1NCC1701,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

Please specify which network card you are trying to install.

I have tried the following:

Motorola Wireless Notebook Adapter WN825G

Belkin Wirelss Notebook Card  F5D7010

3Com 10/100 LAN CardBus PC Card 3CCFE575CT

All three are known good cards from another laptop that uses the same router. I have contacted both Belkin and Motorola support multiple times without success although Motorola did offer to send me a replacement card. I have downloaded the latest drivers that I could locate for all three and I have reinstalled Windows2000 Professional.

I really don't want to wipe and load because this Inspiron does not have a CD burner to save things and it would take a lot of disks to properly backup. If push comes to shove, I have a USB DVD Burner at work but I have come to believe that this may not be a software problem. I hope you can help. Thank you...glenn

Glenn,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

Please try restarting the system with the card installed in the system.  The drivers for the respective card should be installed prior to inserting the card into the computer.

I hope that you have another idea. I tried powering up the laptop with the card already in after the software had been installed with no luck. I am convinced that the problem is not any of the three cards I have and am reasonably convinced that it is a laptop hardware problem. This is the first time anyone has ever tried to network this machine.

 

Thanks for your assistance. Any ideas for next steps? The laptop is no longer under warranty.