R2 network hosed after optical drive replacement

ausjoe · June 26, 2011

I had Dell onsite replacing the optical drive. Strangely after that both the wireless (Intel 6300) and Ethernet stopped working.

Wireless simply doesn't show up in Win 7 Device Manager at all. The Ethernet shows up in Device Manager but the driver can't load ("Code 10"). I have reinstalled the correct driver from Dell, plus the Intel driver just in case that made any difference (it didn't).

Dell thought there was maybe a problem during reassembly following the new optical drive, and they put in another systemboard. This hasn't helped either issue.

The wireless is a separate card so maybe it was damaged somewhere with these multiple tear downs. I'm getting a new one in tomorrow. I can't understand what's up with the Ethernet though - how does a tear down cause a driver problem? It seems unlikely to be hardware as the problem persists over two systemboards... and the Ethernet is built in to the systemboard.

Any ideas??

**Michael** · June 26, 2011

Is ethernet enabled in BIOS ?

Welcome to T|I btw

ausjoe · June 26, 2011

Oh wouldn't it be lovely if it were that simple!

I just double-checked since systemboard replacement of course resets the BIOS. Both wired and wireless are enabled in BIOS.

I was hoping that would be the answer for the wireless since it just doesn't show up in Windows at all. Remember though the wired Ethernet does show up in Device Manager - it just can't load its driver.

Nice idea, thank you for making me double-check (since honestly I had assumed, and hadn't looked until then), and thanks for the fast reply & welcome.

**Michael** · June 26, 2011

Sure thing buddy, i hope we can help you resolve your issue quickly

I am going to assume that the Wireless card gone bye bye since you're waiting for a replacement now, so let's identify the problem with your ethernet card first.

Since a motherboard was already replaced and the problem still persists i am going to assume the problem is within windows.

What i'd do in that scenario is :

try to boot with "Last known good config" (Select it from the F8 menu upon boot) and see if the problem goes away
Try to uninstall (and remove) the ethernet driver, reboot, make the system recognize the new hardware and reinstall the drivers.
Check the eventlog for suspicious messages

Try those and report back ?

ausjoe · June 26, 2011

Agree re. wireless, and the mini-card is being replaced tomorrow.

Re. Ethernet: Last known good didn't help. I have uninstalled (both with and without removing the drivers) and rebooted. No good. Like I said, I've used the Dell and the Intel drivers for the Ethernet.

I'm not seeing anything in the Event Viewer related to the Ethernet.

It's very odd because the hardware is always detected during scan, but every driver I try to load for it fails with good old "Code 10" (ie "I don't know what went wrong")...

**Michael** · June 26, 2011

Well, i am out of ideas I'll let others try and guess what's wrong here..

One thing i will say is - you let Dell try to fix it long enough w/o success you might score a replacement..

**Stevenxowens792** · June 26, 2011

You can try a fresh load of windows 7. The bottom line is.. Regardless whether windows "sees" the hardware if the driver wont load, even after a fresh Operating System install the hardware will need to be replaced. Something may have happened during the last hardware install. That's why I always do my own installs as I don't trust technicians. I hope it all works out. Best Wishes, StevenX

**Stevenxowens792** · June 26, 2011

Also another thought. makes sure you download fresh drivers from several different locations to try them... Meaning download them from both dell and the manufacturer. Try them both after fresh windows install. Good Luck, StevenX

AssimilatorX · June 28, 2011

Go dell support download the diagnostic software, build the diagnostic usb and BOOT the system diag. If you not sore i can send you my one is have a lots of tools for R2. But certainly don't forget to upgrade the BIOS to A10 after a sysboard replacement they usually come with A04. I've seen X34 once engeneering version ( buggy like dhell ) LOL

**mw86** · June 30, 2011

I think Michael, Steven and Assimilator all have great suggestions and I can second what Michael says myself. I had an R2 that got 3 sets of parts replaced and it was going to be a fourth with an extra two week wait after two in home next day repairs. There was first a battery and psu replaced with power cord. Next the second wave of parts was two replacement video cards and a motherboard. The third wave of parts after the first repairman installed those parts and it didn't turn on without error codes so the second repairman installs the parts the first guy ordered which was another motherboard, two ram sticks, a CPU heatsink and replacement fan for the gpu on the left for the one on the right that the first guy broke the wire to.. So he ordered the wrong fan or Dell sent the wrong fan. The repairman got on the phone to explain they caused a problem with the whole repair of the computer and he was going to order another fan and they told him they were all out. Then after awhile we got a different answer... They could order one but it would be out for two weeks. We put the order in but I was not happy. That was it for me, I got on the phone with Dell with the repair technician still there and conservatively and calmly made many valid points why I deserved a replacement since they were just guessing at what the problem was. They tried at times to get me to accept after all I had gone through already to let them ship it out to a repair depot where they would get it all sorted out. That wasn't an option I allowed since that would take more time and I proceeded to explain that this was by their policy of 3 replacements of main system parts that I deserved a replacement system. To tell you the truth it was one headache to go through especially hours and hours in on the phone from tech to rep to getting hung up on to being told they would let me speak to a supervisor after I asked them to and getting more hang-ups. A few more hours in after explaining the multiple parts being thrown at it and I even had to bring the money card to the table (my system was not very cheap and one of the larger orders on the home user side of things) and therefore deserved better treatment and customer service than I was receiving. From that point I was told I could speak to a supervisor and didn't actually get to until about another hour and a half later. To cut the rest of the story short I spoke to the supervisor and still had quite a time defending myself with all the facts as to why I deserved better than just guesses at what the problem with my system was, I deserved a replacement. I got an agreement to have the system replaced but it was years off my life in stress... I am still waiting on said system 3 1/2 months later. So hopefully your problem is just fixed because the alternative can be very ugly... it was not pleasant and if I had known it would have happened to my system... I would have got a refund in the beginning and waited for something more dependable to come along... But it wasn't the R2... Its very dependable... Just mine wasn't. Goodluck and if you don't need to have a replacement you are better for it.

AssimilatorX · July 6, 2011

**mw86** · July 6, 2011

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 14"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CADMINI%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CADMINI%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CADMINI%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><style>  </style> I see mw86 you also have a long litany with dell about M17X. I got 3x M17X replaced on me, 1x R1x and 2x R2. To solve my last problem I had to invoke “Sales of Goods ACT” I still with my warranty and dell cannot credit me.<o:p></o>

Yes and it hasn't ended for me either... more delays, new edd to be emailed to me tommorow they had to reorder on me again old order date was 6/8 now its 7/5. They really have horrible customer service.

AssimilatorX · July 7, 2011

I feel sorry for you...Wouldn't be just easier to cancel,refund, than order?? So tidious, is tipical dell...Customer rep does not understand english properly, you try to explain a technical term, why is your laptop not working. The answer you get is "remove the battery unplug the PSU and hold power for 20sec"???? They almost never call you, you want something you call dell.Finally when they approve the replacement, it takes longer to get than, if you place a new order... C'mon dell you can do better... Wouldn't a customer paid few 1000 for a product deserves better service?

BTW: checked dell site they removed the M17X-R2 so in the future is someone get replacement probablly we have to take the R3 or M18X.

Edited July 7, 2011 by AssimilatorX

ausjoe · July 13, 2011

Hi all. Thanks for the many good suggestions!

We put a new wireless module in and yet another motherboard. Nothing. The Dell on-site tech had brought the Dell drivers for both with me - didn't help. We confirmed both were enabled in BIOS (and that BIOS was up to date).

At that point we called up Dell Tech Support who said it had to be a Windows problem. I was a bit skeptical since there'd been no Windows changes from when everything worked to didn't work, but there had been an incorrect reassembly.

Anyway, I restored to factory image (actually put in the original drives, untouched and never booted from, as I'd upgraded to third-party SSDs as soon as I got it). Even under factory image Windows still couldn't see the wireless at all, and couldn't load any driver (Dell or latest Intel) for the Ethernet.

I have talked more with Tech Support and supposedly I've been approved for a refund. (They wanted to do a full unit replacement but that would be a refurb, and given this isn't even six months old yet I argued I was entitled to a working brand new unit.)

Just waiting to hear from Dell Customer Care to confirm the refund, but Tech Support says Finance agreed.

Ordering a m18x as soon as the refund is confirmed.

Thanks again for all your help! This does indeed look like the botched reassembly broke something, somewhere. I'm unhappy about that, but I'm happy with everything Dell's said and done since. (Even with telling me to reinstall Windows - I agree at that point it was a reasonable suspicion.)

AssimilatorX · July 13, 2011

Sometimes thats the best way to go refund than order... Which one you gonna take ? Since R2 is not on the market anymore???

Edited July 13, 2011 by AssimilatorX

ausjoe · July 13, 2011

Yeah, the other reason I didn't want whole-unit replacement was because then I wouldn't have much control over the specs. This way I get to place a new order for a new machine. I have enough cash reserves that I can place the new order without waiting for the refund, which helps minimise the time I'm without a machine. (I use it for work, too - not an option to have no machine for 3-4 weeks.)

I'll order the m18x. I don't like that the m17x R3 only has a single graphics card. And the m18x just added the option for the Nvidia 580m in SLI... expensive but there are some very attractive benchmarks floating around.

**svl7** · July 13, 2011

I'll order the m18x. I don't like that the m17x R3 only has a single graphics card. And the m18x just added the option for the Nvidia 580m in SLI... expensive but there are some very attractive benchmarks floating around.

The M18x is now also available with dual 6990m... should cost a bit less than SLI 580m and certainly be as powerful (according to AMD even more powerful... )

ausjoe · July 13, 2011

Wait, 6990 and not 6970? Hmmm.

I've seen some benchmarks that show 580m SLI is a good deal better than 6970m CF. There doesn't seem to be much for the 6990 yet though.

Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News - Notebookcheck.net has stats on standalone 6990m but not in CF. Hmmmmmm. Oh this will be a tough call!

**svl7** · July 13, 2011

Jep, 6990m, just released yesterday.... And yes, it's faster than a 6970m, it has 1120 shaders instead of 960 and the core clock is slightly higher as well. There aren't a lot of reliable benches available, but it's at least on par with the 580m and costs certainly less.

ausjoe · July 13, 2011

Good to know, thank you!

**mw86** · July 16, 2011

$1200 for 580M Sli and $500 for the 6990m Crossfire. I'm sure the 6990M is marginally slower than 580 and overclocking there's not going to be a huge difference.

ausjoe · July 16, 2011

Arguably NVidia have better drivers especially for multi-monitor, and I think I've seen some benchmarks that suggests SLI scales better than CF in many games.

I wish there were more benchmarks of 580m SLI vs 6990m CF. But I agree, even if there were a 20% improvement I'm not sure that's worth a 140% cost increase. I think my need for e-peen will be satisfied with 32Gb RAM.

jeffreybaks · July 16, 2011

nvidia hasnt even been in the game for a long time, so I dont see the reasoning behind even discussing this topic any more to put it bluntly. They just ruin the biz of mobility with there pricing shinanigans. There is no justification for how much more nvidia GPU's cost in laptops. Thats what my bias side of me says anyway, but I like Nvidia just as much as the next fanboy and hope they can contribute better in the oncoming years with new laptops instead of making cards that are anywhere from 100%-200% more then there counterparts AMD/ATI and more stable with fails like the 8xxx series and 9xxx series.

I guess I get way over excited when I see people ripping into AMD for no established reason what so ever. Iv owned two gaming laptops and both have been ATI/AMD and I have never had any problems what so ever with drivers or malfunctions. When it comes down to it though, I can usually tell when Im arguing with someone that only knows that nvidia is the green one and ati is the red one, thats usually a good indication that there a fanboy when they start dissing AMD all over the place.

Edited July 16, 2011 by jeffreybaks

ausjoe · July 16, 2011

Oh, can't argue their pricing doesn't appear justified. I wonder how many 580ms they're going to sell in SLI. [shaking head]

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R2 network hosed after optical drive replacement

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