Spec sheet says there is Bluetooth; Windows says no. What should I do?

I think when I bought this machine I was told that it had Bluetooth. I have a Sony VAIO VGN-FW190EFH, and according to this specification sheet from Sony, it indeed does have Bluetooth.

I downloaded the latest driver from VAIO's support site, but when I tried to install it, it said that it couldn't detect a Bluetooth adapter!

I bought a Bluetooth mouse today but when I tried to connect it, my laptop is acting as if it doesn't have Bluetooth.

What should I do?

 

sometimes there is a button that you can turn the bluetooth on

 

There is no separate switch for Bluetooth. There is only a switch that says "WIRELESS" and I have that one turned on.

Recently I went into Windows Defender and I disabled a couple of VAIO start up items, but I doubt this is the cause of the problem I'm having now.

 

Check device manager.
Right click my computer, click properties.
Then click "Device Manager" on the left pane (Vista assumed).
Check for bluetooth devices in there.

 

I don't see "Bluetooth devices" or the word Bluetooth in there at all.

 

I went into Windows defender again and I see "Broadcom Bluetooth" as BTTray.exe. But I don't see a tray icon. When I use Vista search to look for "bluetooth," I see a Bluetooth icon named "Bluetooth." I click on that, but nothing happens at all...

 

So what did you disable in Defender? Have you performed any other tweaks or uninstalled anything?

Gary

 

I don't remember exactly what I disabled

There were a few VAIO services that weren't listed under a known "publisher." I removed those. I think those were the only VAIO related services that I removed without knowing what they do.

I haven't tweaked or uninstalled any other system related software.

 

Well, it may very well be that some of the things you disabled were needed for Bluetooth. Do you have a system restore point set prior to these tweaks that you did? If so roll back to that and see if you have any better luck.

Gary

 

It's been awhile since I made those changes in Windows Defender. My earliest restore point is on the 2nd of this month. I don't think it is early enough.

What can I do instead?

 

I am assuming that you have tried to use Smart Wi to turn your BT on?
It is not actually clear from your posts if you have tried this.

 

Yes, I just found out about this SmartWi thing through a vaguely related Google search!

How was I supposed to know about this SmartWi otherwise? It's pretty stupid if you ask me.

But really appreciate the help here.

Thanks,

 

Well the first thing you need top do is find out for sure if this model is suposed to have BlueTooth. I am not as familiar with the FW models as I am with the FZ ones. But on the FZ (and I would assume the FW ones as well) the BlueTooth option is part of the wireless network option in the machine.

So look in device manager and find out the model of the wireless networking card in this machine. From that we should be able to determine if the machine does have BlueTooth.

Gary

 

Sorry that my latest post wasn't clear enough. I was typing with my wife calling over my shoulder.

I was pretty sure that this machine had Bluetooth since I was told that by the dealer and the Sony-provided spec sheet confirmed it. However, my operating system was acting as if it doesn't see Bluetooth at all.

I searched my computer for everything "Bluetooth" and "wireless" but without any luck. Then, I was searching online to find out what processes VAIO launches during Windows startup that are necessary for Bluetooth to function. And by chance, this search landed me on a page where I found an obscure user comment about SmartWi. That's when I did a Vista search for SmartWi, launched it, turned on Bluetooth and everything worked!

The problem is solved now. I'm just not impressed with the way Sony has managed to hide the user interface for turning Bluetooth on. I almost took the machine back to the dealer!

 

I don't think the user interface would have been hidden at all if you hadn't removed services without knowing what they do. I am afraid that in this case the fault here is not Sony's.

Gary