MetaChat - Please help me with a Bluetooth problem

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05 June 2007

Please help me with a Bluetooth problem before I rip out all of my beautiful, beautiful hair.→[More:]

I'm trying to get a Motorola Razr V3 to talk to my computer via Bluetooth. WinXP SP2 purportedly has built-in Bluetooth drivers, but I can't find them anywhere. There's supposed to be a Bluetooth icon in the Control Panel -- but it's not there. Can't find any Bluetooth drivers in Device Manager, either.

Windows Help says to run "bthprops.cpl." I think that's the same file that should be accessible through the Control Panel. In any case, when I try to run it manually, nothing happens.

1) Is there a hidden driver somewhere that I need to activate or update? Can you help me find it?

2) If the driver is somehow missing, can you help me find one? I've googled until my fingers are bloody, and I can't find one that seems like what I need.

My box is a Compaq Presario, if that makes any difference.

Thanks! I've spent 2 hours on this and I'm at the end of my USB cable.

post by: mudpuppie at: 15:37 | 8 comments

Oh, and prior to upgrading to SP2, I didn't have any Bluetooth devices installed. This is the first.

posted by mudpuppie 05 June | 15:42

I apologize in advance for this question, but...

Does your computer have uh...a bluetooth receiver? You need both a bluetooth phone and bluetooth receiver attached to the computer.

posted by mullacc 05 June | 15:43

Dumb question: is Bluetooth built in to your PC, or do you have a Bluetooth card or dongle or something for it?

On preview: hiya mullacc!

posted by box 05 June | 15:44

Also, pup: check out hacktherazr.com and hackthev3.com. If those instructions don't work, check out howardforums.com. There are plenty of other cellphone-hacking sites, but that's a good start.

And who's your cellphone provider?

And does your Razr have a slot for a flash card (micro-SD, maybe) on it? If you just want to transfer ringtones and cameraphone photos, the flash card route is about a million times easier, and you can get a 512-mb micro-SD for less than ten bucks.

posted by box 05 June | 15:49

I guess I need a Bluetooth receiver, then?

From reading the Windows help stuff, it sounded like it was built-in. But maybe that was just the driver, not the receiver?

Box, I don't see a slot for a flash card. Provider is Cingular.

posted by mudpuppie 05 June | 15:53

A small subset of computers (laptops, mostly) have Bluetooth built in, but you probably need the receiver (Here's a bunch of 'em--I've got no idea which one is best, and I've got no relationship w/NewEgg other than that of a satisfied customer).

If you've got the slot, it'll probably be under the battery. At least, that's where it is on my Razr. There are different Razr models--V3, V3c, V3m, V3x maybe, etc.--but I'm not sure what those names mean. Mobiledia or PhoneScoop are good resources for that kind of information.

posted by box 05 June | 16:01

I have a Targus Bluetooth receiver and I would recommend it. It was a little expensive, but it works fine. I bought it from Office Depot.

The Windows interface for Bluetooth devices is really hard to figure out.

posted by halonine 05 June | 16:51

P.S. Not the hair!

posted by halonine 05 June | 17:34

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