TrueMobile 1300 - Can't Update Driver

Question

I have an Inspiron 8600 running Win XP Pro and I'm having the same problem that many others seem to be having -- my TrueMobile 1300 keeps dropping the connection every 10-15 minutes.

The currently installed driver is version 3.20.23.0, June 13, 2003. I don't remember exactly what the version is for the latest driver, but the date is later than June 2003. I downloaded the latest drivers and went through the install process, but it doesn't seem to do anything. The version and release date don't change. Any suggestions on how to get the driver to update? I'd at least like to find out if it helps maintain the connection.

Also, I see that others have given up on the TM1300. I recently ordered the TM1300 from Dell as an upgrade to the Intel 2100 card that was in my laptop from the factory. The Intel 2100 worked just fine, but I decided to upgrade to see if it would improve the speed and give me better security. I'm connecting to a D-Link DI-824VUP router.

I've only had the TM1300 for a week, and it seems to do okay whenever it's connected, but the constant dropping out is not going to work! Should I return it to Dell and get something else? Is there a better card than the TM1300 that actually works? (It's an internal card -- not a PCMCIA.) If there are alternatives, what are they? What's recommended instead?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

DumDeDum · Answer

If u go back to the dell site you'll notice that they don't sell it anymore. They sell linksys and d-link routers now. I personally have gone thro 4 new tm2300 in 5 months.

My suggestion, return that piece of garbage and get yourself a real router.

spatters1000 · Answer

Actually, it isn't the router that's giving me trouble -- at least so I think. It's the TrueMobile 1300 WLAN Mini-PCI card that seems to be the culprit.

DumDeDum · Answer

whoops, my bad. But if you are using a tm2300 and you can return it, take my advice and send it back. Like I said 4 in the last 5 months.

techsphere · Answer

Spatters1000,

By any chance, are you using WEP or WPA (security) with the router and the TM1300?

* Inspiron 8600 Pentium-M, 1.6ghz, 15.4 in WUXGA
* 512 MB,DDR
* 128MB nVidia GeForce FX
* 80GB Ultra ATA HD
* TrueMobile 1300 WLAN (802.11 b/g) mini PCI card
* Linksys 4-port Wireless router WRT54G
* Comcast Broadband
* 4X DVD+RW,INSP8600 CD-RW / DVD+RW Combo
* Windows XP home edition

Mandrake99 · Answer

spatters 1000,

I recently ordered the TM1300 Minipci card (internal) for my I5100, before I had a Blitzz external cardbus from Walmart (garbage). The TM1300 installed and running in 10 minutes, excellent signal, no drop outs all over the house. Note I am NOT using WEP or WPA. I'm connecting through a Netgear 814 v2 router using static IP address' and I do have 802.11 authentication turned off. I couldn't be more pleased with the set-up. If I needed WEP, WPA, or 802.11 Authentication I guess I might have a problem. I would try turning these off as a temp check to see if it works better.

techsphere · Answer

Known issue??

Well, there seems to be plenty of lost connection problems.

Ok, several suggestions:

1-Try changing the Channel on the Router.

2 -Are you sure, that the WEP key that was produced on the router, you entered corectly on the TM1300?

3- I don't believe this relates to WEP, however, are you broadcasting the router's SSID?

4 -When you lose the connection, can you go in to the TM1300'S utility, in the task bar, and go to the status tab, are there any codes etc next to 'security'?? You may want to paste this tab here.

spatters1000 · Answer

Yes; I am using WEP. Is this a known issue . . . ?

I'm not comfortable running the network without some sort of security. This is my home network and I can "see" other networks from my laptop. Apparently, some of my neighbors have networks, so I'd like to add security to mine. I realize that WEP isn't the best, but it's better than nothing. Right?

Message Edited by spatters1000 on 03-02-2004 08:44 AM

spatters1000 · Answer

techshpere:

Sorry. I guess I should have phrased that differently. I was wondering whether or not only connections using WEP were seeing the dropouts. In other words, if you don't use WEP is the connection more stable? I've only used it with WEP.

I did confirm the WEP key, so I'm confident that the key on the card and router match. I can connect successfully, it just drops out periodically. And, when it drops out, I can reconnect.

I believe I am broadcasting the SSID, but I'm not sure exatcly how to tell. I see the network SSID in the list of available networks. Is this what you mean? I'm rather green to wireless networks, so I'm still learning.

I believe I got the driver to update successfully last night. I first removed the device, then reinstalled it. The first time I rebooted after removing the device and then reconnecting it, the SSID of the network showed up in the list even though I had yet to configure it. I guess this would mean that I am broadcasting the SSID. Yes? The connection didn't drop out, but I was only online for a few minutes. I really didn't have time to test it fully. I'll try to do more tonight.

I'm not aware of any error codes. I'll look for them the next time it drops out and post it here.

Thanks again for your help and patience!

techsphere · Answer

Hi,

Acutally, just because you see the SSID in the adaptor card, does not mean that you have your router set to broadcast. Don't spin your wheels on this, the only time you really have to set the router to broadcast the SSID, is when you are using WPA security. Just make sure the current driver are on.

Mandrake99 · Answer

Well I can't say it is better without WEP from my personal experiance, but I'm not using it and no drops good signal etc... no problems whatsoever... I've read in the posts here of lots of problems with dropping connections.

schmieg · Answer

Actually, I am using WPA-TKIP on my network and my router is not broadcasting the SSID. It seems to work fine. I have noticed one little anomaly though that is unrelated to that. I use Speedswitch and have the machine set to full speed when on AC power which is most of the time as I use a port replicator. However, if I pull it out and wander around the house, it will use the speedstepping and jump to full speed when necessary. Under that scenario, I notice that the connection speed will drop from 54 to 48 and lower sometimes which never happens when speed is at full bore. I tested this by changing the speed setting to full when on battery and confirmed that it stays at 54 no matter what I'm doing. Not sure why this is, but the connection seems to raise again when I start transferring a lot of data across the network, so it's not really a problem.

spatters1000 · Answer

I worked with my laptop on battery power for about an hour last night and the network connection never dropped out. I'm hopeful that installing the new TM1300 drivers may have fixed the problem. If that changes, I'll update this thread with the details. Thanks again to all for your help!

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

TrueMobile 1300 - Can't Update Driver

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