nonwithstanding the fact that it's something you paid for and want to work, do you actually need the faster speeds?  Are you using it just for internet sharing or are you actually sharing files?  If you don't need it and it's working, I'd leave well enough alone.

 

are you using the ProSet software or windows to manage the wireless connection?

My home network has 6 computers on it, which are used for different things, and I do a lot of different things which (well, a least a few things) require the faster speed.  I went wireless because I don't have an easy way to conceal the wires to get the speed if I'm wired, and I'd like to be able to work on at least one laptop doing this stuff somewhere other than the office.

 

Yes, file sharing, and some mutlimedia stuff...

 

Anyway, the short answer would be yes, I need the higher speed, but the wireless part is mostly a convenience.

 

Windows (Vista Home Premium) is managing the connection, the PC didn't come with any ProSet software installed to manage it.

You might check the driver properties for the adapter and see if there is a setting for BSS mode.  If there is, make sure it is set to allow N.

 

You upgraded the firmware on the router -- make sure that it's still set to allow N connections.

 

You could also try installing the ProSet software (from intel's website near where you got the drivers).  It may offer some extra options.  I don't have an N based card, so I can't offer specific help.

Good News!  I got the laptop to connect at N speed  :)

 

First I made sure I had the latest firmware in the router, then I got the latest driver from Intel (not the Dell version), and installed it.  Then, yesterday, I came across a single line in someone's post that said "...to achieve a greater connection speed than 54Mbps, you must use WPA-AES security..."

 

So when I got home last night, I changed it on the router....changed the settings on the laptop, and presto!  Now I'm connected like I should be.