Neverside

Inspiron 1100 woes

Scenario: My girlfriend gave me her Dell Inspiron 1100 (a few years old) to see if I could fix her broadband internet connectivity issues and her USB connection problem.

Operating System: Windows XP Professional; Winver reports: Version 5.1 (Build 2600.xpclient.010817-1148)

Situation: The laptop originally came with Windows XP Home. My girlfriend previously let someone else fix her computer because she got a virus. Apparently, this person did a clean installation of Windows XP Professional. For some reason I can't get the laptop to connect to the internet via my cable modem. Device manager shows that it's detected the integrated Broadcom 440x 10/100 controller. It also says the device is working properly. However, when I plug the CAT5 cable into the port on the laptop, nothing seems to happen. The laptop doesn't register a change. The "PC" light on my Toshiba PCX1100U cable modem goes out. I've tried: reinstalling the chipset drivers, reinstalling the Broadcom drivers, disabling/enabling the Broadcom device, unstinalling/reinstalling the Broadcom device, checking BIOS for neglected on-board NIC options, flashing BIOS to a newer version and there's probably more things I've tried and forgotten. I can't seem to get anything more than "Network cable unplugged." I know the CAT5 cable works because I take it out of the laptop port and plug it in to my PC and it works fine. I've tried resetting the modem and laptop at the same time, but still no luck. I've tried installing Dell's Notebook System Software but I get a message along the lines of "This machine wasn't built for this operating system" and I'm assuming that's because of the Windows XP Pro situation (?) I've tried a few diagnostic tools, but no luck. Anyone have any wisdom to impart?

EDIT: Okay, I think I've made a discovery here. On the actual ethernet port on the laptop, there's a slightly bent pin. I'm assuming that's the problem since everything else is reported as fine. It's not terribly bent, but I'd think it's bent enough to screw with the connection (?)

___________________

Warning: Dangerous if taken seriously.

Last edited by defective, June 7th, 2005 03:10 AM (Edited 1 times)

Are you sure the network port on it works? grab a crossover cable and plug it into your desktop and see if it registers a connection.

___________________

angelessme, antagonising neverside members, staff and administration since 2001.

My first thought while reading was you have a bad jack on your laptop. If you're sure the pin is bent, then grab a thin blade and carefully bend it back. Try and position your blade so that the pressure is placed on the "source" of the pin and not the tip. If you break it, plunk down the $30 to by a PCMCI 10/100 card (unless she doesn't have any open pc card slots).

___________________

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. - Martin Luther King, Jr.