A computer owner who has a Dell Latitude D600 kept getting a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error when he inserted his wireless card into the PCMCIA port. The card is a Level One model WPC-0300. The wireless card comes with software that was installed on the computer.

The card did not cause another laptop to crash and inserting a known good wireless card into the owner’s computer did cause a crash. So the card is good and the PCMCIA slot appears to be fine.

Upon rebooting the system, I noticed that the WPC-0300 utility software started and ran in the background at startup. I removed the software from the startup menu and rebooted, inserted the card and no crash this time.

Inserting the wireless card before running the utility seemed to be the solution.

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Dell Optiplex and Latitude BIOS

Keep your BIOS (basic input output system) current. Most people know to keep their operating system and programs up to date. Yet, most users overlook keeping the BIOS current.

What is BIOS?

BIOS is the software that runs the computer without using the operating systems or other programs.

What is my BIOS version?

When you start your computer, one of the first screens to appear is the BIOS screen. The BIOS version will be displayed on this page. Go to you computer manufacturer’s web site and find if your version is the most current. Most manufacture web sites have downloadable BIOS files with instructions for updating your BIOS.
Here is a list of Dell computers that I work with and their current BIOS version.

Dell BIOS Versions.

Updated May 10, 2008
Current BIOS for Dell Optiplex GX110, GX240, GX260, GX270, GX280, GX620, Optiplex 745, Optiplex 755 and Dell Latitude D410, D420, D430, D600, D610, D620, D630, D800, D810, D820 and D830.
As of May 10, 2008.

Optiplex
Model / BIOS Version
GX110 / A09
GX150 / A11
GX240 / A05
GX260 / A09
GX270 / A07
GX280 / A08
GX620 / A11
745 / 2.6.1
755/ A09

Latitude
Model / BIOS Version
D410 / A06
D420 / A05
D430 / A03
D600 / A16
D610 / A06
D620 / A08
D630 / A06
D800 / A13
D810 / A05
D820 / A07
D830 / A06

Current BIOS for Dell Optiplex GX110, GX240, GX260, GX270, GX280, GX620, Optiplex 745, Optiplex 755 and Dell Latitude D410, D420, D430, D600, D610, D620, D630, D800, D810, D820 and D830.

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