Wireless shutdown problem

Nutter helps a user who’s having trouble shutting down this PC since installing a wireless card

I can’t shut down my computer via “Start”. This problem started after I installed a wireless network card. If I turn this device off I have no problem. I use a wireless router from D-Link (DI-614+) and a wireless network card (D-Link DWL-520+) on my main computer. On my other PC I have a D-Link DWL-120. I have tried to shut off “Wake up on LAN” in BIOS mode by pressing Alt+F but that didn’t help. D-Link and/or Dell support can’t solve this, can you?

– Via the Internet

Since you can’t shut down the system normally, shut it down as best you can and remove the wireless network card. Bring up the PC and remove the drivers. Try shutting the system down via the Start button and see if it shuts down properly. If it doesn’t, the next step I would suggest is applying the later patches for the desktop OS you’re using. If you’re still having problems shutting down after applying patches from Windows Update, consider using WinDoctor from Norton Utilities. This tool examines the registry and other areas of Windows looking for items that can cause a problem. When I haven’t been able to resolve problems through other means, this has usually fixed the problem.

After you have the latest patches installed, download the latest drivers for the D-Link card and repeat the installation process. If you start having the problems again, try getting the motherboard BIOS updated to the latest release. Also try a different PC slot for the wireless card.

If you continue to have the shutdown problem, see if you can return the wireless card for a different one as it is possible you may have a defective card. See if a friend has a different brand of wireless card you can borrow and test. It’s possible you may have stumbled into a compatibility problem between your Dell and the D-Link wireless card.  Another call to Dell Support or a check of its Web site would be in order to see if it has a list a wireless cards that are known to work with your system.