Bluetooth connection lost, icon gone from system tray, not in device manager

[Row1]

hi - i was just playing music on my dell latitude e4300 via bluetooth to a belkin bluetooth receiver connected to stereo.

somehow the connection got dropped - during a phone call on a land line. may be irrelevant.

now, i cannot get bluetooth connection back. there is no bluetooth icon in the system tray.

i cannot find 'bluetooth' devices in start>control panel> devices
--i have 2, and both ought to be there.

i unplugged bluetooth receiver, and had win 7 search for devices to add - no luck.

sure, i can reboot, and everything will probably come back.
but i am hoping for a better answer. i don't want to have to reboot every time the bluetooth connection gets lost.

i searched the web for a little, but only found unrelated posts, or posts with no answer. THANKS!

 

[Row1]

bluetooth light/icon on laptop, not screen is on; no bt

ok, i rebooted, thinking the bluetooth icon would again be in system tray, with the red in the middle, showing i have bluetooth capability, but that sound is not currently being directed to bluetooth.

no icon.

the dell laptop does have bluetooth icon illuminated on the laptop, just above the function keys - not on the screen at all / not in sys tray.

the bluetooth receiver is on, is working.

'add a device' is not finding this bt thingie.

 

[Row1]

solved. 'wireless switch'? on side of laptop accidentally toggled off.

solved. 'wireless switch'? on side of laptop accidentally toggled off.
pressed, and bluetooth came right back up.

i guess this turns off so the comp does not devote energy to seeking a bt connection all the time?.