Question

How to? Installing BlueTooth USB Dongle for WinXP Pro and configuring as an Internet portal

Asked by: Robert_A_

I am trying to connect a BlueTooth USB dongle to a Windows XP Pro (SP2) workstation so that I can:
    1> use BlueTooth for Internet access from an iPaq, and
    2> synchronize (ActiveSync) over BlueTooth.

The primary problem appears to be conflict between Windows' BT drivers and the Widcomm drivers.  Windows' drivers don't seem to make the P-LAN service available and the Widcomm driver doesn't seem to be able to "find" the BT dongle - presumably because Windows' driver got to it first.

I have tried every combination of driver first vs. dongle first vs. configure vs. sacrifice first-bought PDA (nevermind...)

I am working on a "disposable" test workstation, so I can (and I do) reset the system to "pre-BlueTooth dongle" state prior to new attempts.

At this point, I am out of ideas!  Does anyone know how to do this (three parts):
    1.  Install BT on XP correctly.
    2.  Configure PC for Internet sharing and iPaq for Internet access
    3.  Configure BT services for ActiveSync synchronization.

Will the XP drivers handle this?  Can the Widcomm drivers be made to "work"?  Is there an alternative driver?

Thanks!

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Asked On
2005-03-17 at 21:20:14ID21355569
Tags

dongle

,

bluetooth

,

driver

,

usb

Topic

Bluetooth

Participating Experts
2
Points
420
Comments
7

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Answers

 

by: ncooPosted on 2005-03-24 at 03:47:28ID: 13620729

The rule to bluetooth is:

Never insert dongle first.

What software have you got with the dongle?

If you have install this first, restart.

Insert dongle wait for windows prompt select location of installed software as location of drivers.

This will normally work.

The problem is you've already had failed installs so this could mess it up, reset doesn't always work.

 

by: Robert_A_Posted on 2005-03-24 at 09:43:34ID: 13624104

>Insert dongle wait for windows prompt ...

If the dongle is inserted when the driver install prompts me to, then Windows XP's dongle and driver recognition runs - possibly pre-empting the Widcomm drivers.  End result is the same.

>...reset doesn't always work.

I'm not resetting the machine, I am restoring a TrueImage operating system images that has never seen a BlueTooth device; this is on par with re-installing the operating system.

Has anyone gotten this working correctly on an XP Pro system?

 

by: ncooPosted on 2005-03-24 at 12:52:34ID: 13625586

When you say TrueImage does this just mean your reg? If so there will be traces of bluetooth accross your harddrive.

Do a search for all bluetooth components on your pc and remove them, and try again, with what I said.

 

by: Robert_A_Posted on 2005-03-24 at 14:17:41ID: 13626311

No.  TrueImage creates a Byte-perfect copy of a hard disk partition; Symantec's Ghost does the same thing.  The entire partition is wiped clean and the saved image is re-written back in place.  It is the operating system equivalent of saving a text document, copying it to an external disk, continuing to update (and save) the text file, closing the file in memory, and then copying the saved file back over the original.  There is no trace of the post-backup changes in the text file.  And since this operation applies to the entire system partition - there is absolutely NO trace of the modifications in questions.  This is a time-tested and nearly universal part of the standard IT toolkit; I (personally) have been using drive imagimg programs for almost 10 years.

Tools aside, you haven't really added any new information other than to say what is supposed to happen.  After 10 attempts, I can safely say, "it isn't that simple"; I am looking for information from someone who has actually done this, done it for Win XP Pro, and tested the BT connections.  I believe I was able to get this working last time I had a Win2K (Pro) machine... XP has completely different behavior!

 

by: ncooPosted on 2005-03-24 at 15:22:21ID: 13626650

I have used my method on XP Pro, XP Home and XP Home SP2.

The only difference is I used belkin hardware/drivers.

 

by: Robert_A_Posted on 2005-04-01 at 21:52:21ID: 13686667

ncoo,

Can you explicitly define the process you used?  As I said, when I have tried this, Windows XP hardware detection seemed to kick-in and take over when the BT dongle was inserted, even though it was inserted at the appropriate time.

In all cases, the expanded BT services were not able to locate a BT device, so I could not publish a service; Windows XP, on the other hand, was happily able to scan other BT devices for services.

 

by: GAZZAPosted on 2005-04-06 at 16:37:47ID: 13722512

What you need to do is go to the device manager and locate the section called Bluetooth Devices...  This is where the Bluetooth dongle driver will be installed...  It is probably set to use the MS driver, so just right click on it and select the option to reinstall the driver...  When the New Driver Wizard appears, make seure to select the advanced option to search for a driver - do not accept the default...  Then point to the directory where the WIDCOMM drivers are located - probably in c:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\Bin directory....

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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