Dell Vostro Wireless card buggy

I've got a Vostro 1500 with the basic WLAN card in it, and recently it has been giving me all kinds of trouble trying to stay connected to networks. Sometimes it drops a full strength network, sometimes it drops down to 1 or 2 bars, and sometimes it completely ignores any and all networks in the area.

What can I do to fix this problem, or at least troubleshoot it? I have tried the hardware troubleshooter but it says the card is working fine. I've confirmed that it isn't the network that is faulty many times.

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks

 

First two things that come to my mind: driver issues or heat issues. How old is the machine? Has it ever been apart to be dusted/blown out?

How long has it been acting like this? Has it been a gradual onset, or was it sudden?

 

I've never blown it out, but I did replace the hard drive around six months ago. I bought the laptop in fall of 07.

It was sort of iffy a few weeks ago and has gotten worse. I tried downloading the latest drivers from dell, but the download was a bad link and froze at 72.2MB every time.

Suggestions?

 

Is it a Dell branded cards? 1390 or 1510? They have a very finicky (absolute garbage) Broadcom chipset in them.

Work like crap with Windows and Linux but great on the Macs

 

I believe it's 1390 in this particular laptop, however if I remember correctly it's based on Broadcom BCM94318. The same chip used in a lot of Acers and HPs and also used as radio chip in many routers including now-legendary Linksys WRT54G/GS/GL or Asus WL-500g Premium, so I think you've overdone it a bit with the "garbage part" (unless off course I'm mistaken and it's not 94318 we're talking about).

As for drivers- if Dell ones don't download- try this http://www.wikidrivers.com/wiki/Broadcom_BCM43xx_5.60.18.8
You may want to install it manually though- hardware codes match Asus, not Dell (even though it's the same reference design) so you have to install manually via device manager--> update driver

 

great thanks. I'll try that when I get home in a bit. I'll update if it works!

 

So...new drivers didn't help. What are my options now? Can I replace the wireless card? How much would it be, and does anyone have a link to a DIY?

 

Replacing the cards on these laptops is very simple. Under the laptop, there's going to be an access panel labeled WLAN/WWAN ... or something like that. It is going to be on the left side (with the laptop sitting upside down), right under the right corner of the screen (normal viewing position).

Remove the panel, remove the antennae wires - take note of where they are - then remove and replace the wireless card! That easy!

Your vostro 1500 only has 2 antenna wires, so make sure to get a card that has only 2 wires (kind of eliminates good N cards). Intel 3945 or Atheros 5007 should be a good card for this.

 

Miller: Thanks for the exact advice...could you direct me towards a good link to buy one? Just newegg or is there something better? Thanks

 

I've bought a few 3945s, a 4965 and 5007 from random sellers. Worked fine for me. Depends on how you feel about ebay ... it is ebay, afterall.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=intel+3945&_sacat=See-All-Categories

As long as it's mini pci-e ... NOT half height mini pci-e ... it should work fine in your Dell

 

I'm a Vostro 1500 user, and I may have some good advice here regarding heat.

For the first 6 months I owned this laptop I undertook some decent OverClocking. After ceasing such numbscullery =] about a year later I started getting major FPS slowdowns acbout 1-2 HRS into a gaming session. I started to freak thinking that my previous OC of the video card damaged it.

Alas, I was wrong. I took everything apart, and there were major dust-bunnies, and dust collection on my heat-sinks. Some isopropyl alcohol, Q-tips, and Arctic-5 later (I replaced the thermal paste...it was starting to get 'baked'), my machine was back to normal, running cooler, and no longer overheating after long gaming use.

I recommend cleaning out the innards. It does require removing the keyboard, screen, and disconnecting the wireless card/bluetooth radio, but it's really not that difficult.

 

Do you have any links to a good DIY on that? Not real comfortable around the guts of a laptop...

 

Actually, I think there's a Dell Tech Guide for it, I'll see if I can track it down for you.

 

Sorry for the double, wanted to make sure you got the update:

Here's the link (you'll need to extract this to a folder, and then run 'index.htm':
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1520/en/sm/sm.zip

Follow the instructions under "Removing the Processor Thermal-Cooling Assembly ", do steps 1-8, unless you want to replace the thermal paste. I strongly caution you not to attempt the last part unless you've either studied it up extensively or have someone that can show you the first time. It's not that it's crazy hard to do, but the chances of ruining something to shirk at.

Also, when working on the innards, don't touch any of the "cooling" heatsinks or pipes with your bare fingers, human oils degrade the cooling ability of these parts. Also, I only use 90% isopropyl alcohol when cleaning. The less water in your cleaning solution the better. It evaporates very quickly, which eliminates corrosion. And for precaution ALWAYS make sure you don't have any static build-up or use magnetic-tipped screwdrivers.

If anyone else has suggestions/changes to my instructions, feel free. I'm not a certified tech by any means...just a jack of all trades, student of experience.