I formatted my dell laptop. Already had linksys g-adapter running before. Now the cd says it is installed but icon in tray says it isn't. The power light is on the card

First its not a good idea to piggyback your question on someone else's. This can lead to confusion. You should start a new thread. So I've moved your question to its own thread.

What EXACTLY does the icon say?

What version of Windows on the laptop? How did you reformat?

I have xp the icon says adapter not installed my son reformatted the drive so I don't know how he did it I am new to this didn't know quite how the process worked for questions

Try deleting all the adapters, then reboot and see if they are redetected.

I have deleted the program for the adapter

Restarted and nothing happened