Dell D620 network card problems.

I just got my Dell D620 and I'm not completely happy about it- but thats a different thread.

Anyways I got the dell D620 and tried to connect it to the internet through my LAN. However, Dell didn't seem to install the network card driver- a little annoying but not a big deal. I installed it and it works fine- however for those who have the d620 (probably other dells too), when you unplug the power cable, the network card disables itself to conserve battery- a nice feature if it was to work correctly. Well I disconnected the power supply and the network card wasn't able to work again.

I decided just to reformat anyways since I wanted a clean install and still no go. So I try to update the driver and go to and older drive just to see if those might work and still no luck. However, I did get it to work earlier with a clean install of windows and installation of the drivers again. But now its back to the same problem. The icon will try and aquire a network address, however it will never connect.

When I check my network settings, the card is reporting an IP address that I connected to earlier without a default gateway. I go to the command and type in release my IP settings and then try and renew, however it wont renew and connect.

The card is a broadcom netxtreme 57xx, and seems as if theres lots of other people having problems with this network card- however I have yet to find a solution. Has anyone else here have this problem and fixed it?

 

No problem here on my D820.

 

Do you use the network adapter much?

I tried hooking the laptop directly to the modem, and it will work a few times. However when I hook it up to the router, it doesnt want to work. The problem it has is renewing the IP address

 

I've worked with D620's a lot, and had one myself for a time. Never had a problem with what you are describing.

What brand and model of router are you using?

Do you still have the Dell Quickset installed? If so, you can turn off the power management of the ethernet port so it always stays on.

 

the problems you are describing are at the router, not your card.

 

I have the same laptop and same POS card. Connects to LAN via my port replicator's ethernet port. Connects to wireless fine. Won't connect to LAN via cable directly from router to laptop. It's not the router or cable b/c I've tried different routers in different dorms and still no luck. Driver issue?
edit: I found new 57xx drivers on the dell site and they seem to work after installing a 2nd time. But, my DVI display quit working afterwards, so I reinstalled the new A04 Bios after the new NIC drivers and all is well.

 

When you plug in the cable where you still on battery? The NIC doesn't get re-enabled until you put it back on power or manually enable it.

 

No problems here. I agree that it can be a router issue. Try another notebook and see if you can connect or conversely, bring the notebook to a "Free Hotspot" and see if you can connect.

The NIC card may not work depending upon whether it is activated or deactivated when it is unplugged.

 

I use the network adapter and don't have any problems with it.

 

Hi Guys, this is an old thred but ill respond anyways.. you dont need to be reinstalling or changing routers (probably) the problem is explained at this help site: http://www.mycomputeraid.com/vendors/dell-laptop/dell-laptop-loses-network-connection-deactivated/

 

Hi, I've got a Dell Lat D410, and had the same NIC issue with not being able to enable it (apparently caused by the Power Saving and constant use of the Hibernate mode). Anyway, I read on the web http://blog.matthewsmith.id.au/2008/03/20/stupid-dell-broadcom-internel-nic-disabled/ about how to re-enable the device by uninstalling the Broadcom and re-booting. This worked, after 1yr without plugged-in access I now have the NIC enabled! Yeah!!

I also updated the driver for the NIC, which seemed to work ok.

Great!!! Except when I plug in the LAN cable I can't aquire an IP address! ****.

Anyone have any good ideas?

 

Okay, first thing u might want to do is to Turn Off the power saving feature so that that issue doesn't arise again. You can do this by going into Device Manager, and going into the properties of the LAN card.

Then go into network connections and confirm that it looks like the screen shots attached. Then go to Start-->Run and type cmd and hit enter.
Then type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter
Then ipconfig /release and hit enter
Then ipconfig /renew and hit enter. Within roughly 5 - 10 secs the connection in ur task tray should say connected.

If it still isn't connected and continues to say aquiring IP, then unplug all the cables from the modem including it's power and the cable connected to the computer. Then restart the computer...when u have signed back on, plug back in all cables. It might take the modem a minute or so to boot up properly. Check the status of the LAN connection again.

 

Sweeet, fixed it. I think it was a user problem

I will keep the Power saver off. Uninstalling the NIC in Device manager worked a beauty,

Thanks for your help.


"Go the All Blacks!!!"

 

^ Okay...glad I can help!