Wireless problems using Vista on an Inspiron 1501

Question

I have recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop which has Windows Vista installed on it. When I try and search for a wireless connection the search returns no wireless networks. I know for a fact that my router is functioning correctly as I have other laptops connecting to it using wireless. If I plug a LAN cable in and use the normal wired option I can connect to the router and furthermore the Internet.   The laptop has a Dell 1390 wireless card installed and, according to the device manager, is working properly. However I cannot get the 'WiFi' indicator light to illuminate no matter how many times I press Fn & F2.   I've spent a number of hours on the phone to Dell Support and as well as getting me to install the latest driver for the card (dated 14/11/06) they even sent me a new 1390 wireless card which I have duly installed, however nothing seems to get the search to return any wireless networks. They also asked me to check the BIOS settings, which are set up correctly. Their suggestion is that there is currently not a driver available which will support the 1390 card on Windows Vista. This sounds to me that they don't know what the problem is.   Can anybody help me ???

nabs · Answer

You don't mention what router you are using, I would suggest you check that manufacturer of router does not have any firmware upgrades, maybe router is not compatible with dells wireless card, or possibly router is not compatible with Vista's wireless utility. I know this is quite a common problem at the moment.

JMatthews100 · Answer

It's a Netgear DG834GT. The guy in the shop told me it would be compatible with Vista. (It does have a 'Vista Ready' sticker on the box as well).   From what I can see, the laptop is using Dell's wireless utility. Is there a way of using the Vista utility instead ?

dallascowboyswo · Answer

Sounds like the network card is not compatible with Vista. Did Dell say it should work with Vista?

Inspiron E1505
Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB/2.00GHz/667MHz)
15.4 Inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WSXGA+
1GB, DDR2, 533MHz 2 Dimm
256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400
120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Philips Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0 + EDR)
Windows XP Pro SP2
Bios A08
pur. Sept. 7 2006
WRT54G Linksys router v3.1 (DD-WRT v23 SP2 std)
ZoneAlarm Pro v 6.5.737.000
Kaspersky AntiVirus v 6.0.2.614

Darrel112 · Answer

If Dell support told you that there is not a Vista driver for the 1390, they are full of it! Mine's working fine on my 1501 in Vista Home Premium. My driver date is 6/21/2006, version # 4.82.28.56. This is the information I found in Device Manager. Driver supplied by Broadcom. Go into Device Manager remove current driver and reboot.

Message Edited by Darrel112 on 03-20-2007 05:54 PM

Akule50 · Answer

Aloha J Matthews,If I'm interpreting your first post correctly, your problem is 'WinV (Vista) not recognizing your wireless AP (router) broadcast signal'...Assuming that the WinV 'Device Manager' is correct in stating that your 'Wireless 1390' is working properly, that your wireless AP is broadcasting it's SSID and WinV can't see it... did you try entering your wireless AP's 'SSID' manually?I don't have access to a WinV computer… but, according to this MS article ('click here'), there's an option to 'Manually connect to a wireless network' using the 'Connect to a network' wizard...According to this article ('click here'), the WZC utility is not available in WinV...Aloha,RodMessage Edited by Akule50 on 03-22-2007 07:11 PM

Suedey · Answer

I have exactly the same problem with muy Inspiron 1501, only I am using the '1490' wireless card. My 'old' Inspiron 1000 laptop works fine and sees my wireless network. My 1501 sees all the neighbours network connections biut not mine!!!!!

Gina Q · Answer

JMatthews100 wrote:

I've spent a number of hours on the phone to Dell Support and as well as getting me to install the latest driver for the card (dated 14/11/06) they even sent me a new 1390 wireless card which I have duly installed, however nothing seems to get the search to return any wireless networks.

Just to let you know the driver released on 11/14/06 was for XP and not Vista.

There is an updated driver released yesterday 3/22/07. Here's the link R151522.< ADMIN NOTE:Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>

Suedey · Answer

Hi, I have finally solved this problem on my Inspiron 1501. My network was set up on SSID channel 13 (so that it didn't interfere with my wireless video sender). Using XP this was fine and my laptop located my network without any problems. When I upgraded to Vista I could no longer see my network. By switching my SSID channel down to channel 11 I can now detect my network (whilst retaining an operational video sender). Don't ask my why but this solution worked for me!!. Paul

JMatthews100 · Answer

I have now downloaded the R151522 driver and saved the file onto the desktop. I've run the executable and the updated driver has been saved in C:Dell\Drivers\R152314 etc.   Using the 'connect to a wireless network' option, I can now see a number of wireless networks (my own one included), however, when I try and connect to my router I get an error which says 'Wireless association failed for an unknown reason' ? I have tried two different routers (both my own), with security enabled and disabled, however, still no joy. I have also tried manually adding the router with the WEP credentials etc, but this still does not allow me to connect. My other Dell Laptop (Inspiron 6400) works fine with both routers. Why can't I connect ?   Also, if I switch the laptop off, when I restart, I cannot see any available wireless networks until I  double click on the downloaded driver file which is saved on the desktop and overwrite what is saved in C:Dell\Drivers\R152314 etc. Why doesn't the laptop automatically recall this new driver when re-booted ?   The WiFi indicator light above the keyboard doesn't come on unless I run the diagnostic tool, which resides in the Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility. To me that doesn't seem right ?

Gina Q · Answer

Not sure why the driver is not loading correctly. But let's do this. Uninstall the current driver from the add/remove programs if it is listed there if not go to the next step. Delete the folder C:\dell\Drivers\R152314 Turn off your wireless router. Turn off your antivirus/firewall software Install the driver. You should just double click let the file extract and install. You should not have to direct it to a folder Reboot the system Make sure you turn back on the antivirus/firewall software Turn your router back on and see what happens. Also, make sure that in the msconfig utility it is set to normal boot.

Akule50 · Answer

Aloha Gina,I just came across a new tool, released by Microsoft on 3/28/2007, to test a router for Vista compatibility ('Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool' - 'Technical Information')... (Note: I had to use 'Internet Explorer 6'... it didn't work with 'Firefox version 2.0.0.3'.)I originally found it in this thread ('Can't get wireless laptop to connect') and then found that it has its’ own thread ('click here').Aloha J Matthews,If you haven't already, you also might want to check if you have the latest firmware for your 'Netgear DG834GT Super Wireless ADSL Router' ('click here').Aloha,Rod

Gina Q · Answer

Thanks for the fantastic links. I'm sure this will help a lot of forum members. Message Edited by DELL-Gina on 03-30-2007 12:06 PM

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Wireless problems using Vista on an Inspiron 1501

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