Installing wireless drivers on Dell Inspiron 6400

First, get the card's device ID from Device Manager:

  • Click start, then Run.
  • Type devmgmt.msc, then Enter.
  • Right-click your wireless device (probably listed as a Network Controller), then click Properties.
  • Click the Details tab, then select Hardware Ids from the drop-down.

Usually, you want everything before the ampersand (&). For example, my NIC's device ID is PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_10F5&SUBSYS_024D1028&REV_03, but most drivers will only reference PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_10F5 or PCI\VEN_8086. Do a Google search on that to get the wireless chip or wireless device, then take it from there.

Good luck!


The 6400 is the dreaded Broadcom Integrated WiFi controller, it's inherently finicky and just bad overall, but that's not what you're looking for.

This link might have something at least mildly helpful for you. "Broadcom: Identifying your driver"

It doesn't look like they even have much support anymore for their 440x except in the Linux world.

Also, your link was generic, here's for the 6400, the drivers for the wireless should be on there. 6400 Drivers


It might be worth entering the service tag of the laptop on the Dell website which will give the exact system configuration. Just search in the browser for the word 'wireless'.


I connected the laptop with a cable to the network. Then, under Hardware driver, turned on STA and downloaded the Ubuntu driver for me. After a reboot I connected to my wireless AP.