Wireless Display Application Available

by Jordan
(Halifax, Canada)

Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility Link Status

Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility Link Status

I have an old Dell Inspiron Laptop running Windows XP SP2 I use on a daily basis. I know it's old, but it does what I need it to do!

It comes with loads of software already installed, which I have never taken any notice of.

However, I was at a loose end and decided to take a look at some of the software that was already installed, and what do I find, the Dell Support Center Software.

When I loaded the software, the following message appeared on-screen as a Critical Alert:-

Wireless Display Application Available

I think I know my way around PCs, but I am no expert. Anyway, without thinking, I clicked on the install button. A few moves later and the Wireless Software was installed on my Laptop.

I noticed my icon in the System tray has changed. It didn't look like the Windows icon I am used to. When I double-clicked it, I was pleased to see a green light, signifying that my Wireless connection was still OK. Phew!!

If it had broken my connection, I would have been kicking myself, as I wouldn't have known where to start to try and fix it.

Anyway, I had a look around the options and found out some very useful information, some of which I understand and some of which I haven't got a clue about.

My Link Status seems to be OK? It talks about Signal & Noise. Who knows what that's all about, :) All I know it my Laptop connects to the Wireless router at home and I can browse the Internet OK.

The site monitor shows a green bar where my Wireless router is. This is also good.

I ran all the Diagnostics tests. Yes, me! It disconnected my Laptop from the home router, and I was so nervous as I thought I had definitely broken the link then.

However, when it finished it reconnected, and I was so relieved! I take it that means my Laptops Wireless Card is working OK?

I am working my way through the Dell Support Center Software to see what else my Laptop is missing. You never know, I may even be able to improve things with the help of this application.

Fingers crossed I can do this by following your tutorials. Thank you for providing them.

Love your Website by the way!

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starstarstarstarstar 		Wireless LAN Card Questions Answered
by: Steve

Hello Jordan. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Dealing with wireless cards and connectivity for the first time is very daunting.

It seems so different to standard wired connectivity. In reality, it is not all that different. It all does the same job at the end of the day, which is enabling you to go about your computer related Business.

I am pleased you are starting to make use of the Dell Support Center tool. It is very helpful to home computer users.

The first thing I would say is please, please, PLEASE upgrade your Laptop to Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Your machine is at such a risk from viruses, I would be surprised if you haven't experienced any.

Windows XP, and especially Windows 7 and Windows 8 are good at managing your PCs wireless connectivity.

The software that comes with Dell Laptops and what you download from sites such as Intel usually give you some additional features, some of which you discuss on your web page.

Signal & Noise is known in the IT Industry as the Signal to Noise Ratio, or SNR (S/N). It sounds complicated, but it isn't really.

The Signal (Green) is the strength of your wireless cards connection to your wireless router. This strength of your signal is often affected by things like walls, doors, wooded beams and lead in roof space etc.

The Noise (Red) is the electronic interference that can disturb your wireless signal. Things like mobile phones, cordless phones and microwave ovens can increase the level of noise.

Therefore, you want the Signal to be as High as possible (low< dBm figure), and the Noise to be a Low as possible (High dBm figure).

For example, if you have a signal strength of -58dBM, and Noise of -97dBm, you have a signal to Noise Ratio of 39, which is excellent.

dBm is the Power Ratio of decibels which is used to measure sound, but we are getting in too deep here!

Your SNR figure needs to be a high as possible.

A fantastic website which explains this in clear detail is KITZ.co.uk.

The Diagnostics Tab is very useful, but again you need to know how to interpret the results.

If you think you see any problems then my advice is to contact Dell Support through Dell Chat or DellCare's Twitter Feed to confirm whether there is a problem, and what to do about it.

Finally, thank you for your kind words. I put a lot of effort into making this site make sense to the typical home computer user.

I think it makes sense. Hopefully, you do too. Your comments make the effort worthwhile!

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