Windows 7: Dell Inspiron N5110 Wireless Network Controller Problem

I have a Dell N5110 with a failed hard drive. I bought a new hard drive, reinstalled Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit. I then downloaded all the drivers from dell. I followed the Dell recommended install order. After all the drivers are loaded, I go to Device manager and it says I am missing a network controller driver and I am unable to access wireless. I press function + F2 and I can turn on the wireless, but I am unable to add a wireless network.
I have tried numerous network drivers from the dell site - doing a win reinstall before trying a different driver, but none are working. What am I doing wrong?
I have reformatted the machine again (for the 5th time) and I have no drivers currently installed. Where do I go from here?
Thank you!

Is the Wireless Network Adapter recognized in Device Manager and showing as working properly? Don't go by the lights on your laptop.

The times when I had the all the dell drivers loaded, the "Network Controller" was shown with a question mark in device manager. Right now I dont have any of the dell drivers loaded.

That means there's an issue with the driver...either that it isn't correct for the OS or the model installed. Sometimes there are several models listed for download, but usually, a person knows which one off the top of their head. If you don't, try looking through your documentation, or following the steps on this website to determine the exact model:

PCI Vendor and Device Lists

Install in order:

System Utilities:
R282539 Dell System Software 32 bit (64 bit is R282538)
Chipset:
R292253 Intel Chipset 32/64 bit
R292194 Intel Management Engine Interface 32/64 bit
R292473 Realtek Card Reader 32/64 bit
R292474 Intel Turboboost 32/64 bit
R309746 USB 3.0
Sata:
R292225 Intel Rapid Storage Technology 32/64 bit
Video:
R303143 Intel HD Graphics 32 bit (R303142 64 bit)
R314281 Intel Wireless Display Manager 32/64 bit
R314903 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6470 32/64 bit
Video_ATI_W7_A10_Setup-G22HG_ZPE ATI Mobility Radeon HD 7450M/7460M 32/64 bit
R305948* nVidea Geforce GT525M (64 bit is R307853)
Communications
CONEXANT_D400-USB-MODEM_DDK3R_A02_SETUP_ZPE.exe 32 bit (CONEXANT_D400-USB-MODEM_RY5VP_A02_SETUP_ZPE.exe 64 bit)
CONEXANT_D400-USB-MODEM_DPP14_A00_SETUP_ZPE.exe 32/64 bit
CONEXANT_D400-USB-MODEM_V4HFC_A01_SETUP_ZPE.exe 32 bit (CONEXANT_D400-USB-MODEM_J6N4K_A02_SETUP_ZPE.exe 64 bit)
CONEXANT_D400-USB-MODEM_2M98F_A01_SETUP_ZPE.exe 32/64 bit
Input
R305170 Alps Touchpad 32/64 bit
Ethernet
R292450 Realtek Ethernet 32/64 bit
Wireless/Bluetooth
BT_Intel_W72_A02_Setup-C72H3_ZPE.exe Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030/6230 Bluetooth Adapter 32 bit (BT_Intel_W74_A02_Setup-50PWW_ZPE.exe 64 bit) - Variant A
R312222 Dell Wireless 1702 32/64 bit - Variant B
R312280 Dell Wireless 1701 32/64 bit - Variant C
R302518/R304912 WLAN 1502 Card (R311834 64 bit) - Variant D
R311896 Intel Centrino Wireless N-1000/Centrino Advanced-N 6230/Centrino Wirelss-N 1030 (R311898 64 bit) - Variant E
R292249 Intel WiMax Link 6150 (R291975 64 bit) - Variant F
R309696 Centrino Advanced-N 6230 Bluetooth Adaptor/Centrino Wireless-N 1030 Bluetooth Adaptor (R292538 64 bit) - Variant G
Audio
R315254 IDT Driver 32/64 bit
Audio_IDT_W7_A03_Setup-8H18M_ZPE.exe 32/64 bit
Application
R314287 Dell Quickset 32/64 bit

I am having the same exact problem as "lithops3".

Dell Inspiron N5110
Hard drive failed so I replaced it and installed Win 7 home P (64 bit).
I was never prompted, during Windows 7 setup, to join a network...

Long story short, like lithops3, every failure prompted a fresh Windows 7 install after a quick format of the new drive.

I built my own list identical to "natakuc4", then I used his/her list and the linked drivers and it still didn't get the job done. Device Manager still shows issue with my network controller.

I disabled the NIC in the bios, then restarted, the re-enabled the NIC in the bios and restarted again. On windows load the install manager "popup" told me the card was recognized by name and that it was installed and working properly yet still appears, as having issues, in Device Manager...

After uninstalling the Realtek driver and re-installing them, Windows 7 shows popup below...
"Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
Device driver software installed successfully."
but
Device Manager still says;
"The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)"

Is it possible to have broken the Network Controller when I removed and replaced the HD in the laptop?

Thanks for reading and helping if you can!!!

EDIT:
I then went to Realtek here;
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...&GetDown=false

and downloaded the latest drivers for my OS directly from Realtek and still have the same problem.

Hi tjviz,

It appears that the 'Network Controller' drivers are not installed. Please refer to the following 'Microsoft article' to know more about 'Error Code 28' in 'Device Manager': Code 28: The drivers for this device are not installed

From the details that you've shared in your post, it seems that you are facing issues with the driver installation of 'Network device drivers'. Please mention if there are any other issues also.

In regards to the 'Internet Issue', please follow the steps listed below:
- Ensure that the 'Integrated NIC' is enabled in BIOS (This manages the network card in the system)



- Check status of 'Network Adapters' in 'Device Manager': Open 'Device Manager' > Locate and Expand 'Network Adapters' category > Capture and share a screenshot of the devices listed in 'Network Adapters' category > Check if any devices listed underneath this category has an 'exclamation/question mark' besides it > Follow this tutorial to capture details of all devices with a 'mark' besides them: Hardware Identification > Share these details so that we may help you with the apt drivers for installation

Do reply with the findings; would be glad to assist.

I made this machine a dual boot with Ubuntu and the wireless network card works fine running Ubuntu.

I have downloaded drivers from everywhere. Microsoft, Dell, Intel and none work...

If we could get the Service Tag number of the laptop we could get you the right driver for your WiFi card .



Click on the button type CMD in the search box and press ENTER once you see CMD under Programs(1) . Inside the command prompt type in this command

Code:

 wmic bios get serialnumber

   Quote: Originally Posted by tjviz

I made this machine a dual boot with Ubuntu and the wireless network card works fine running Ubuntu.

I have downloaded drivers from everywhere. Microsoft, Dell, Intel and none work...

Hi tjviz,

You must identify the device driver that is missing/corrupt. As per the details that you've shared, it appears that you are referring to either the 'Ethernet drivers' or the 'Wireless drivers'.

The following are the combo cards offered on Inspiron n5110:
- Dell Wireless WLAN 1701 Half Mini-Card + BlueTooth 3.0
- Dell Wireless WLAN 1702 Half Mini-Card + BlueTooth 3.0
- Intel Centrino Wireless-N1030 Half Mini-Card + BlueTooth 3.0
- Intel Centrino Advanced Wireless-N6230 Half Mini-Card + BlueTooth 3.0

The other 'WLAN cards' that is offered with the system are:
- Dell Wireless WLAN 1502 Half Mini-Card
- Dell Wireless WLAN 1503 Half Mini-Card
- Intel Centrino Wireless-N1000 Half Mini-Card
- Intel 6150 WiFi / WiMAX Half Mini-Card

As I shared in my previous post, you may either publish a screenshot of the 'Device Manager' page with the 'Network Adapters' category expanded. This may give us an opportunity to have a better understanding of the 'network devices' installed in your notebook. A 'yellow mark' besides a device represents the 'device' that needs a 'driver installation' to restore its functionality. Please share the 'Hardware Id' of that device, which may help us to get precise information on the device that needs attention.

Quote:

- Check status of 'Network Adapters' in 'Device Manager': Open 'Device Manager' > Locate and Expand 'Network Adapters' category > Capture and share a screenshot of the devices listed in 'Network Adapters' category > Check if any devices listed underneath this category has an 'exclamation/question mark' besides it > Follow this tutorial to capture details of all devices with a 'mark' besides them: Hardware Identification > Share these details so that we may help you with the apt drivers for installation

Alternatively, you may share the system 'Service Tag' as asked by 'VistaKing'; good way to get detailed information about the components installed in your unit at the time of sale. Would recommend you to share those details with him, only through a private message. It is your personal information; may not be appropriate when shared in an open forum.

Do reply with the findings.