[fudan888]

I recently had my operating system, XP, reinstalled by Dell as my laptop had completely crashed. Since having the computer fixed I can only access the internet using wireless, my laptop doesnt recognise the connection when i plug in an ethernet cable. is there a driver that Dell did not reinstall? Is this something I can download and fix myself?

[JohnWill]

What's the EXACT model of the Dell machine?

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type devmgmt.msc

Please respond to all the following steps.

1. Under Network adapters, please tell me all the devices listed.
2. Are there any devices under Network adapters that have a red x displayed?
3. Also, are there any devices anywhere in the Device Manager display with yellow ? or ! displayed?

Let's see this as well with that cable connected to the laptop.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following command:

Note that there is a space before the /ALL, but there is NOT a space after the / in the following command.

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.

[fudan888]

It is an Inspiron 6000. Will try your suggestion now. Thanks

[fudan888]

1. Under Network adapters there is 2 devices - 1394 Net Adapter and Intel (R) Pro/Wireless 22ooBG Network Connection
2. Nothing with red x
3. Beside a yellow ? under other devices it lists ethernet controller and PCI Modem, both with a yellow ! in front of the yellow ?

With the ethernet connection plugged in when I type IPCONFIG /ALL and the command window appears it dissappears too quickly for me to copy the text. Can you advise how to copy this?

Thanks for your help

[dlsayremn]

The yellow ? shows that there are problems with the ethernet controller and PCI Modem. Probably driver issues. Right click on the device name and see what error message is listed in the Device Status box on the gereral tab.

You should be able to download and install the drivers for bothusing your wireless connection.

Go to Dell Support drivers and Downloads.
http://support.dell.com/support/down...&catid=&impid=

Drivers for the Broadcom 440x 10/100 Ethernet Controller are under network.

Drivers for the Conextant PCI Modem are under Communications.