Monday, July 30, 2007

WiFi (Wireless) Intel Pro Adapter in Dell Laptops and VISTA

Turns out that a large number of Dell Inspiron and Latitude notebooks are affected by a problem with the IntelPro Wireless Adapter in Microsoft Windows VISTA. Basically, the computer connects to the internet on the WiFi, works for a few minutes, and then quits. If you look carefully you can notice that the Wirless Network Connection is disabled, and you cannot enable it. More close examination reveals Error Logs in Event Viewer.

Well, although I am not sure of the precise cause of the problem, it appears to be an issue with the Intel Drivers used to operate the Wireless device. Fortunately, Windows Vista has available drivers for the adapter that seem to do the trick according to the Dell Forums.

To go back to Vista driver first Turn the Wi-Fi off (FN-F2). Then proceed to uninstall the Intel Driver (Control Panel, Uninstall a Program).

Next, go into Device Manager (right Click Computer, select Properties, then Device Manger on the left side, or Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Device Manager). Expand Network adapters, Double Click Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection. Click the Driver Tab.Click the Uninstall Button.

After vista uninstalls the driver, the adapter will be removed from Network adapters.Reboot immediately. Make sure the radio comes back on, while Windows is shutting down, hit the FN-F2 key combo to turn the radio back on. Upon reboot, Windows will install its own driver.My driver is by Microsoft, dated 6/21/2006, version 10.6.0.15.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

TrialWorks Integrates with Internet Explorer!

That's right, we integrate -sort of- with IE (and FireFox in a few day). As part of the nWeb effort (that's the catchy sign for our "New Website") we also developed the TrialWorks ToolBar. It is a plug-in for Internet Explorer, and FireFox, that makes life a little easier for the average TrialWorks user.

We add just a few small buttons, with menus, to your IE that make it quicker for you to access support, our website, and the Account Manager. It even has a nifty update feature that will alert you whenever something important happens - but don't worry, we will not send out the alerts too often. Mostly reserved for upgrade notifications.

And the best part is, this toolbar has no search plug-ins, no spy-ware, no ad-ware, well, nothing fun really. We made it small, simple, and convenient for our users. We hope you like it!

You can get the toolbar from http://new.trialworks.com/TWToolBar

/KJ author

TrialWorks nWeb - The New TrialWorks Website

We have been working on a new site for many months now and it is nearly complete. Web development is not overwhelming, but we do prioritize and many of the web projects were frequently put on the back burner as we focus on customer support. Well, we have aggressively pursued the completion of the new site, and it is done (well, more like version 1.0).

Apart from a fresh look and updated content we have added new features. For instance, the TrialWorks Labs section will slowly grow with quick Flash-based "How To" guides to TrialWorks. We are still working on adding the knowledgebase and updated documentation -- all that will come soon.

One of the largest new features is the TrialWorks nWeb Account Manager which consolidates upgrade distribution, trouble tickets, and customer features into one main site. In future releases of TrialWorks, starting with 9.37, users will be able to automatically log-into the site directly from TrialWorks, but for now QuickAccess links are easy to make and speed up the log-in process; it requires a serial and registration number.

Our trouble ticket system is back, and developed in-house. Traditional trouble ticket systems typically allow for submission and then dialogue between user and tech; we decided to limit the function only to problem submission. The rationale is that we find communicating by e-mail and phone are the two most convenient and effective wasy of dealing with issues, so the online ticket system is an expansion of the existing procedures. We encourage you to use the ticket system instead of e-mailing techsupport directly to make it easier to track messages.

We hope you enjoy new features and look forward to feedback.

/kj author