wireless adapter

11 years ago

Sister in law lost power on Mon. Got it back on Tues. Now she can't access her internet by wireless. Only way to get online is to plug into the modem.

She called Verizon, spent 1 1/2 hrs. on the phone with them trying all sorts of stuff. They finally told her it's your laptop, call Dell.

She called Dell. They told her she probably needs her wireless adapter turned back on. She said o.k., turn it back on. They said they can do it, but it will cost $129!

She fought with them, they wouldn't budge. She said, you're telling me something is turned off on my computer, not that there's something broken. Who turned it off? They said they don't know. yada, yada. She still can use wireless internet.

Sorry so long. My question is, is there a way to turn back on her wireless adapter without having to pay Dell $129?

She has a 5 year old Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop and she's using Windows Vista.

If anyone can help, she would really appreciate it.

Thanks, Katlan

Comments (9)

mikie_gw
11 years ago
Here's one way to turn it off.,

Here is a link that might be useful: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081215210654AAtrIB7
mikie_gw
11 years ago
that didnt work....
Try again

Here is a link that might be useful: http://answers.yahoo.com.... answers
Related Discussions
Venturing into wireless land
Q
Comments (1)
you will need to open the control panel and look at the system info to find out what you have on that laptop if it is 2000 or Me. You should be able to find free antivirus and firewall that will work. What I would do is use one of the old versions of zonealarm it will be fine for what you want to do, let me know if you decide to do that and I can give you a link to one of those. Yes you would need to either install a wireless card or use a usb wireless adapter which would probably be easier. Then add the wireless router and get it set up with the proper security protocol.
...See More
Need to augment Wireless Signal to DH's computer in his den
Q
Comments (48)
I was able to flush the dns on both the xp and vista laptops. But I still can't connect either laptop wirelessly to the "fmaily room" network (which is still unsecured). I cannot access the Nat,spi or firewall soI don't know if that's the problem. Both laptops show a strong signal (full bars) to the family room network - but don't connect. They do connect via wired connection (does this mean I have so far created a network switch). On both laptops I selected "family room" as the preferred network to connect to. But both connected to my Lynn network (from the opposite corner of the house - with only a weak signal). On the Vista laptop it says Windows cannot connect to "family room" - and when asked to connect to family room, it said "Windows association failed due to an unknown reason." When I selected "diagnose and repair, it said Windows did not find any problems with your Internet connection." Then I tried one further thing. I saw on the Vista laptop that it still listed the family room network as having WPA2 security - so i changed what the laptop had for listed for family room network to reflect no current security settings. Then I tried to connect again. It wouldn't connect. Then I clicked repair/diagnose - and it said "this network is marked as a "hidden" network and is either not in the range of this computer or the wireless settings saved on this computer do not match the settings of the network." It is in range of the network - 3 feet away and receiving a full strong signal. So perhaps the network settings do not match the router or access point (although I'm not sure where to look to check this since I think I set it all up to match). The other thing is says is "if you own or set up this network, reset your wireless router or access point and try connecting again." Should I try this? Does it mean unplugging SMC access point, linksys router and modem - waiting and replugging them in? If so, in what order? Or does this mean resetting the SMC completely and starting from scratch? So now what? Jane - I realize that Mikie's the guy - and I very much appreciate his help. Those links helped me get clearer on definitions, but don't really get specific enough to address these set up complications. Thank you. Lynn.
...See More
HP Laptop
Q
Comments (4)
This exercise may help too, Windows 7 and Vista From the Start menu, select Control Panel, or Settings and then Control Panel.Double-click Network and Sharing Center. From the list of tasks on the left, click Change adapter settings (in Windows 7), or Manage network connections (in Vista). For a wired network connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and then select Properties. For a wireless network connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and then select Properties. From the Networking tab, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), make sure it is checked, and then click Properties. Click Obtain an IP Address Automatically, and then click OK.
...See More
Troubleshooting My Sluggish, DisconnectingLaptop - So many issues
Q
Comments (121)
First I have to confess that I have not gotten to backing up the hard drive - or working on the start up programs. Other computer issues in the family took priority - and then we had non-technological family difficulties. So my focus has been elsewhere. The internet connection still sometimes drops. Less often but it happens. I can just buy a wireless dongle. The laptop had been running cooler after getting all the bogus programs off. But lately it's sluggish again and running hot. The hard drive is making a bad noise. Not sure how to describe it but kind of like a car struggling to turn over. It does it just occasionally - some times if it's just trying to perform some action - and just now when I started the laptop. (It has not made the sound since it started up). Since hard drives are mechanical, does this sound like the hard drive might be failing? if it's hardware failure, is there any point in running chkdsk? or any other test? If the hard drive is failing, could that be causing it to run hot and slow at times? seems logical to me but I have no idea. I could inexpensively replace the hard drive. And get a wireless dongle. I imagine all that could be done for under $100 and just a small amount of time. The other troubleshooting I did was partly to learn. Here's what I like about the computer and why I may want to save/keep it: great size - 13", light - but has a great, great keyboard for such a small laptop. like the trackball and no touchpad. includes a free upgrade to Vista (so it could be used after XP is not supported) What I don't like: ongoing wireless adapter problems, sometimes running hot, possible failing hard drive, no web cam. Not sure if I'll put it to sleep soon - or try to resuscitate it. If I decide to let it die a peaceful death, there's no need to back up the HD. If I decide to replace the hard drive (if it needs it) or keep it if the HD's fine, I will back it up and make that a priority. And of course, now that I'm writing this post, it's behaving absolutely fine. Quick, cool, no noise. Thanks. Lynn.
...See More
katlan
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for responding Mikie. She needs to turn it back on. I'm not at her house right now, but she said there's no switch on the side. However, I'll go over hopefully sometime today, and check myself for a switch, haha.

The good thing is she can still get on the internet, she just has to have the laptop connected to the modem. She also said she absolutely will not pay Dell $129. She just get a new laptop.

So if there's not a switch, anyone have anymore suggestions of what to try to turn it back on?

Thanks again.
azinoh
11 years ago
I'd be curious to know which channel her wireless network is using? If she doesn't know, she'll have to log into her router to find out. Are there other wireless networks nearby? If yes, maybe she is getting interference strong enough to disrupt her connection especially if they are on the same channel as she is. A lot of routers default to channel 6-especially if they are set to auto-select a channel. Right now, I have 10 other networks around me and six of them are using channel 6...so I'm not.
mikie_gw
11 years ago
One of my toshiba laptops, you pressed the Fn key plus one of the F# keys to enable/disable the wifi. Another toshiba had a slide switch.

The Lenovo I'm on right now has both... Fn+F5, and a slide switch that you absolutely cant see unless lots of lighting. I have to use a flashlight to switch it on/off - its tiny on the front edge here, & has a tiny led hole next to it.

there's a switch on that Dell model number
Might want to read the User Manual, looks like Dell might have had some special features with that switch.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://book-lab.ru/pdf/DELL-INSPIRON/service_manual_for_DELL_Inspiron_1525.pdf
katlan
Original Author
11 years ago
I'm sending her a copy of the above pic Mikie, then I'll have her ck her computer again.

How do you login to your router to find out what channel it is on?
acraftylady
11 years ago
The HP we used to have there was a slider switch for wireless like in the photo. Now I have a lower end toshiba and no slider switch. I have a little icon of bars by my clock and when I click it I can see my connection and other connections around me and I right click my connection and click disconnect or connect. Probably a short cut key I can use but I never needed to disconnect so don't care. Mary
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
11 years ago
Has she tried a power cycle of everything? That means turn power off to the computers, router, modem leave off for 5 minutes. Then power up exactly this way power on the modem let it get fully lit up, power up the router let it get fully lit up, power up the computer. That is always the first thing to try and often corrects the problem.
zep516
11 years ago
And if that does not work, don't forget to try and reinstall the wireless adapter from the device manager, open Device manager right click on the wireless adapter choose uninstall and reboot the computer.

wireless adapter

Comments (9)

mikie_gw

mikie_gw

Related Discussions

katlan
Original Author

azinoh

mikie_gw

katlan
Original Author

acraftylady

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

zep516

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

wireless adapter

Comments (9)

mikie_gw

mikie_gw

Related Discussions

katlanOriginal Author

azinoh

mikie_gw

katlanOriginal Author

acraftylady

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

zep516

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

katlan
Original Author

katlan
Original Author