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post #1 of 15
5/15/04 at 2:39am
Thread Starter 
I'm new here, Found the site on Google...Just like everything else you need! Just wanted to say Wzup to other Sentia Users, and say that I am very happy with my Sentia, just not AW as a company.

Also, if anyone is looking to upgrade their Intel 802.11 B in their Sentia Dell has the Replacement for 802.11 G for $39.00. I mention this with a question..has anyone else had issues with the 802.11 B card, mine never seems to want to get a good signal, I have other wireless laptops and desktops in my house that never have a problem, but they are 802.11 G. Sometimes, even right in front of the my router, I can't get a signal

Well, thanx guys for any suggestions, I look forward to exchanging some good info here...

Check out my website if you get a chance http://www.themotens.com
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post #2 of 15
5/15/04 at 3:11am
Check to make sure that the antenna wire is plugged in to MAIN. Another Sentia owner in this forum found that the wire was not plugged in.

The URL below shows a picture of my Sentia's wireless card.
http://www.slacker.net/alienware/MyS...s/IMG_7297.JPG
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post #3 of 15
5/15/04 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
Thanx for the info. But unfortunately I have tried that, and tried reinstalling drivers numerous times also....it really confuses me. But I will double check to be certain, right now I am on my front porch and am getting a great connection...just doesn't make alot of since. I don't have any problems with the Wireless G stuff...I am wondering if it would be worth it to get the G card or not.
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post #4 of 15
5/15/04 at 8:05pm
first congrats on your new lappy

second .. im wonderin if you are picking up any other signal?
is there traffic that u have to deal with to get to your access point?

going to a minipci b/g card would help the data transfer, but not necessarily the signal strength/range...

heres waht i'd do, go buy a pcmcia b card and see how well it does compared to the internal... if it works good/perfect, i think you have a bad internal card... either that or the sentia suffers from the mangesum alloy lcd which interferes with wireless signal (this was a problem brought up by a few area 51m owners)

hope this helps..
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post #5 of 15
5/15/04 at 8:06pm
although this may seem bad, when u buty the b pcmcia card, get it from a place where u can return it for a full refund even tho u opeend it

bestbuy or circuitcity allow this
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post #6 of 15
5/15/04 at 8:57pm
Hello, you Said "wanted to say Wzup to other Sentia Users, and say that I am very happy with my Sentia, just not AW as a company"


What issues are you having with Alienware?

Micro:
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post #7 of 15
5/15/04 at 9:48pm
The Area51m2 and Sentia differs in the case construction. The Sentia does not have magnesium alloy case to interfere with wireless signal. The antenna on the Sentia is routed to the LCD to give it the optimal location for wireless reception. If the signal is bad off and on, it is possible bad wireless card. Replacing it with the G would be a good test for it. BUt I would suggest getting AW involved - maybe they will have the offering for the G card soon. I have a wireless G router now, and may upgrade to G Intel card when the "need" arises. I have to say that the G card is in the "want" category right now and I can't justify shelving a perfectly good B card.
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post #8 of 15
5/15/04 at 9:53pm
these things are so cheap u might as well get a G card

my notebook came with a generic b/g card which was really cheap coz it wouldnt operate correctly with the wireless toggle on/off switch... it would never turn 'off' it was always on...

so i went to www.newegg.com
and ordered an intel pro2200 b/g card and did the installation myself
worked like a charm and only cost 40 bucks
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post #9 of 15
5/15/04 at 10:01pm

remove the laptop faceplate with phillips screw driver from the side



unscrew keyboard and remove it from the motherboard ribbon



unscrew and remove any heatshield covering the minipci slot



disconnect the main and aux antenna wires connected to the card



take new card and pop it in place of the old one



make sure its secured properly and connected using the tensioner clips



put everything back together and voila...


total labor involved = 5 minutes
total cost = 40 bux
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post #10 of 15
5/15/04 at 10:06pm
i plan to do this upgrade again in september when intel plans to release their a/b/g + bluetooth mini pci card made for centrino2 aka alvisio/sonoma
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post #11 of 15
5/15/04 at 11:58pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, I can just take off the little compartment where the RAM is and change mine....

Thanx though. Yeah, I tried and external B and it did the same thing...I think my router prefers G. It is a linksys wireless G...but shouldn't be an issue with B
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post #12 of 15
5/16/04 at 12:01am
thats wierd

ok return the b card and put in a linksys b/g pcmcia card!

see if that works



make sure u setup ur wireless acss point properly so it allows both b/g connections too

u should prolly do that before you go buy another pcmcia card to test
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post #13 of 15
5/16/04 at 12:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Micro
Hello, you Said "wanted to say Wzup to other Sentia Users, and say that I am very happy with my Sentia, just not AW as a company"


What issues are you having with Alienware?

Micro:
Well, I ordered my Sentia Last year the begining of August, I finally got it in November when my wife finally told AW that if they didn't get off their butts and get the thing sent out then we were cancelling the order I magically got my Sentia in 3 days...Then I had to send it back because the power supply was loose and shorting out...They had it for over 1 month, the only way we got it back then was to threaten to call the BBB once again, like magic, I got it back in less than 4 days.

I still have yet to get a working WIN_XP_Pro CD from them or one of their Master CDs...Their Customer service has been absolutly horrible to me, noone knows what anyone else has done, and noone does anything untill you threaten them with something...Of course if they wouldn't have got the thing to me I would have been forced to do something...Eitehr way, My wife has a Dell laptop and desktop, and I have a Dell desktop, I have NEVER had such problems with them, just the fact that I can't understand those people in another country
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post #14 of 15
5/16/04 at 12:13am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rincewind
thats wierd

ok return the b card and put in a linksys b/g pcmcia card!

see if that works



make sure u setup ur wireless acss point properly so it allows both b/g connections too

u should prolly do that before you go buy another pcmcia card to test

Already checked the router and everything, the only thing left is the card itself, but lately it has been working pretty good, since yesterday when I put somemore RAM in it.

hmmm...who knows, maybe it was a bit loose, I don't know, I still think I will spend the 40 bucks when I have a chance to get the G card

thanx
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post #15 of 15
5/16/04 at 2:37am
i want g too, but seeing as my printer is B, my router will still suffer from being in mixed mode. My B card works like a champ, made range and stability!! Streaming dvd is a little shaky so g would be nice and also for large file transfer, but Im still gunna plug in when I transfer dvd's and such. I too will wait for BT integration though.
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