6400/E1505 WiFi-card detection problem

I got the 6400 yesterday, and ended up formatting the drive so I could start from scratch, installing the software I want. During the formatting, I accidently also deleted the recovery partition. The problem is that now, the WiFi card (Intel Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG) is not detected in windows! The green WiFi light next to the blue BT light is not lit, like it was when I got the computer. It doesn't in "My network places->Show connections" either. This is what I've tried so far:

-Enable/disable wireless comm. by pressing Fn+F2. It's enabled.
-Installed two different Intel drivers. The one on Dell's pages (38-39MB) and one directly from Intel's pages (80MB-ish). None seem to make the WiFi work.
-Checked multiple times that the card is activated in BIOS
-Installed all other drivers, which work perfectly (Including: Intel Chipset, Thoshiba BT Stack, Touchpad, Omega X1400 display driver, Dell QuickSet software, Audio driver, Conexant modem driver, Broadcom 10/100 ethernet controller, Dell notebook system software)
-Taking out the battery and putting it back in
-Deleting the "Network Controller" item from system hardware management. The system found it again at once, but to no help.

None of these actions gave a positive result. All the Intel WiFi-software tray icon options are grayed out, since no card is detected. When I double-click it, it gives me an error and says "No supported wireless card is detected in the system" (roughly translated from norwegian)


Anyone else ever seen this problem? I've googled and searched forums for hours, with no luck. I've tried the MD2.0 bootable ISO fix, without it helping me. Not that I expected it to, but I'm desperate. Trying every option. All help is very welcome!

In my desparation I might have overlooked something important and simple. Somewhere on this forum I read that the recovery partition really can't be deleted, and it's hidden somewhere? Is this true? If so, where can I restore it and install the original setup?


edit: In the BIOS, it says my WiFi-card is called "Broadcom Wireless". But the Intel drivers installs perfectly, and the configuration tool on Dell's page says that the Intel WiFi-card for Duo core CPU's is the only alternative. Is it broadcom or is it Intel? Or is it the same?

Done three times already, sorry. Tried two different versions of Windows XP media center edition as well. Same problem with both.

Done that as well. But thanks a lot for the suggestions. I do however suspect it to be a hardware or lower level problem. Maybe BIOS (even though it says it's activated in the BIOS setup screen). Because the blue BT-lamp is lit at the very moment I turn on the computer, and so did the green WiFi-lamp as well I think, when that worked. The BT-lamp still lits up when I turn it on, but the WiFi remains unlit no matter what I do. Could the mini-chip be loose maybe? I haven't shaken or shocked the computer in any way, so I can hardly imagine it. I don't want to remove the keyboard and open it either.

I have now tried to reseat the Wireless Mini-card, but to no avail (Yes, I'm a "certified service technician" and used extreme caution. Don't try this randomly on your own without knowing what you're doing. Components are very fragile in a notebook) Everything is like before. I had high hopes for this, but now I'm really lost Don't understand a thing. I guess it's a low level driver/software issue, but how to find and fix I have no clue. If not any of you have more smart tips, I'll call Dell technical support on monday and see what they have to say.

I fear I have to trust this one the most. Allthough, it worked perfectly until I started the formatting and reinstalling procedure. But I will try booting Linux and see what happens then. In any case, I'll call technical support tomorrow. This is a huge mystery.

edit: I've now tried the Knoppix 5.0.1. Live CD, but it didn't detect the card either. Strange stuff. I'll try some more random drivers. Not much to lose. I'll just format once again.

I've fixed the problem now. As I feared, it was far simpler than I thought it to be. I installed the "Dell WLAN 1390" drivers from their page, and the green WiFi-light came on immediately. I was quite suprised. I'm confused what WiFi-card I really have. Is it Broadcom or is it Intel Pro? Dell's homemade? What is the real name and what is an alias? Anywhy, I'll call technical support tomorrow to learn more about how this system really works. I could have tried different drivers earlier on, but messing with drivers not made for my installed hardware have never given me good experiences, so I waited with that. I tried now as an almost ridicilous last way out.

Could have saved me a day or two, but no use in regretting things. At least now Google will find this thread for the next time someone is as silly as me

As I said further up, I did this saturday. It said Broadcom. But for what I know, the chip might be from Broadcom while Intel assembles the card and distributes it. No sure way to know. At least now it works.