Dell Inspiron 1501 driver problem?

The make of the laptop is not relevant to the type of driver needed. The brand of the network adapter is determinative of this. I doubt very seriously if the cable guy was right. It would help alot to know what your operating system is and which browser you use. In any event. go to control panel and look for "Network Connections" or something to that effect. Open it and see if there is an option to use LAN. You may need to enable the LAN connection to use a wired connection. IF you can give a little more details I can better answer your question. Good luck!!