M17x R1-Connects via ethernet but not wireless

Hello,
My Alienware M17x R1 will connect to the internet via an ethernet cable but won't work when relying on a wireless connection. My other devices (iTouch, cell phone, and my other laptop) detect my wireless network and can use the internet just fine.
When I unplug the ethernet cable, I check the Broadcom utility and it shows a wireless connection for a few seconds but then it changes to "unable to connect". Sometimes I can even load my homepage, but then it will just lose the signal.
And yes, I have checked to make sure wireless mode is enabled .
I do not believe it is a driver problem but I am open to any and all suggestions.
Thanks for reading.

 

So you have it and then you lose it? Like, your wireless card does acquire a connection momentarily but then loses it?

There can be an address conflict at times with other devices, but those usually resolve themselves automatically, especially after a restart of the machine. They won't usually be ongoing problems. If you reinstall your LAN and wireless drivers (both) and continue to have this problem consistently, you might have a dying wireless card.

Also, this is a big deal with R1 models that had certain nVidia graphics cards: You *might* have a bad nVidia GPU, unfortunately, if you have an nVidia. Certain vintages of those cards that may have been used in R1 models (but not R2 or later) had serious problems with the chip die cracking from overheating (they were made too thin for the heat load they would experience), and there was/is a big class-action lawsuit over it. Alienware models did not make it into the lawsuit (my XPS 1730 did though), but I don't believe that necessarily means that no Aliens were affected. The lawsuit, like any other where big money and public relations damage-control is involved, may not have mentioned or made whole any and all people who suffered damages; likely only those who were in the largest and most visible segments of the market. The problems were not Dell/Alienware's fault, and they affected HP and others too. For quite some time, Dell would not supply you an nVidia GPU in an Alienware machine even if you wanted one (to their credit); they simply didn't allow them as options in their ordering process for R2 models. I got mine during this period, so I have ATI/AMD cards. An oft-observed consequence of the GPU problem was, interestingly, problems with the wireless card functioning. If that's the case for you, there is no real fix other than replacement of the graphics card, unfortunately. I have a friend who has an R1 and hers exhibits an intermittent connection issue with the wireless card, but it isn't totally dead (yet). This is the most disastrous kind of hardware problem because no one could detect it until the GPUs had aged to the point of subtle breakdown. There wasn't any good way for anyone to know about it until so many thousands of machines were already out there living in the world with their owners' lives in them. Sorry to bring any bad news if this applies to you...

Edit: Oh, by the way, if you are having any other strange problems in concert with this that are creating graphics issues and spillovers there, then it might be time to seriously consider it being your GPU, and not necessarily the wireless card per se. Again, it really depends on what GPU you have.

 

I have dual GTX 260m's but haven't noticed any graphical problems with them. You may be right though, but I will go ahead and try to reinstall the LAN and wireless drivers. Thanks for the post.

 

This is common problem I've had. The ethernet device sleep is forcing your WLAN card to sleep aswell.

Go into device manager -> Network Adapters and open up the properties for the nvidia ethernet adapter. Now go to the advanced tab and change "Device sleep on disconnect" from enabled to disabled.

You should now be able to use your wireless adapter.

 

I had this problem (or one like it). for me it happened right after i reinstalled windows 7. i thought it was my router at first because it had been giving me problems the week before. but after trying my laptop else where, still no internet. my problem was drivers. i reinstalled them several times, nothing happened. finally i called alienware and they remotely reinstalled them (the same as i had) and for some reason it started working.

 

also make sure you have no other devices connected to your wifi when trying to connect - turn them all off, also turn off B'Tooth if it is enabled, also make sure you are not sharing any other network device from your router, maybe even change the channel, your next door might have just got BB

 

I had this problem, the solution is Scyphoz or my...
Install the windows vista, install all drivers ! and after this, log in windows and put dvd windows 7 and upgrade. do not do it in boot mode! Only logged in windows. For same reason dont work update on boot.
Works for me always.