Wireless Inactive on Dell Inpsiron 6000

Question

Hi,   I just recently purchased an Inspiron 6000 on ebay, so I formatted the hard drive and reinstalled windows xp home edition so I could have a fresh start. Well, since everything was wiped out obviously, I downloaded and installed all the drivers from the dell website but I'm having a problem with the wireless. Under Network Connections, wireless is not even an option. Even before I formatted the hard drive and reinstalled windows, I still had that problem. I thought this particular computer had an internal wireless card but even with an external card attached, no option is present at all. My ethernet cable works fine with my Netgear router and the wireless function under BIOS is enabled. I pressed Fn and F2 together and it says the signal is on but nothing happens. I downloaded and installed all the network and wireless drivers just to test them all out and none of them worked. The intel pro wireless software says 'driver is not installed' and that it is 'unable to detect a supported wireless adapter.'  My old laptop was a dell latitude and I never had any issues like this..with that one, i used an external card and downloaded the driver for it and it worked perfectly. Anyway, I downloaded the intel wireless driver from the intel website and still wireless is not an option under network connections. Can someone please help??? I really don't want to be tied down to an ethernet cord all day. Thanks in advance.. God bless!

volcano11 · Answer

After reinstalling Windows did you install the chipset drivers before even attempting to install any other device drivers?  If the chipset drivers are not installed first, Windows will have problems recognizing and properly installing many other devices.   Steve

jaynegoodne · Answer

Hey, thanks for the response. I uninstalled everything and then reinstalled the chipset driver first and the rest of the drivers after that. However, the wireless option still does not show up in the network connections. Under Control Panel, there is a Wireless Configuration Utility but nothing happens when I click on it. When I restart my computer, the Intel PROSet/Wireless software loads up but a message saying 'driver is not installed' pops up. I just don't understand because even if I didn't have an internal wireless card, it still should show up as an option regardless. This is the only computer I've ever used that has this problem. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

inspiron_wvhpe · Answer

Open Device Manager click on your wireless card and check that you have the latest drivers installed and that the device status is to working properly

jaynegoodne · Answer

I installed the external wireless card/driver from my last computer and wireless works just fine. The only problem is the speed on external cards are not as fast. My sister has a computer with internal wireless and it runs 54 mbps with my Netgear 54 mbps router and the external wireless I'm using is only 11 mbps. However, I'm still wondering if I have an internal wireless card. I thought the Inspiron 6000 had internal wireless connectivity. That's one of the reasons why I bought it..so I can have a faster connection. Now I feel like I wasted my money because if the speed on this internet connection is the same as my last, then I didn't even upgrade like I originally planned.

jaynegoodne · Answer

Hi, I checked under device manager and the only thing that shows under network adapter is the 1394 Net Adapter and the Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller. Am I looking in the wrong place? I checked under every device just to be sure and I can't find anything regarding wireless. If my computer does have an internal wireless card (I was told it does), where would it be located? Thanks for your help.

volcano11 · Answer

First, I seriously doubt that your ISP gives you an internet speed that is faster than 11 Mbps.  In general, internet speed is controlled by your ISP, not by your wireless card or router.    Nevertheless, are you sure you have a wireless physically installed in your computer?  You can check to see if the MiniPCI wireless network adapte is present by looking for it using the following document:   http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6000/en/sm/minipci0.htm#wp1009645   Steve

diananas · Answer

Has this issue been resolved?

I recently reformatted my mom's inspiron 6000 and installed all the drivers as found on the dell website in proper order, and I get the same error message as above. The Intel wireless program says that my driver is not installed. When I go to device manageer I see 1394 net adapter and broadcom 440x 10/100 integrated controller under network adapters, and they are both working and fine.

I have reformatted this computer in the past and followed the same protocol, and the wireless program works fine. I am unsure why it doesn't work this time around...

PudgyOne · Answer

diananas,   How to Install Drivers in Microsoft® Windows® on Dell Systems     Rick

diananas · Answer

Hey Rick,   I did install the drivers in the proper order.  I have reformatted the computer previously and it has worked fine.  However, this time I get the error I mentioned above.  ;S

PudgyOne · Answer

diananas,

Try restarting the computer and press F2 at the Dell screen. Look in the BIOS and make sure the wireless adapter is engaged there.

When you installed the operating system, the desktop/notebook utility and the chipset drivers need to be installed first. Did you install Dell QuickSet, which allow you to turn the wireless card on and off using the Fn and F2, F2 or use the switch?

Rick

diananas · Answer

Yes, when I press Fn+F2 the wireless iron comes up and can be activated or deactivated. And yes, I installed the chipset drivers in order, as per dell's driver installation instructures, and I also installed dell quickset.

The problem is the intel wireless program; it says my drivers are not installed, when they are.

DBriggsCO1 · Answer

I have the same problem - how did you resolve?

ieee488 · Answer

I have the same problem - how did you resolve? http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN148687/EN

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Wireless Inactive on Dell Inpsiron 6000

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