Dell Inspiron N5040 Network/Chipset Drivers

There are variants in the wireless card for this model without the hardware IDs of the network controllers I cannot advise you on the correct driver. See here:

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/downloading-drivers-checking-hardware-ids-and-downloading-and-installing-dell-system-drivers-in-the-correct-order/checking-hardware-ids-in-the-device-manager/

In the meantime you need the following drivers.

BIOS

http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER00572032M/1/N5040A05.EXE

See notes for Updating the BIOS

WSUS Offline Update - Patch Windows 7 fully:

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/wsus-offline-update/

Dell System Software:

http://ftp.dell.com/FOLDER88677M/8/Dell_System-Software_A03_R282538.exe

Intel Chipset:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&keyword=intel%20chipset%20Software%20Installation%20Utility

http://downloads.dell.com/chipset/R302527.exe (older Dell Driver)

Intel Management Engine Interface:

http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER99666M/2/R302560.exe

Realtek Card Reader:

http://downloads.dell.com/chipset/R302427.exe

Intel TurboBoost Technology:

http://downloads.dell.com/chipset/R303115.exe

Intel Rapid Storage Technology:

http://downloads.dell.com/SATA/R302547.exe

Intel HD Driver:

http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER99665M/2/R302552.exe

Touchpad:

http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER01049403M/4/Touchpad_Alps_W8_X00_A00_Setup-TDKX6_ZPE.exe

Ethernet:

http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER97296M/1/R307625.exe

Audio:

http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER95194M/1/R308434.exe

Dell Quickset:

http://downloads.dell.com/app/R302489.exe

Once Online...

Intel AutoUpdate Utility:

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect

The order I listed will work best.

Since I cannot get online currently with the laptop, do I just download all of these to a flash drive to access them?

Yes download them to a USB flash drive. When installing make sure the drivers extract and install and not only extract.

I still need the hardware ID for your wireless card so I can identify it and give you the driver for it. See here:

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/downloading-drivers-checking-hardware-ids-and-downloading-and-installing-dell-system-drivers-in-the-correct-order/checking-hardware-ids-in-the-device-manager/ 

OK, for the Network Controller I had the following ID:

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_02041028&REV_01

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_02041028

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&CC_028000

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&CC_0280

Its a Dell Wirelees 1502 Atheros Card, use the latest Dell Atheros Driver: http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER02256307M/1/3340_Network_Driver_19N7G_WN_10.0.0.306_A00.EXE 

When do I install this file?  And is updating the BIOS a must-do?

I usually install it after the Ethernet. You can skip the BIOS update but it may offer some enhancements to improve the performance of your system.

Hopefully this will be the last question.... :)

Is this step absolutely necessary? "WSUS Offline Update - Patch Windows 7 fully:"

OK, thank you for all of the help, I really do appreciate it!  If all goes well, I'll have this done this weekend. :)

Its not necessary but I highly recommend it.

Windows 7 has at >200 updates post service pack 1... Windows Update can mess these up, the WSUS Offline Update greatly reduces the chances of this and it makes Windows 7 more secure upon first connection to the internet.

So far, everything seems to be working well.  Thank you for all of your help :)

Great thanks for posting back to let me know it worked out.

I have a WLAN PCI that i recently installed in a Precision T1700. It tried installing the driver upon boot but not driver was found/it was not installed. 

I've been searching the web using different IDs found on the card itself and within the device manager. 

The Hardware IDs are:

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_02041028&REV_01

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_02041028

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&CC_028000

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&CC_0280