How do I turn wi fi back on?
 

Well I really did it this time. Right now I am on Kindle Fire. My Dell Inspiron Laptop has been acting up (choppy. Slow videos, etc.) So I went online, got what I thought was a Dell support person, we did remote hosting, she was showing me all corrupted files and stuff, she told me my graphics card was corrupted, she knew her stuff. I then asked her if she could fix my computer and she said , it eill be a one time fee of $99.00. I politely declined and she said no problem. I then tried to go online and my wi fi is not on. I phoned back Dell who had no record. It seems that my first call was to a tech support line and not Dell.

This guy now tells me to press the FN and the F2 buttons to turn wi fi back on. Did not work, i have tried. He then said whoever I spoke to unistalled my wireless drivers. He cant help me. I Want to do a complete factory reinstall to make it like new. I dont know how to do it. I press the F11 key to get to that screen. No luck. So if anyone knows either how to turn on wifi on a Dell Inspiron E1705 or show me how to do a complete factory reinstall. I would so appreciate it. Please help me. Dell cant


Thanks much, Melody

This Q&A session might help you; Hi, my Dell Inspiron E175 cannot connect to WiFi. It has.

What version of windows are you using? *I assume it is windows*
Or go to Microsoft.com and look up how to do factory reset of your version of windows..

*I would first read on Micorsoft about finding & checking your wifi settings, before re setting the whole system.. Maybe something just got scrambled or turned off...
Microsoft.com - Google Search


*Or reboot the computer to see if it fixes itself first?

If any of the * easier ideas work and you don't have to factory reset it, I do suggest a cleaner/maint utility to tidy up excess files and bad files..

I used this one when I had windows..easy to use one step cleaning, but you can use the advanced settings if you want..
Glary Utilities - Free System Utilities to Clean Registry, Fix PC Errors, Protect Privacy | Glarysoft
or some other well rated free options-
CCleaner, Recuva, Defraggler & Speccy - All Products - Piriform


How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC
How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC - Windows Help

Or Dell has this info-
How to restore your Windows 7 computer to factory settings | Dell US
other Windows versions info-
http://www.dell.com/support/contents...rating-Systems


After the factory reset, if it still does not connect to wifi, do you have a network cable that you can plug in connect to the router or modem temporarily?
Sometimes if plugged in then you can go online to find the drivers needed, but if factory reset you will have to also get all the system updates again from Microsoft.
and whatever your anti virus is you'll have to get that installed set up again..


Be sure to only allow remote hosting connections to well known trusted websites, there are some spoofed sites that look very similar to the real legit ones..

Am still on kindle fire. Went on my computer. Saw that i had no audio. Figured how to turn audio on. A thing popped up telling me my wi fi was off and did I want to turn it back on? I clicked on yes. Hit the FN and F2 keys. And it told me "WIRELESS NETWORKS ARE AVAILABLE. I knew what to do after that. Now let me get off this kindle fire and see if i can go online. Be back in a flash.

I have no idea we hat I did but I turned on my wi fi. I will eorry about choppy videos later.

Thanks to all who replied. I haves absolutely no idea how I did this or what I even did.

Lol. Love to you all.



UPDATE UPDATE.

Am back on my computer. Posting from my computer.
Will go and check and see if other sites are working too!!!

Love ya.

Melody

Melody, it is good to read that things are now working.

Pikku Myy, I am not sure about "Unplug" unless there is no alternative. "Shut Down" and "Restart" are both fine because the HDD will spin down in a controlled way.

There is a risk that pulling the plug could lead to an uncontrolled spin down of the HDD, which might damage it. Most HDD spin at 7200 rpm and the read-write heads (which transfer information from/to the HDD) are very close to it, sometimes as little as a few nanometres. Cutting the power abruptly means that the read-write heads could hit the HDD which is likely to lead to fatal damage to it.

Maybe Pikku meant unplug/turn off the router/modem to let it reboot? :confused:
That would be another option if the problem was still happening...
but it sounds like all is working again..

Good practice for wifi issues - always try reboot first on computer and/or router/modem...before doing more drastic actions...

You know what I wish? I wish I were 20 years old, living in this tech savvy world so I would know what you people are talking about.

All I did was shut it down, wait a few minutes, then turned it back down.

My shockwave keeps crashing. Don't know what to do about that.

I needed a new 90 watt adaptor, so the guy is getting it for me. He loaned me his 65 adaptor and told me my computer would run slower (and it indicated so right on the screen). So when my new adaptor/charger comes, I'll replace it, (after shutting down of course), then turn on computer and if I still have choppy videos, I'll bring the whole computer in and let him take a look.

Right now, I'm dealing with Alan having food poisoning from last night's venture into NYC to attend the Peripheral Neuropathy support group meeting.
We ate sandwiches across the street. One hour into the meeting, we both got diarrhea, Alan got a worse case and his whole body went weak and limp. Thank god I got him home, gave him liquids, put him to bed, he threw up this morning. All the cranberries that were in his sandwich, came out of him (both ends). Been texting back and forth with Dr. Fred. He said Alan got a food poisoning from a virus in that food. I didn't eat the same sandwich but the guy cut both sandwiches with the same knife, so I'm imagining that's why I got a bout of diarrhea at the same time he did. He had fever last night and so dehydrated. So I'm watering him, will give him pastena in low sodium broth (when he's ready to eat). Fever is gone. Dr. Fred says it has to run it's course. But he's a bit nauseous still. He's sleeping right now. oh my poor hubby!!

I hope that Alan feels better soon.

Which browser are you using? Depending on this there are different possible fixes for Shockwave crashes.

I use Chrome. I also have Firefox and Internet Explorer but I use Chrome for most things and why I do that well, I have no idea. I am presently watching youtube. I love that site. It has all the old shows, I mean, EVERYTHING is on youtube. lol

I keep making sure that Alan is sufficiently hydrated. He has no fever, he is still cool. He went to bed at 8 p.m. His feet are burning because it's going to rain for the next three days.

At the meeting, the leader quoted Norman Latov. Dr. Latov said "It's illegal to torture prisoners of war, but people with neuropathy suffer this every day"

The guy also said that they are going to come out with a pill to treat neuropathy but it won't be available for 10 to 15 years because that's how long it takes to get approved by the FDA.

How cruel is this condition? Sorry, I do tend to go off topic. But at least I got my wi fi back on. lol

Melody

I use Chrome as well.

Often problems with Shockwave arise if your version of Chrome is not up-to-date.

To check this, click of the three horizontal bars (top RHS of the screen) and then select "Settings". Then select "About" - Chrome will then check what your version is and, if necessary, install the latest one, which is Version 50.0.2661.102 m.

The update will automatically include the latest version of Shockwave.

There is a discussion of this here; How to stop Shockwave Flash crashing in Google Chrome - How-To - PC Advisor. Note that it relates to an older version of Chrome (46.9.2490.86 m) so, if your version of Chrome is not current, the instructions there about checking Chrome might apply to you.

Thank you so much!!! Will let you know

Melody

My version of Chrome is 49.0.2623.112m

And I always get a message that there will be no updates for Chrome on a computer that uses XP or Vista and I use Vista

What do I do now?

Thanks much
Melody

Argh, what a pain.

As far as I can see Mozilla still supports Firefox running under Vista.

Maybe try Firefox and see how you go.

You might want to import your Chrome bookmarks into Firefox - there is info about this here; Import bookmarks from Google Chrome | Firefox Help.

Usually Firefox is cool with Shockwave/Flash but issues can happen. If so, please let me know and I will try to help.

Will do as you advise.

I just wanted to tell you what happened last night when I phoned Dell Tech Support, told them I had a Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop and the videos are choplpy and can he help me. I gave him the service tag number and he goes "OMG, that thing is 9 years old, it's on it's deathbed"

I then said "What if I do a complete re-install of the operating system so it's like it just came out of the box?"

He hung up on me.

Nice right?

Melody

Hi.

I imported my Chrome bookmarks. I then deleted Chrome from my computer, restarted it and am now using Mozilla.

My computer is still a bit slow, and the videos are slow to play but I can play them.

Let me ask you something. Can the fact that I am using the computer tech's charger (my new Dell one just came in and I'm going there at 6 p.m. tonight) can the charger that I am presently using be the reason the computer is running slow. The charger I am using now is a 65 watt and the actual charger for this laptop is a 90 watt. That charger died on me.

The computer guy tested it and said "we have to get you a new charger and it has to be the same type and this will work but your computer will run slower". As soon as he turned it on, the message indicated exactly that. It said "You must upgrade to (can't remember) but it did indicate my computer would be running slower.

So I shall update you later on when I come home and try and see if my computer is back to snuff.

Can't thank you enough.

Melody

You will love this. I had an appt to bring my laptop in tonight. So what do I do?

I run a check disk not knowing that once it begins its dangerous to interupt it. I went to computer guy. Told him what I did. He started laughing.

I go back tomorrow and get new charger. If i still get choppy videos he will upgrade me to wndows 7 (thats what Alan used so i know it already) and i know to clear my cache of any personal stuff before before I bring it in. He will do all my bookmarks and programs (only if its still slow) all this for $35.00

I just want my youtube back.

Melody

A Windows 7 upgrade sounds good to me.

I ran it for years on my old laptop which died (a fatal HD crash) a few months ago after seven years service - I was happy with it.

Chrome supports Windows 7 so you should be able to get the latest version of it, including current Shockwave/Flash which, with luck, will solve your issues.

Just came back with my newly restored WINDOWS 7 upgrade.

Everything worked fine in the guy's shop. I get it home, plug it in press the power button, it started to load, then I got a blank screen. I powered it off, started in safe mode, selected START WINDOWS NORMALLY (or whatever it said).

AND VOILA!!! I am on the internet. Of course I had to put in my wi fi password which worked, the computer indicated I was connected but it said it wasn't connected but now IT'S CONNECTED.

I guess there are always bugs when you bring a newly upgraded computer or laptop home.

I am on youtube. I can WATCH MY VIDEOS.

THANK GOD.

All for $35.00 and the price of a new Dell Inspiron charger which was $30 so who on earth cares.

It just shows how addicted we are to our devices.

Hey, at least I don't drink!!

lol

Melody

Melody, that is excellent news :)!

Okay, here is what happened this morning. I turned on the laptop, the lights blinked on, but I waited and I waited and NOTHING. Blank Blue Screen (I asked the Optimum Guy last night other questions and mentioned this and he explained that when you first turn on a computer it has to load all the drivers and sometimes it takes longer.

So this morning, I turned it on, WAITED, got a blank blue screen, hit the power button, held it down so it would turn off. Waited a while, hit the power button again, knowing it would prompt me to do the Safe Mode thing, I selected Safe mode and then hit restart and it's fine.

Made a video just to show you what happened. I'd like to know (before I bring this back to the computer guy, if any of you know what I can do to avoid all this safe mode stuff. I just want to turn it on and have it boot up to Windows 7. Oh, one more thing. Yesterday I knew I would be away for an hour so I hit the sleep mode. When I came back and touched the touch pad on the keyboard, I got a screen that said 'Owner has locked, then another choice was "switch users"

I just selected "owner has locked" and my Windows 7 desktop screen popped up.

So here's the video I made this morning and if anyone has any clue what I can do. (see I am still learning all this cool stuff). It's amazing that at 68 I even know what the h I am doing, as all my friends have no computers, no tablets, and I'm lucky if they even have a cell phone. lol

YouTube

Thanks much. Melody

If your hard drive or some other hardware is getting ready to die, due to age or other problems, that will make booting unpredictable..
Rebooting may work for awhile , until it totally stops working..

I couldn't see the video.. but computers don't last forever...you can replace parts if it is cost effective to do that, but sometimes not worth it on older machines...

Melody, a "blank blue screen", sometimes called the Blue Screen Of Death is not a good sign.

Getting a BSOD often usually suggests a hardware problem.

The info here about Safe Mode might help; What is safe mode? - Windows Help in terms of trouble-shooting.

As Jo*mar has implied, maybe (if funds allow) the time has come to think about a new machine?

Cant afford a new anything. All money goes to Alan'd copays, bills, etc. We owe from all the hospitalizations from last year. It is what it is. Alan could have died ladt eeek from food poisoning. Thank god I had activated charcoal in the house. But to be alone in NYC with no one to call and he was so dehydrated, well I just cant put us in that situation again.

But he is fine , eating me out of house and home.

Anyway I have a quedtion. My laptop worked fine last night. Was able to watch movies. Vifro quslity was exceptional. This morning it turned on just fine. I am not home now so I am on my Kindle Fire. Here's my situation. I use my laptop as a desktop. No battery. Been doing thid for three years.

With no problem. I never touch the charger. Last night after watching videos, i touched the charger, it was hot (the brick part I mean) not the eires coming out of each end of the brick. I went online and it seels people attach fans to the charger so it doesnt overheat. I have a bettrr idea. I have lots of those frozen ice packs in my freezer. Cant i take one, wrap in a towel, place brick on to so it stays cool. It would not get wet at all. What do you all think?

Thanks so much.

Melody

The charger box part does get fairly warm normally, was it too hot to touch?
If too hot to touch or hold then it could be a safety issue, maybe not the correct size or defective...

I just checked dh's laptop but he isn't actively using it right now, the box part is cool.
*you might compare how warm yours gets during active use vs laptop on but not using it...

I wouldn't recommend ice thing. Maybe a little rack or something to lift it up for better air circulation?
And keep papers and such away from it..
But you might mention it to the guy where you got this one, maybe try a different one to see if it does the same thing or not..

Went back to computer guy. Told him of my concern with the hot brick thing. He laughed, told me to touch all the bricks connected to all the laptops he was either repairing/upgrading.

All were HOT.

So......I have asked many people who have laptops. Same thing.

Oh, I discovered one thing. It gets hotter if I'm watching a video than let's say I am on here posting.

Oh boy, the stuff I continue to learn about the computing world.

lol

Thanks so much for all your help.

Oh, get this. the computer guy hooked up this AWESOME mouse to my laptop. I normally use a cordless mouse. Works fine.

Left it home because he has all these mice in his stable of hardware.

He takes out this red powerhouse of a mouse with all the side things on it. I said OMG, that's a mouse?" He laughed and said 'Oh, that belongs to my son, he's a gamer"

I said "I bet he has an Alienware computer'

the guy just looked at me as if to say "how the h does she know about Alienware?"

Then when I showed him videos of why I brought back the laptop, (it kept indicating I had no internet acess when I WAS ON THE INTERNET). I wanted to prove to him that I was indeed on the internet even though on the bottom right when I right clicked it said "connected" and then underneath my wi fi name it said 'no internet access'

The guy looked at me and said (in a low, slow, voice like when people are talking to OLD peopld), he said "You do know that you can tell you are on the internet by looking at the bottom right of the screen"

I looked at him and said "Fool, I've been doing computers for 35 years, seriously?????"

He looked at me and said "OH"

rofl.

Mel

NEW THINGS HAPPENING WITH THIS COMPUTER. Need to pick all your brains.

Last night the MCaffee anti virus guy (I get that with Optimum Services) helped me download this huge anti-virus software ( I had this with Vista also). My internet kept fluctuating. (his words). I went to my router and made sure all connections were secure (I had moved the router earlier and maybe I knocked something loose??) After that, all was well. Anti-virus software downloaded. No problem.

I then called Optimum tech support and said "I want to also turn my laptop into a tv please help me download the Optimum App on my laptop.

We did it together, tested it, no problem. So last night I added TWO huge programs to my computer.

Oh, FYI, I went to see how much memory is on my computer and this is what it said

39.1 GB FREE of 74.5 GB


Under System it said
Installed Memory (RAM) 2.5 GB
32 Bit operating system.

This morning I went to turn on my computer . Lights were flashing. no Windows 7 screen. Did this again. Same thing.

Powered it off, safe mode screen popped up asking me if I wanted to start in Normal Mode. I selected that. Nothing again.

I then powered it off, safe mode screen popped up asking if I wanted to start in safe mode. I clicked on Start in Safe Mode. It did, all icons appeared. I then went to bottom left, selected Restart, and it came up just fine and there was my Windows 7 screen and I am online and here posting this question.

Why is this happening. I don't want to keep bringing this computer back and forth if this is something I can fix myself.

Does the fact that I added two BIG programs to this computer make it harder to load up in the morning.

Something with my startup folder. What do I need to uncheck (if anything I mean) to make this load in a normal way when I power it up in the morning?

I actually waited 20 minutes initially this morning for that Windows 7 screen to appear. Nothing. Like I said it took 3 tries, only to necessitate me going into Safe Mode to be able to restart this thing.

I wonder if at night I should just put it to sleep and see what happens the next morning,.

What happens in the morning when I power it up? All the drivers have to load and programs have to load? And do I have enough RAM? Do you think I should add more RAM? When the optimum guy was helping me download the Optimum App, I told him I had 2.5 gb of ram and he said that was plenty.

I just want to know if maybe I need to change something in the Startup folder to make this load up normally in the morning when I turn it on.

Thanks so much

And if you need me to provide any more info on this 18 inch monster, just ask and I'll supply it.

Melody

Does hard drive make any unusual sounds or clinks - that it didn't before?
Have you or anyone run disk check, to check for bad sectors on HD (hard drive)?
Check your hard disk for errors in Windows 7
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2641432
and
Resolving stop (blue screen) errors in Windows 7

Since this is a fairly new fresh install , the OS should not be messed up yet..unless the HD is an issue..and the HD is messing up the OS...

your Ram is fine

Melody, I think that those are good suggestions from Jo*mar.

I did indeed run a disk check. Everything was fine. And now it is just fine. Never made any clicking sounds by the way.

Lol. Thanks do much

Love ya. Melody

Yay :cool: !