Dell Inspiron 8500 - BSOD - bcmwl5.sys driver?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

System:
Dell Inspiron 8500, 2.4GHz Pentium 4, 60Gb HD w/ >20Gb free
Windows XP Pro, SP2

I've been getting intermittent BSOD, with the cause attributed to
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and bcmwl5.sys.

Searching Google reveals that I'm not alone with this problem, and that
bcmwl5.sys is a Broadcom wireless LAN driver.

None of the solutions I've found so far on Google have pointed to a Dell
driver solution; they've all been drivers on an HP or other computer
makers site.

Plus, the solutions have been less than clear, to me at least.

So, my questions are:
1) Are there new drivers on the Dell site that I've somehow missed?
(When I checked Dell.com, as far as I could tell, I had the latest
Broadcom and wireless drivers.)

2) Can I use a driver file I find on, say, an HP site to get a new
bcmwl5.sys driver file?

3) If I use drivers from, say, the HP site, how do I install *just* the
updated bcmwl5.sys driver? Or if other drivers get installed, does it
matter, if I don't have the corresponding hardware?

4) Does someone know of a better, or at least more Dell-specific, web
site addressing this problem than what comes up in the first page or two
of a Google search for "bcmwl5.sys"?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Bob Pownall

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Forgot to mention.

My bcmwl5.sys version is 3.100.35.1

Bob Pownall

 

[Clark]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

What device is using the driver? I only have Intel for wireless, and
Broadcom for the Integrated Controller. Not an 8500 though.

Clark

"Bob Pownall" <repownall@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:11flj443l1e8264@corp.supernews.com...
> Forgot to mention.
>
> My bcmwl5.sys version is 3.100.35.1
>
> Bob Pownall

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Clark wrote:
> What device is using the driver? I only have Intel for wireless, and
> Broadcom for the Integrated Controller. Not an 8500 though.

I assume it's my wireless LAN card. (I mean, what else could it be?)

Device Manager identifies this as:
Dell TrueMobile 1400 Dual Band WLAN Mini-PCI Card
Device Type: Network Adapter
Manufacturer: Broadcom
Location: PCI bus 2, device 3, function 0

The "Driver Details..." button on the "Driver" tab on the TrueMobile's
"Properties" window confirms my belief, by displaying the following
information:
Driver files: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\BCMWL5.SYS
Provider: Broadcom Corporation
File version: 3.100.35.1, built by WinDDK

I suppose it's theoretically possible that another device is using the
driver, but that seems unlikely.

Bob Pownall

 

[Clark]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I saw that listed on the Drivers page on the Dell site. This probably means
nothing, but Dell lists the cards as 1400 Dual Band WLAN, and 1450 or 1470
Wireless WLAN Mini-PC. Are you given those choices when you install the
driver, since the drivers are in the same download? I am probably just
misreading the listing.

If you want to reinstall the driver, delete the one on your computer now and
download a new one. If you don't delete the current one, the downloaded one
might not replace the one being used. Sorry I can't check for you but I
can't unzip the file or it will install. It is a little strange that when I
downloaded on this non-Dell machine that my floppy drive started running!

If you want to try the Driver from Broadcom, it should work but may not have
some special additions. I am currently using the Intel driver for my
wireless card.

Clark


"Bob Pownall" <repownall@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:11fo4jvvq2vqfb@corp.supernews.com...
> Clark wrote:
>> What device is using the driver? I only have Intel for wireless, and
>> Broadcom for the Integrated Controller. Not an 8500 though.
>
> I assume it's my wireless LAN card. (I mean, what else could it be?)
>
> Device Manager identifies this as:
> Dell TrueMobile 1400 Dual Band WLAN Mini-PCI Card
> Device Type: Network Adapter
> Manufacturer: Broadcom
> Location: PCI bus 2, device 3, function 0
>
> The "Driver Details..." button on the "Driver" tab on the TrueMobile's
> "Properties" window confirms my belief, by displaying the following
> information:
> Driver files: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\BCMWL5.SYS
> Provider: Broadcom Corporation
> File version: 3.100.35.1, built by WinDDK
>
> I suppose it's theoretically possible that another device is using the
> driver, but that seems unlikely.
>
> Bob Pownall

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I somehow missed the new Dell TrueMobile 1400 driver package,
R102320.EXE, released 07/14/2005 (or 06/30/2005, depending on which Dell
Support screen you believe).

I've downloaded file (26Mb!) and installed it. It upgraded my
bcmwl5.sys file from 3.100.35.1 to 3.120.27.0.

Let's see if my BSOD problems go away...

Bob Pownall