Inspiron 1525 Network Controller driver

This IS the answer!       R174292.exe         After two straight days of doing all of the above, too many times over, you had the solution.  All I did was click on the driver you suggested even though Dell doesn't have it as a suggestion and lo and behold it worked JUST LIKE THAT!  I mean it is so simple.  I don't know how to put anything in as a headline on the internet searches but with all the problems everyone has like mine with this simple WIFI thing on their Inspiron 1525 - No Network Controller problem - you really need to do something like make a major 24 point headline as the easy fix - I mean, good grief, you deserve some kind of reward for this.  This is major and Dell should pay you for this help you have given me and many others.  All I can say is that I've been trying to get this answer and there you were. Thank you, Thank you Thank you!!!

This IS the answer!       R174292.exe         After two straight days of doing all of the above, too many times over, you had the solution.  All I did was click on the driver you suggested even though Dell doesn't have it as a suggestion and lo and behold it worked JUST LIKE THAT!  I mean it is so simple.  I don't know how to put anything in as a headline on the internet searches but with all the problems everyone has like mine with this simple WIFI thing on their Inspiron 1525 - No Network Controller problem - you really need to do something like make a major 24 point headline as the easy fix - I mean, good grief, you deserve some kind of reward for this.  This is major and Dell should pay you for this help you have given me and many others.  All I can say is that I've been trying to get this answer and there you were. Thank you, Thank you Thank you!!!

Glad to help. For some reason the Dell Drivers and Downloads Page doesn't list the correct set of drivers when a Service Tag is input (which is why I listed the three variants) directly. The service tags used to be great for bringing up the correct list of drivers but this feature has been dodgy for about a year now which is why my guides don't recommend input of service tag in the Dell Drivers and Downloads Page.

Hi there,

I have the exact same problem. I have been working on this for two full days ... still no success. I was so hopeful that this would be the solution when I read through this post as there's a lot of great info here.

I also have a Dell Inspiron 1525, and have reinstalled Windows Vista OS from the Factory CD.

I then downloaded all the drivers as you suggested and have done the following:

Utility

When I run the R174292.exe file, it downloads, unzips the file and starts to run the Install Manager.

However, the Install Manager seems to freeze. A green progress line starts along the bottom of the install manager, but then just freezes.

Any ideas??!

Hi ejn63,

Sorry, I'm  a bit of a novice to this stuff.

Are you suggesting that I replace the R259999 Dell Notebook Software with the R214472 Dell System Software, v.6.3.2, A03?

Does that mean I should start from scratch, and reinstall the Vista OS and then conitune downloading all the drivers as above?

Also, it is a Dell Wirelsess 1395 WLAN Minicard.

You need the Dell System software

www.dell.com/.../inspiron-1525

Also verify that this is the card you have - there are multiple possible wireless cards for this system.

Double click on the Network Controller with ? or !  (Assume it shows under Other devices?) go to details tab -> Change the drop down to Hardware ID - Post the info given below in the box. We can find the driver based on the info.

Don't clean install again.

Give R205185 a try it should be more up to date. It is listed under historical drivers for the Inspiron 1525 but is more up to date.

If that doesn't install, then install it via the Device Manager. Press [Windows] and [Pause|Break] select Device Manager to the left, right click the Network Controller and select Update Driver. Select a specified location as C:\Dell\Drivers and press next, Windows should find the driver from the folder and the card should work fine.

For some illustrations see page 417 of my Windows Reinstallation Guide:  http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/

i have this problem as well.  After getting a really bad Trojan it deleted all my restore points.Rebuilt it using dell recommended drivers.! mark on network controller.inspiron 1225.downloaded the correct driver u gave thanks 292.but still no joy.there is nothing in network controllers ON DEVICE MANAGE.And it says all the devices are ok..Been on this for 20 hrs or so.SO MUCH FOR DELL SUPPORT THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CAUSED THIS TERRIBLE PROBLEM. mAYBE i WILL HAVE TO WIPE AND START AGAIN TOMORROW DOWNLOADING YOUR DRIVER LIST IN YOUR ORDER.CAN YOU DOWN LOAD THE SERVICE PACKS FROM DELL?thanks guys for sorting out one hell of a DELL F UP

i have this problem as well.  After getting a really bad Trojan it deleted all my restore points.Rebuilt it using dell recommended drivers.! mark on network controller.inspiron 1225.downloaded the correct driver u gave thanks 292.but still no joy.there is nothing in network controllers ON DEVICE MANAGE.And it says all the devices are ok..Been on this for 20 hrs or so.SO MUCH FOR DELL SUPPORT THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CAUSED THIS TERRIBLE PROBLEM. mAYBE i WILL HAVE TO WIPE AND START AGAIN TOMORROW DOWNLOADING YOUR DRIVER LIST IN YOUR ORDER.CAN YOU DOWN LOAD THE SERVICE PACKS FROM DELL?thanks guys for sorting out one hell of a DELL F UP

I assume Inspiron 1525 and Windows Vista 32 bit?

The Service Packs are downloadable via Microsoft and not Dell and can be obtained below.

For Windows Vista:

For Windows 7: 

My wireless is not working yet. I'm assuming its because Network Controller is not installed yet. Anyone know how to install the Network Contoller driver for Inspiron 1525? 1) new hard drive installed 2) installed OS from Factory CD 3) I have followed the proper sequence for driver installation 4) I tried drivers using my Service Tag and not using service tag (it installed Ethernet but not the Network Controller) 5) i don't see any manufacturer info or model information  in the  sysinfo or Control Panel properties Only way to possibly identify the wireless card is from the card itself and that isn't mush help either: MO: 42015902-04 Rev A03 DW1395 CN-OJR356-13740-8B3-00WV-A03 Any suggestions?

In case it's of use to anybody I want to record my experience with solving a problem connecting to Sky broadband (UK). I got the latest Sky router a couple of weeks ago and successfully connected my various devices but noticed that my Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop was slow in connecting, often taking up to 3 minutes. Once it connected it was solid and fast but on waking from sleep went back to the 3 minute wait to get on the internet. Being somewhat experienced in computing I immediately thought about updating the network card driver and downloaded it from Dell. However there was no improvement in connection speed. I then trawled through Google and tried the dozen or more suggestions for a fix. Without success a day and a half later it dawned on me that it must still be the driver. 

My network card is the Dell Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Mini-Card of which there are dozens of variants. As you already know the official Dell support method does not give the latest driver. I got the latest driver by again trawling Google ending up on this Dell community forum where you kind people had helped each other find the correct driver which for my laptop is R174292. 

So the point is if the driver purporting to be the latest version from the manufacturer doesn't work then I suggest people keep on looking for a driver that does work.

I just downloaded this WLAN driver on my 1525 with new Vista Home Premium SP2 32 Bit.

Works just fine.

R191674.exe

Glad my post helped you. Thanks for posting to let us know it worked.