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General discussion

lost wireless adapter

Mar 6, 2011 2:34AM PST

Have a Dell vostro 3300 i5-450m running OEM W7P. It should also have a Dell 1501 half mini card but after re-installing the OS this seems to have disappeared from device manager. The wireless card was seemed to be operating fine before the need for the install (start-up error apparently unfixable any other way).

The drivers disc supplied with the Dell had drivers for two other mini cards - and the PC cheerfully told me that the matching hardware wasn't on my PC. I've downloaded the 1501 driver from the Dell site but don't know what to do to find the hardware. I have tried googling for an answer and rebooting a couple of times and turning on the "wireles" button but am now at a loss.

Any help would be very greatfully received by this desparate newbie!

Discussion is locked

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You story seems incomplete (as well as the install)
Mar 6, 2011 3:40AM PST

On the Dell we also need that QuickSet app. I didn't see where you installed that.

Let me be blunt. Installing Windows is still not easy.
Bob

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Trying to complete the story
Mar 6, 2011 5:11PM PST

Being a newbie I'm not aware of the need for the Quickset App - but becoming increasingly aware that reinstalling the OS isn't as easy as so many sites suggest.

've tried to get hold of the app from the Dell site but when I try to download it the site first downloads a download manager but then says there is nothing to download and I need to go to the drivers section and choose something - which I do and get the download manager which then says "nothing to download.... etc."

I do have the files for the Quickset app from before the install but there seems to be a corruption as the icon for Quickset takes me to the mobility screen. There is no Quickset option on the Dell drivers cd.

Is there any more information you need?

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If device manager does not show
Mar 6, 2011 8:11PM PST

any device needing work just PERHAPS the device is turned off. Dell laptops have a switch to turn the wireless adapter off. Yours is in the front just to the left of the media card slots. Check to make sure it is on.

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The back to Dell.
Mar 6, 2011 11:40PM PST

The drivers CD that came with this machine should have been a simple slip in the CD and follow the prompts. Your story is still short. Why would we have files from before the install? is a question that answered might tell more.

But forget all that. Why not head to dell.com, put in the service tag and read the online documents about installing the OS?

Tell what steps don't work.
Bob

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thanks for your help
Mar 7, 2011 1:05AM PST

@bob

I have the files because they got saved as part of the install - W7 does this automatically if you don't reformat, which there was no need to do.

I did try the wireless button - no joy.

I also tried dell.com (as indicated clearly in the first post) but the information available isn't clear to a newbie - several of the supposedly critical drivers /files mentioned in Dell's driver installation guidence such as the NSS and NIC controller aren't then listed for this service tag. This might be a really dumb question (newbie!) but should their absence indicate they are not necessary or that the data hasn't been updated? An explicit instruction would help those of a less IT literate persuasion.

After a second reinstall from scratch everything appears to be working correctly so thank you for your help and kindly advice.

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That's the trouble today.
Mar 7, 2011 1:13AM PST

Many are buying technical products and then find support lacking. Even I was not finding the details in your posts to see what was amiss. You wrote you re-installed the OS but with your last reply we see you didn't do that.

Here's why that often fails. Those left over files can mess up the freshly installed (over the top) OS.

Often these corrupt OSes can never be fixed and there's another topic for discussion. How to explain that to today's new owners?
Bob

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Even more confused
Mar 7, 2011 3:46AM PST

Bob, Sorry to be obtuse but what is the correct technical term for installing W7 from the reinstallation disc which then necessitates reinstalling the drivers and programmes - is this not an install? W7 gives the option to do a "custom install" and this saves any documents from the previous version in a windows.old folder- and that included copies of the programme files. I was certainly not meaning to mislead and would be grateful for the advice so I can be clear in case it ever happens again.

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No problem.
Mar 7, 2011 3:54AM PST

If you look at installing Windows you have many variations such as clean, upgrade, repair install, over the top and maybe more. Since the result varies with each type of install the only one that should give repeatable results is the clean install.

I'm sure there is a book on this.
Bob