Installing a bluetooth stack in Windows 2008 Server, on a Dell XPS m1330
This has been a long, long day. Since installing windows 2008 I lost my bluetooth stack capabilities - meaning that while my bluetooth mouse worked, I couldnt add new devices, including my phone (which I sometimes use to connect to the internet through) and my stereo headset.
I downloaded everything there is (the entire internet) I finally managed to hack my way to getting it to work.
- Download the bluetooth drivers from Dell.
- Run the downloaded file. it will extract a lot of files, and start a setup application that will then get stuck on a window asking you to activate the bluetooth device by pressing fn-f2. Ignore that, and click "cancel installation"
- Open device manager. You should see an unknown device BCM2045. Click on that device, and tell it to reinstall driver
- When prompted, tell it to scan your computer, and point it at the folder where the extracted files are from the downloaded application in step one (default is C:\dell\drivers\R140135)
- When prompted tell windows to install the drivers inspite of them not being signed
- Ignore the errors about the other devices not finding drivers (I am still looking for a solution for that) if there are any
- When the drivers are installed, you should see the bluetooth icon in the taskbar. You can now run the setup from C:\dell\drivers\R140135 if you want (I am not sure if it makes a difference) and that is it - bluetooth away!
Update:
Do not do this. why? because while the stack is installed, it actually kills the internal bluetooth capabilities - the mouse stops working, and while the stack looks installed, actually anything you try to do with it fails - no audio, no mouse, no nothing.
Also, the graphic drivers didnt install, so when I came to the user group presentation, I couldnt connect to the projector.
However, as Fernando points out, the following article is a good place to start if you plan to use 2008 as a desktop.
I will wait for a bluetooth stack update. Until then, Vista SP1 away!
