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I'm way out of my league here. I'm frustrated by the slow speed of my Latitude D630 with the 1390 mini-card. I have a Cisco Valet Plus wireless router. Running XP. I'm in a very small house, so the low signal strength seems wrong.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Hi Maureen23669,

Welcome to Dell Community.

The issue you are facing could be related to hardware or software.

You might end up facing the same problem even if you upgrade the Wireless Card if the issue is with windows.

Have you checked to see if the same issue is seen in safe mode as well? Since when have you been facing this issue? Any hardware or software changes made to the machine just before you started facing this problem? Have you tried reinstallation of Windows on the machine? Are you using the Dell Wireless Utility or Windows Wireless Configuration?

If the signal strength slows low, then more often the issue is related to software. A reinstallation of the Windows might fix the issue, however, you can check if the internet works fine in safe mode with networking before you reinstall the windows(post data back up).

To check the machine in safe mode > Restart the machine > Tap F8 a few times as soon as you see the Dell logo > From Advanced Boot Options select "Safe Mode With Networking" > check if the wireless speed remains the same or if its any better.

The speed, if the issue is related to software, should be fine in safe mode.

Alternatively, to answer your query related to hardware upgrade, the Latitude D630 supports the following cards:

Dell™ Wireless 1490 a/b/g Mini-Card

Dell Wireless 1505 a/b/g/n Mini-Card

Intel 4965 a/b/g/n Mini-Card

Our suggestion would be to check the software before you make any hardware changes.

Please revert letting me know if this post has been helpful.

Thanks and Regards,

Sheetal Katke

#iworkfordell

Thanks for the guidance, Sheetal.

I ran inSSIDer in both regular mode as well as Safe Mode w/Networking.

In regular mode the RSSI was -72 and Max Rate was 144. In Safe Mode the RSSI was -74/-75 and the Max Rate was the same at 144.

In Wireless Connection Status, regular mode speed was 54.0 Mbps, and Signal Strength was 2 bars. In Safe Mode speed was the same at 54Mbps, and the signal strength bounced between 2 and 3 bars, but mostly at 2.

My Windows folder (for XP) is 9.89 GB, with size on disk = 8.46 GB. That seems pretty massive, and it has concerned me for some time.

I do not know that this was ever any different for me. I fried my desktop, and reverted to this laptop a few months back.

I seem to recall that in setting up the Valet Plus, I had to switch to the Windows Wireless Configuration.

I have several programs on this machine that I can not replace, so reloading windows would be very painful if it means losing them. That might be the incentive I need to replace my desktop, if it comes to that. But upgrading the card would be preferable, as long as there's a reasonable chance of improvement.

Thanks again for your advice!

Maureen

Hi Maureen,

You can certainly try upgrading the wireless card, however, like suggested it might not help much if there is an issue with the Windows.

You can install your friend or colleagues wireless card, if they have any among the earlier suggested ones, and check if that helps the signal strength before you decide on purchasing one for yourself. Atleast that way you would know if the issue is with the hardware or the software.

Let me know how that goes.

Thanks and Regards,

Sheetal Katke

#iworkfordell