DELL WIRELESS CONFIGURATION UTILITY

for Dell laptops using the Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-Band WLAN PCI Card

1) Double-click on the tiny Dell Wireless Network icon in the “System Tray” near the clock in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

2) Click on the Wireless Network tab.

3) Click on the name of your wireless network (the SSID), for example, linksys or mywirelessnet.

4) Click on the Edit button.

5) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Network Authentication: box, then click on WPA-Personal (PSK) which is the best type of encryption for a home or small business wireless network.

6) Click on the Network Key tab.

7) Type your encryption password in the Network key: box.

8) Type your encryption password again in the Confirm network key: box.

9) Click on OK.

10) Close the Dell Wireless Configuration Utility.

11) Check the four vertical bars in the Dell Wireless Configuration Utility icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

If there are two or more green bars, your laptop is receiving a good to excellent signal.  

If there are three yellow bars, your laptop is receiving a low signal.

If there are two red bars, your laptop is receiving a very low signal. (You may not be able to get on the Internet if you have two red bars. Try moving the laptop closer to the Wireless Router or try rotating the laptop to see if you can get a better signal.)

If there are no colors on the bars, then you are not receiving a signal at all. Check your Wireless Encryption Password (step # 7 above). Re-enter the Password again in both boxes, if necessary.

12) If you are receiving a very low to excellent signal, try your Internet Explorer program or your favorite web browser to see if you can access the Internet.