Thanks. That tells us that something is blocking the kernel from identifying the presence of your wifi card. We'll need to do more work (unfortunately).
First, if your laptop has a hardware switch for wifi (on Dell systems usually on the left side of the machine) make sure it is in the "on" position. My D830 has a hardware switch and I've had it "off" by accident from time to time. Dell's switches don't give a visual cue for "on" or "off." Move the switch to the "on" position and hold it there for 2 seconds then release. The switch will return to the center of the slider bay after you release but will now be set to "on."
Next, open a terminal and install the package rfkill. This is an application that checks for both hardware and software "blocks" of wifi cards. To install:
sudo aptitude install rfkill
After installation, stay in the terminal and run:
sudo rfkill list
Post the results here and we'll see what the next step(s) might be.
First, if your laptop has a hardware switch for wifi (on Dell systems usually on the left side of the machine) make sure it is in the "on" position. My D830 has a hardware switch and I've had it "off" by accident from time to time. Dell's switches don't give a visual cue for "on" or "off." Move the switch to the "on" position and hold it there for 2 seconds then release. The switch will return to the center of the slider bay after you release but will now be set to "on."
Next, open a terminal and install the package rfkill. This is an application that checks for both hardware and software "blocks" of wifi cards. To install:
sudo aptitude install rfkill
After installation, stay in the terminal and run:
sudo rfkill list
Post the results here and we'll see what the next step(s) might be.