Make a system restore point.

�

Start, control panel, device manager, network adapters, right click on the Intel adapters listed there, left click uninstall. Tell it to remove the drivers and software.

�

Restart your computer. When you log in, the new hardware wizard will try to install the drivers, if may work or may not. If it does not work, then install the drivers you saved to your desktop.

�

�

Rick

OK...  I have tried this think about 10 different ways now....  restoring to a fresh image every time.

I used the Revo Uninstaller, too.  It's a great product, but made no difference in the outcome.

I tried installing drivers before the card install and after card install.

I tried the Dell driver package, and two of the latest Intel Driver packages.  None of them work.

The Dell package continues to display the "blocked" message I referred to originally.

The Intel 16.1.1 package APPEARS to install correctly, and the card installs with drivers and shows up in the Net Adapters window, but BOTH the Intel Diagnostics AND Windows do not REALLY see the card.... not bound...


The Intel 16.1.5 package looks like it installs correctly, but does not appear to have a driver for this particular card, because the adapter fails to find a driver and doesn't show up anywhere.

After all the regular ways of doing this were exhausted, I also tried SEVERAL different combinations using additional tools to try and clean up the registry and HDD...  I used a combination of jv16 Power Tools, Spybot S&D Pro 2, Auslogics, BoostSpeed, and Windows built-in tools (including regedit).

I scrubbed the registry and the HDD the best way I know how...  Made next to no difference...

And yes, I've been doing the battery and holding the power switch thing...

Some comments...


Dell's original installation of the ProSet Wireless package leaves an ENORMOUS amount of trash behind when it is uninstalled, including the ProSet Wireless Common stuff, and at least 4 different active Services, and an active process... primarily surrounding the iFramework.exe and the /Intel/Wireless/bin directories.

After 10 image restorations, and 28 total, including 12 straight, hours of punching this problem in the face, I am no closer to making the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 work now, than I was days ago.

And here is the screen shot of the failure to find/install a driver with the latest Intel driver package (16.1.5 for Win7 x64).

With the earlier Intel 16.1.1 package, the Device Manager screen, device configure, screen, et al. look "normal" as in they have all the expected services apparently bound to the adapter, but ProSet says no adapter is installed, and Windows shows "No connections available".

And here is the Dell Driver Blocked screenshot:

BIOS has already been updated to A05...  Windows is FULLY updated and verified.... AGAIN, this morning.

If y'all are gonna ask for uploaded screen shots, y'all need to raise the 64KB image size limit...

Hi cautery1,

I regret the inconvenience. Please update BIOS and also run complete Windows update and check. Please find the link below for the latest BIOS:

http://dell.to/156ilkA

If the issue persists, please check the status in the Device manger and provide the screen shot of the Device manager with the Network adapter or other devices expanded.

cautery1,

Did you recently install/reinstall the operating system? If yes, did you install the Dell System Software(if applicable) and the chipset drivers first? If not, the rest of the drivers will fail to install. How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct

Rick

No sir...  We're working off the original Dell Image.  I used the Dell provided software to update the drivers that had updated since the system image was created.

No driver has failed to install... UNTIL I tried to uninstall the 6235 card and install the 6300 card.  This Dell package is the ONLY package that has ever failed to install.

The Intel Graphics Driver was updated to the latest version to address a conflict between the old version and the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application (the control app for downloading Adobe Subscription applications).

To do all the troubleshooting, I took an image (sector-by-sector) of the HDD with Acronis True Image via DVD Boot Disk.  I can return to start in exactly the place I started...  Quicker and more reliable than Windows System Restore....  (which BTW, have failed on multiple occasions, which is why I don't use them anymore).

In fact, I haven't had any problem updating drivers at all EXCEPT this wireless card driver...

I've updated the Intel Chipset INFs to the latest Intel file (Build 1026, it fixes multiple things that are present in the Dell supplied build 1014, which is actually a repackaged build 1011, which was a beta build).

I also updated the Intel Ethernet driver package using the Intel package which installed perfectly.

ALL of the updates were done after failing in every conceivable combination of procedures... 

BIOS is updated to A05...

Made no difference...

BUT, I will go back through and RE-install all the drivers/Dell packages as described in the article....  (I've been a IT Consultant for 25+ years, and have been working with Dell systems from laptops to servers for about 17 of those years...  I'm no newbie to install orders...)  :emotion-1:

I have followed the order in the link you provided and installed the latest updates in the order the list indicates...

I am cleaning the disk/registry up now to prepare yet another image to save for the inevitable need to re-image after additional multiple failures to install and function...  :(

cautery1,

I have seen some models not install the drivers properly, even from an image. Installing the Dell System Software(if applicable) and the chipset drivers tells the system what is attached to this model. Then install the wireless drivers, I would use Intel's website. I used these drivers, when I swapped the Intel 6235 adapter from another system to try it.

Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 drivers

Rick

I re-installed the Dell System Software as requested, and it is still just as broke as it was before I uninstalled it...  It continually tells me I have an O2 reader update pending, even though that update was installed via the System Update Software multiple times 10 days ago and is working perfectly.  It is also now telling me that I need to install a Dell Wireless package... which has already been instead AND which would be a STEP BACKWARD in version number at this point...

I have, as I said, already updated to the latest Intel chipset INFs (as well as the latest USB 3.0 drivers) via the Intel website...  I have updated everything that applies to my system either from the Dell site (a couple of new ones today in fact) and/or the Intel site...  EXCEPT the latest Intel 6235 drivers.

NOW, that I have a fresh image of my HDD stored away on my NAS, I will now try to update to the latest Intel ProSet and Bluetooth drivers for the 6235 and hope that the package also apples to the 6235, which they often do...

I noticed something in the Dell packages when I was inspecting the INF files for the 6300 package...  The DELL package changes the code to reflect GEN or DELL and Lenovo for ALL driver install entry points having the correct Vendor ID for the 6300...  Why can't Dell simply do the MINIMUM required changes to the Intel packages so that the hardware functions as Intel intended...  Dell always screws with the INF code too much.

Anyway... thanks for the response and hanging with me... all of you.  I am bushed, so I MIGHT not get to trying this tonight...