Inspiron 600m - no network adapter appears for integrated ethernet

Question

I've had to reinstall Win XP on an Inspiron 600m. I used the original CD-ROMs that came with the computer to reinstall Win XP as well as the drivers and system software. The reinstall went okay except I can't get the integrated (wired) ethernet to work. In Device Manager, under Network Adapters, the only thing that appears is 'Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3A Mini PCI Adapter' (and that's working). I'm expecting to see either 'Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller' or 'Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller' which are the only integrated network devices listed in the downloads list for the 600m. I have tried (separately) installing the drivers for both those Broadcom devices anyhow, but nothing gets autodetected and no new network adapter appears in Device Manager. How do I get the integrated ethernet device to appear, or how can I test that it's broken? (I could not find such a test in the diagnostics CD.)

NemesisDB · Answer

hmm ... do you see any yellow question mark devices in device manager? if it's not getting seen at all (even as an unknown device) you may have some serious issue. press F2 at the dell screen and ensure that it's not turned off in the bios. if it's turn on there (or if there's no way to turn it off there) then procede to windows. install the chipset driver and then network driver again.

note that pressing F12 at the dell screen and selecting diagnostics will let you test the hardware, if you didn't delete the partition when you reinstalled windows

NemesisDB · Answer

the ethernet usually shows up under one of the pci listings in the diagnostics program. it won't run any tests, but it should confirm that it's there and 'talking' with the system.

if it's not showing up in DM as an unknown device (or at all) then installing drivers won't help because windows won't have anything to install them to. i really don't know what to advise in this situation.

user2938743 · Answer

Thanks for the suggestions, NemesisDB! There are no yellow question marks in DM. I checked that LAN Controller was enabled in the BIOS. (I even disabled it, restarted, then restarted, and reenabled it.) Reinstalling the chipset drivers did not work. However, I didn't reinstall the network driver -- how do I know if I have the 440x or the 570x? (Express service code is G648531.) I ran the F12 diagnostics and everything passed before it prompted for me to run diagnostics from the cd. I inserted the cd but like I said before I couldn't see any test specifically for the integrated ethernet.

jroberts-drs · Answer

I've had the same problem with two laptops at my office (Latitude D610). A new motherboard didn't solve the problem. I found that the onboard NIC would be disabled, apparently by the Dell app that was preinstalled (on-board nic config). Removing the software didn't solve the problem. Rebuilding the laptop (format HD, reload OS, etc) did the trick, but I don't want to have to do that again.

Hopefully a Dell tech will be able to identify what's causing it...

user2938743 · Answer

Thanks, I am grateful for your replies, especially knowing that someone else has run into the same problem. Unfortunately, I have just started rebuilding this laptop anew, so that suggestion won't work for me. And in the diagnostics, under PCI I saw the wireless adapter as well as two other PCI devices but not the integrated ethernet.

If anyone else has other suggestions, please help! Thanks!

NemesisDB · Answer

i don't suppose that you're still under warranty? if the device isn't showing up as anything in windows as you have the chipset drivers installed then it's either disabled in the bios or broken (as far as I know).

if you do need gigabit ethernet in the meantime, this card works well for me: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833328003

get the latest drivers directly from realtek though, don't bother with syba's less than current support ;p

user2938743 · Answer

This was a student's laptop and she unfortunately only bought a 1-year warranty. I'm writing this one off as being broken -- the LAN setting in the BIOS was indeed enabled. And thanks for the Syba referral, too. I didn't know those things had gotten so inexpensive. She says she'll be able to get by on wireless, and her computer is about 3 years old already so I've prepped her for planning a new laptop purchase (and 3-year warranty!) within the next year anyhow. Thanks again for all your help -- this was very productive for me.

NemesisDB · Answer

sorry we couldn't get it working...

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

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