[cudbageekbutnotquite]

hi..i need your help,

i have a a brand new dell latitude e6410 laptop. It has optional bluetooth specs. I went to dell's website and downloaded the driver but everytime i try to install it, it prompts me to "activate bluetooth using wireless switch"..and this is when the wireless switch is already on because i'm using wireless internet..what do i do?

Plus i'm using win XP professional.

Please help!

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Check your manual. I suspect they mean to activate the "Bluetooth wireless switch" - which is different from the wireless used to access your network. Bluetooth wireless and your Internet/network wireless are two different and independent wireless systems that must be activated/enabled, and managed separately.

[Digerati]

Check your manual. I suspect they mean to activate the "Bluetooth wireless switch" - which is different from the wireless used to access your network. Bluetooth wireless and your Internet/network wireless are two different and independent wireless systems that must be activated/enabled, and managed separately.

[dsenette]

i've got a D830 with the bluetooth built in as well, and the bluetooh is turned on with the same switch as the wireless network connection (actual physical switch)

you say that the laptop model has bluetooth as an option, are you sure you bought it with the bluetooth module?

[cudbageekbutnotquite]

yes, i bought it with the bluetooth module..but every time i try to install it, i'm still prompted to activate the wireless switch first.
and you're right, it's the same physical switch for bluetooth and wireless connectivity(which is already turned on)...so i'm still stuck!!

Edited by cudbageekbutnotquite, 27 September 2010 - 10:46 PM.

[dsenette]

when you flip the wireless switch on, do you see an icon near the clock that's blue with a red bluetooth symbol (looks like two sideways triangles)? in the start menu, under programs do you see "bluetooth"?

[cudbageekbutnotquite]

NO..i don't see the bluetooth icon on the quicklaunch bar...or do i possibly have to buy another hardware device to enable the driver to work??

[dsenette]

if you bought the laptop with the bluetooth adapter built in, you shouldn't have to do anything. the driver should already be installed and it should just work when you turn the switch on.

i'm assuming the thing is still under warranty. i'd contact dell support

[Digerati]

i've got a D830 with the bluetooth built in as well, and the bluetooh is turned on with the same switch as the wireless network connection (actual physical switch)

Wow. Sorry for the misinformation. I guess I should download and read the manual. It seems odd to me both would use the same physical switch as bluetooth and 802.11x networking are two different wireless systems for different functions. I wonder if the switch is configurable, perhaps from a Fn key. By that, I wonder if it can be assigned different functions to the physical switch based on what you want it to do. It seems to me, if not for security but for battery conservation you should be able to disable unused features without disabling needed features. Many folks don't need bluetooth, for example, but still need network access.

[dsenette]

i've got a D830 with the bluetooth built in as well, and the bluetooh is turned on with the same switch as the wireless network connection (actual physical switch)

Wow. Sorry for the misinformation. I guess I should download and read the manual. It seems odd to me both would use the same physical switch as bluetooth and 802.11x networking are two different wireless systems for different functions. I wonder if the switch is configurable, perhaps from a Fn key. By that, I wonder if it can be assigned different functions to the physical switch based on what you want it to do. It seems to me, if not for security but for battery conservation you should be able to disable unused features without disabling needed features. Many folks don't need bluetooth, for example, but still need network access.

i agree that there SHOULD be multiple switches (even if one is software only instead of hardware). there are no configurations for the switch itself. the hardware switch is literally a power switch that fires up both circuits (BT and WIFI). there is still a software switch for the wireless radio but i've not found one for the BT

[Digerati]

i agree that there SHOULD be multiple switches (even if one is software only instead of hardware). there are no configurations for the switch itself. the hardware switch is literally a power switch that fires up both circuits (BT and WIFI). there is still a software switch for the wireless radio but i've not found one for the BT

Hmm, interesting. Fortunately, BT does not consume much power.

Just checking my Toshiba, the various wireless communications systems are enabled via software, but then you can cycle them on or off individually via the Fn-F8 key.

[cudbageekbutnotquite]

thanks for your help guys!

[dsenette]

let us know what the solution is if dell is able to solve your problem.