No Bluetooth Access on my Dell inspiron 1545 windows vista/7

Hi Scooterboy125:

Could you please clarify if you currently have a Vista or Win 7 OS (include the latest service pack) and whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit OS.  If you aren't sure go to Control Panel | System and Maintenance | System (the image below is from my 32-bit Vista SP2 machine). Are you able to connect to the internet via a wireless connection with your Dell Wireless WLAN 1397 Half MiniCard (i.e., is connecting a Bluetooth-enabled device your only issue)?

If you go to the Drivers & Downloads support page for the Inspiron 1545 at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/inspiron-1545/drivers and enter the Service Tag (unique Dell ID #) for your machine is it still able to filter the downloads that match the factory-installed components for your specific system configuration (note: be sure you chose the correct operating system for your computer on that page)? I did a quick check on that support page and it shows that the latest certified Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module for an Inspiron 1545 with a Vista SP2 OS is v.6.1.0.4502, while the latest certified Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module for an Inspiron 1545 with a Win 7 SP1 OS is v.6.2.0.9600.  When you check in Device Manager what driver version is currently installed for your Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module?

If you need to update the driver for your Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module note that Badliken's thread Windows 7 Dell Inspiron 1545 Wireless 365 Bluetooth Problem Recognition in the Dell Community recommends that you ensure that you have the latest certified chipset drivers installed first per the the Dell support article Downloading and Installing Device Drivers in Correct Order.  According to the information in Badliken's thread your Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module should be listed as a separate device in Device Manager.

If you already have the latest certified driver for your Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module then check to make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on your computer. See the azcentral article How to Enable Bluetooth on a Windows Vista Laptop and the MS Support article Enable Bluetooth Devices in Control Panel for Your Mouse or Keyboard.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1-1.0.365

HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

... I am going to try and get screenshots attached to this... i went onto the link you gave me and there were a couple of things i will look at...

Hi Scootering:

Again, I'm not a computer hardware expert, but if you want to post a Speccy snapshot of your system I'm happy to take a quick look at your system configuration to see if any obvious problem jumps out at me.  To post a Speccy snapshot:

1. Install Piriform's free Speccy utility (available at https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy).
2. Launch the program and allow it to collect basic information about your system software and hardware.
3. Go to File | Publish Snapshot and copy and paste the URL this generates (e.g., http: // speccy.piriform.com/results/xxx... as shown in the image below) in your next reply.

If you prefer to use a portable version of Speccy that doesn't require installation you can download Speccy Portable (currently spsetup132.zip) from the Softpedia site <here> and save to any location (including a removable USB thumb drive), unzip the .ZIP file, and double-click the appropriate executable to launch the program (Speccy.exe for your 32-bit Win 7 SP1 OS; Speccy64.exe for 64-bit OSs).

I don't have my 32-bit Vista SP2 laptop with me today but a Speccy snapshot of that machine (created 12 Jul 2019, Bluetooth disabled) is posted at http://speccy.piriform.com/results/z2qoNAESuxQeYKCK2QGx3or.

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ASIDE:

If you'd like to look at a detailed diagnostic log of your system I'd suggest using the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST).  Instructions are posted in the Malwarebytes support article Run Farbar Recovery Scan Tool To Gather Logs - make sure you download the 32-bit version of that tool for your 32-bit Win 7 SP1 OS, and ensure you enable Addition.txt under the list of optional scans.  This will generate two files - FRST.txt and Addition.txt.  I'm not trained to interpret the output of these diagnostic logs but the sections titled "Faulty Device Manager Devices" and "Event Log Errors" in the Addition.txt file should provide a good summary of recent errors occurring on your system.

The free Belarc Advisor is another diagnostic tool you might want to try.  Don't post the diagnostic log in a public forum (it can collect information you don't want to share like product keys for you Windows OS, Microsoft Office, etc.) but in addition to collecting an inventory of your system hardware and software it will also check for missing Microsoft hotfixes for your OS.

64-bit Win 10 Pro v1909 build 18363.1139 * Firefox 82.0.3 * Windows Defender v4.18.2010.7 * Malwarebytes Free v4.2.3

Dell Inspiron 5584, Intel i5-8265U@1.60/1.80 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi Scootering:

I'm not a hardware specialist so if someone else doesn't jump into this thread to provide assistance you might want to post your question in the Dell Inspiron forum at https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron/bd-p/Inspiron.  I found several threads in that forum related to Bluetooth issues on Inspiron 1545 laptops and you might have better luck finding an answer there.

If you want to continue troubleshooting here in the Microsoft forum, please confirm that Windows Update reports that there are no updates available for your upgraded Win 7 SP1 OS (i.e. that you are fully patched to end of support on 20-Jan-2020).

It would also be helpful if you could capture a screenshot of the Network Adapters section from Device Manager and let us know the current driver versions for each device.  Also look for a section titled Bluetooth (or something like Bluetooth Radios) as well just in case your Bluetooth devices are not listed under Network Adapters.  Here's an old screenshot of my Network Adapters I captured from my HP dv6835ca laptop before I disabled Bluetooth.

When you say "I discovered it was a wireless & Bluetooth WLAN 1397 half mini-card" and that "i have checked and replaced 1397 WLAN mini-card with no success" are you referring to a Dell Wireless WLAN 1397/1510 Half Mini Card, and are you certain that network card is integrated with Bluetooth? According to Dell employee DELL-Saurabh A's reply in the thread Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) seems to suggest that Bluetooth support for the Inspiron 1545 requires a Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth adapter, and an error code 10 for the Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) driver in Device Manager might mean that the drivers for your Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth adapter are not compatible with your current OS.  The thread What is Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) has more background information about the RFCOMM Protocol TDI (where TDI = Transport Driver Interface).

You said you never used Bluetooth on this Inspiron 1545 before you upgraded your Vista SP2 OS to Win 7 SP1, so it's always possible that you don't have a Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth adapter [an Inspiron 1545 review I found at https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/dell-inspiron-1545 notes that the 32-bit Vista SP2 model they tested did not include Bluetooth ("Bluetooth is becoming ever more prolific and its absence is regrettable.")], that your Bluetooth adapter is defective or isn't wired into the motherboard correctly, or that it's disabled in the BIOS.  At this point, purchasing an external Bluetooth adapter that's compatible with 32-bit Win 7 SP1 might be the simplest solution. 

One other thing you should check.   Go to the Drivers & Downloads tab of the Inspiron 1545 support page at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/inspiron-1545/drivers, select drivers for your new 32-bit Win 7 OS, turn on the switch that says "Show downloads for this PC only" and enter your Service Tag when prompted as shown below to filter that list for the latest certified drivers for the hardware devices that were installed in your computer when it was shipped from the factory. Does a driver for the Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module (v.6.2.0.9600_A02-1, last updated 20-May-2016) appear on the list in addition to latest driver for your Dell Wireless WLAN 1397/1510 Half Mini Card Application after you enter your Service Tag, and have you installed all the other 32-bit Win 7 drivers for your chipset, BIOS, etc. ?

64-bit Win 10 Pro v1909 build 18363.1139 * Firefox 82.0.3 * Windows Defender v4.18.2010.7 * Malwarebytes Free v4.2.3

Dell Inspiron 5584, Intel i5-8265U@1.60/1.80 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hiya  first of all I would like to apologise for not getting back to you a lot sooner I got admitted to Hospital etc etc etc so I do apologise for that, Just to clarify I upgraded from vista 64 Bit to windows 7 32 Bit on my Dell inspiron 1545, I never tried the Bluetooth when it was vista but when I upgraded windows 7 I read up on it and it said it was Bluetooth compatible then I discovered it was a wireless & Bluetooth WLAN 1397 half mini-card  and every drive I've tried is either showing error code 10 or not showing Bluetooth icons, so it is windows 7 32 Bit service pack 1........ Yes I'm getting wireless connection but no Bluetooth recognised & not recognised rising Bluetooth devices Headphones,Mobile phones nothing, I have tried the Dell 365 Bluetooth module it tells me to activate the Bluetooth switch but without any response. And because Dell has withdrew the support for Vista and windows .7 I am totally going out of my mind@#%&$?:-) PLZ if you could put me out of my misery I would be very Grateful. Thank,s scooterboy

Hiya Great white I have went through everything you suggested i think im still no further on error code 10 & drivers installed but device not working properly, This is the 3rd or 4th time i,ve tried to send this not sure if your receiving them, I am going to try and get screenshots attached to this, I just want to say its much appreciated for the help i went onto the link you gave me and there were a couple of things i will look at, 

scooterboy.