No Bluetooth after Windows 10 Upgrade from WIndows 7

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I have just upgraded my old Dell XPS1340 laptop from Windows 7 Pro to Windows 10.

The built in Bluetooth function no longer works. Windows 10 came up with a notification saying (from memory) ‘the bluetooth software is not compatible with this version of Windows and has been removed to prevent damage to your computer’. Thanks Microsoft!!

I now have no bluetooth listed in Device Manager, in Devices and Printers or in Programs and Features. The soft touch wireless and bluetooth enable/disable switch on the laptop switches the bluetooth icon in the task tray on, but it only stays on for about 2 seconds.

I checked in Dell System Support on line which shows the message ‘this laptop is not being updated for Win 10 – check with your bluetooth provider’ – Broadcom.

I went to https://www.broadcom.com/support/bluetooth, and found the following software:
WIDCOMM® Bluetooth Windows® Software for Windows 10 & 8, 64-Bit (I think that’s what was used on Windows 7).

I downloaded and then extracted the file. I ran setup.exe, and got the message ‘please uninstall current bluetooth installation before continuing’! The only option displayed was to cancel.

How can I uninstall the existing bluetooth software when it’s not showing up in the expected places?
Your help would be appreciated; I rely on the bluetooth for connecting a mouse.

Thanks,
Geoff

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I also found on two laptops at least that Bluetooth (the Toshiba Bluetooth stack, and WIDCOMM software) was deleted summarily at the first proper startup of Windows 10.

I suspect that restoring Bluetooth will be a messy procedure, perhaps involving hunting for, and deleting of, residual associated registry keys and values, unless the relevant installers have been well written – which does not appear to be the case. You need a degree of confidence – and a good backup before starting!

I would be doing much Googling along these lines, and, as an interim measure, be using a USB mouse (if you can).

Later…
See whether https://www.wiknix.com/solved-bluetooth-not-working-in-windows-10/ is of any assistance…

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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Hi everybody,

Thanks to Batcher for his comments and the enclosed link. Unfortuanately it does’t address having nowhere to start an uninstall.

It’s now 29 July and I guess the free upgrade has probably finished. This is taking up too much of my time and I’m getting nowhere. I need another plan.

So, here are a couple plans.

Plan A: Continue with Windows 10 and keep on trying to solve this problem
I feel it should be easy’ BUT….!
I believe I have the correct driver that I need to install for bluetooth. But – when I click on the ‘setup.exe’ it EITHER tells me to extract the softrare as it is a .zip file and it can’t handle zip files OR it runs the setup.exe file and immediately comes back with ‘please uninstall current bluetooth installation before continuing’, as mentioned above.

Plan B: I have been busy trying to resolve this.

I have a registered copy of JV16 Power Tools and I searched in the Registry for all instances of Widdcom (180 of them) and deleted them. This made no difference (still being told to uninstall …).
I restored the 180 items.

I searched for Broadcom (73 of them). This made no difference
I restored the 73 items.

Can anyone suggest another word to search for? Is there any value in continuing like this?

I am aware that I am not necessarily being very logical in my approach.

I also tried to uninstall any bluetooth drivers and registry keys using Revo Uninstaller Pro.
This could get no further than the WIN 10 response of ‘please uninstall current bluetooth installation before continuing’

Don’t think this Plan is going much further without additional help.

Plan C: Return to Windows 7 temporarily. I have Paragon Hard Disk Manager image back up files for 17 July 2017. Following restore I could do an in situ re-install of Windows 7 (which leaves my data alone) and should put the system in better condition.

If I now want to go back to Win 10, I could restore from my latest Paragon image (which is currently 27 July 2016). Then accept that my bluetooth mouse is not working.

I appreciate people taking their time to read my lengthy posts.

I hope someone can help, as I believe installing the Bluecom software should fix the problem.

Thanks again,

Geoff

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As Win 10 has kicked out most of the Bluetooth files, FreeFixer may find any residue that will have a Delete box to check with (file missing) at the end of the path on the right side.

http://www.freefixer.com/

While it white lists many items, partials may show up as being able to remove.

However, if you revert back to Win 7, Bluetooth may be restored fully where you could do a proper uninstall on it.

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