Repost: E5500 Latitude, Dell 370 BT card not visible in Windows

We have some Dell Latitude E5500's that were not supplied with Bluetooth or webcams as they were stock clearance and we got a good price to buy as is.

Got two Dell 370 Bluetooth adaptors from Ebay to suit this model machine. Using with Genius Traveler 915BT combo wireless mouse/presenter with laser pointer..

Bluetooth card installed simply into PCIe mini slot, but this was where the fun started.

Laptop is running Windows XP Professional SP3

-- The indicator under the screen lights up to indicate that the card is active.
-- The card is detected in the BIOS, and there is a checkbox that is ticked to say that the card is enabled.
-- The "Detected New Hardware" wizard did not run when launching Windows. The bluetooth card doesn't appear at all in the Device Manager (even when showing hidden devices). It's not listed under Network Adapters, Bluetooth Devices or Other Devices
-- If you turn the wireless devices off using the manual switch under the front edge of the computer, the icons for wifi and bluetooth both get crosses through them, and both appear to reenable when the switch is turned back on.
-- My phone will detect a device in range when I scan for it, but fails when trying to establish a paired connection.
-- Dell ControlPoint software does not show Bluetooth devices.
-- The Dell software won't install, message about wrong platform? The software from Broadcom's website prompts you to insert/power on your bluetooth hardware, even though it is physically installed.

Thought that the bluetooth adapter may have been DOA, so shutdown the computer and installed the other one but had the same results. Being that my phone and the BIOS both see the card, I'm fairly sure that the card is working.

Updated the bios to latest A13, and all relevant patches/updates have been installed using Microsoft Update website.

Has anyone seen something like this? I'm open to all suggestions.

Any assistance is appreciated.


Adam Edwards
eddy2500@gmail.com