Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| Why does netgear SUCK so much? It's more a statement (and rant) than a question!
Colleague calls me and needs to connect a PC (Dell Vostro 220) to home network (he brought the PC from work to "work at home").
His room to work in has no networking but there is a good signal from his WiFi to that room.
I had a brand new, Netgear USB adaptor (WNA-3100) that with latest driver, setup on his PC (Win7 Home Premium). I had to remove ALL remnants of McAfee to even get Netgear to install. (but put MSE on after...see, I could out once, but not after a reboot)
I have never seen a consistent product so )&*$^@! than Netgear and even his work computer guy doubted the reliability of Netgear. (I ordered him a $40 Dlink from newegg one, it will be next week).
So:
Dear Netgear, go out of business already. Your support, your horrible software, and your hardware are second to none in junk. There is nothing convenient when a place like Staples or Best Buy sells crap and frustration because your junk has a profit margin.
(PS, yes, I uninstalled it, just allowed driver and Windows to manage wifi...and still never saw Windows 7 blue screen and loopstart like that before...thank jeebus for F8...)
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Splat |
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Reviews:
 ·AT&T Southwest
 ·Charter
| said by cableties:I had to remove ALL remnants of McAfee to even get Netgear to install.
And therein lies the problem. It's McAfee, not Netgear. Driver installation is mostly operating system dependent. AV software sometimes interferes with that as part of their operation. |
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| reply to cableties
Who pays for Mcaffeeeee anymore?! |
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 NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
 ·Site5.com
·Comcast
 ·Callcentric
| reply to howardfine
said by howardfine:said by cableties:I had to remove ALL remnants of McAfee to even get Netgear to install.
And therein lies the problem. It's McAfee, not Netgear. Driver installation is mostly operating system dependent. AV software sometimes interferes with that as part of their operation. Sounds like the OP needs to change the title of the thread.
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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 Wily_OnePremium
join:2002-11-24
San Jose, CA | My guess is we won't see the OP again. |
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 CptGeminiInside your computerPremium
join:2004-11-29
Corpus Christi, TX
kudos:6
·RoadRunner Cable
| said by Wily_One:My guess is we won't see the OP again.
Agreed with that.
I've been using netgears for quite a while with no problems. Even had a free copy of McAfee Internet Security from a web hosting company I was once subscribed to and it worked with no problems with my netgear as well. |
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 veloslaveGeek For GodPremium
join:2003-07-11
Pleasant Hill, CA
·PHONE POWER
·BroadVoice
·Comcast
| reply to CTMustang
said by CTMustang:Who pays for Mcaffeeeee anymore?!
Seriously!!!
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Mom was right.... I NEED fiber! |
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| reply to cableties
said by cableties:It's more a statement (and rant) than a question!
Colleague calls me and needs to connect a PC (Dell Vostro 220) to home network (he brought the PC from work to "work at home").
His room to work in has no networking but there is a good signal from his WiFi to that room.
I had a brand new, Netgear USB adaptor (WNA-3100) that with latest driver, setup on his PC (Win7 Home Premium). I had to remove ALL remnants of McAfee to even get Netgear to install. (but put MSE on after...see, I could out once, but not after a reboot)
I have never seen a consistent product so )&*$^@! than Netgear and even his work computer guy doubted the reliability of Netgear. (I ordered him a $40 Dlink from newegg one, it will be next week).
So:
Dear Netgear, go out of business already. Your support, your horrible software, and your hardware are second to none in junk. There is nothing convenient when a place like Staples or Best Buy sells crap and frustration because your junk has a profit margin.
(PS, yes, I uninstalled it, just allowed driver and Windows to manage wifi...and still never saw Windows 7 blue screen and loopstart like that before...thank jeebus for F8...)
By colleague do you coworker? Is this a new-in-box computer he brought home or one from work with a custom configuration and software?
maybe im going out on a limb here, and correct me if i'm wrong, but it sounds like you removed his company's business AV software and installed consumer grade free software. It also may have security policies that prevent or hinder driver or application installs.
Do you work in IT? If not, you have no idea how much of a PITA your colleague and now yourself possibly are to his IT department, if it exists.
Also, Mcaffee is ass in every regard. I'm not familiar with their business products, but some current corporate-level AVs have the ability to prevent users from running programs (ie installers) directly from from USBs and CDs. |
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| reply to cableties
I have a netgear router which works good, but the wnda3300 adapter would disconnect when ever it felt like it. I bought a tp-link 150 adapter for $17.95. Works great, no disconnects. Maybe technology will improve over time, wish they would improve it before I purchase any thing, cause I'm not buying any more computer items any more. I am on a spending strike. |
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Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to Wily_One
said by Wily_One:My guess is we won't see the OP again.
I'm back! :P
Seriously, the Netgear USB software was the issue. I removed it, swapped in a Dlink USB wifi and it worked flawlessly (Win7 Sp1).
The kicker is, another netgear USB wifi adaptor works fine on Xp Pro (Sp3).
And yeah, I don't know why he had McAfee other than "shrugged shoulders, it came with the Dell" look.
What? I'm not allowed to vent here? I got resolution.
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Splat |
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Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to Somnambul33t
said by Somnambul33t:By colleague do you coworker? Is this a new-in-box computer he brought home or one from work with a custom configuration and software?
maybe im going out on a limb here, and correct me if i'm wrong, but it sounds like you removed his company's business AV software and installed consumer grade free software. It also may have security policies that prevent or hinder driver or application installs.
Do you work in IT? If not, you have no idea how much of a PITA your colleague and now yourself possibly are to his IT department, if it exists.
Also, Mcaffee is ass in every regard. I'm not familiar with their business products, but some current corporate-level AVs have the ability to prevent users from running programs (ie installers) directly from from USBs and CDs.
Um, let me tell you that:
-He (friend not a coworker) brought home a Vostro (provided by his work) to work at home.
-I spoke with his IT guy and he gave (also sent email) quid pro quo to remove any trace of the AV that came from Dell. He asked I put MSE on in place (which I also did and agree with). I was 100% clear to friend I "won't tamper or touch any workplace machine without IT authorization and instructions incase there are protocols, ports, and licensing concerns, let alone security liabilities". (The Vostro was vanilla...work ordered it, then had him take home...)
-I have an idea of PITA, I am also Win7 Enterprise Cert, MCitp, along with past MSCE and Server 2003. This was a favor (you know, "No good deed goes unpunished")
-Anything needed for work was to be installed later. The irony is their IT guy would not visit and help. And since he could only get wifi to that room of the house (I asked if he had any PCI wifi card or product that work would provide...nope...on your own), the cheapest solution was a USB adaptor.
Remember, I am just venting here and b-tching about Netgear and to lesser degree, McAfee and how AV products tend to be a virus in their own (as in removal and interfering with legit installs).
And my bad: once I got his Vostro up and running, and he got his IT guy to remote in and setup some apps (they bought me lunch to thank me for helping! Weird...), I had him buy SuperAntispyware and AntiMalware bytes to cover in case MSE doesn't to the trick. So far, the Dlink has been working 100%.
Lastly, Netgear product that I used has been replaced with later model numbers. This one worked on another PC that had older OS (winXpPro, on a Gateway Pentium...) but not this Vostro with Win7...
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Splat |
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Wily_OnePremium
join:2002-11-24
San Jose, CA | That's cool you helped the guy out. There is always the one-off faulty device, but like others I've had no problem with Netgear stuff for home use. |
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Reviews:
·link2voip
·TekSavvy DSL
| reply to cableties
I have few complaints with Netgear hardware, but their software and firmware, in my estimation, is as bad as that shipped with any consumer-grade gear out there.
I recently reconfigured a small wireless network for a local business. They were using a Netgear wireless router with stock firmware and a Netgear USB wireless adapter on one of the computer stations. Although the driver for the latter ostensibly supported WPA, it absolutely would not connect to the AP except in WEP mode. Even after upgrading the router to dd-wrt, the client would only connect in WEP. There were other problems with this adapter, which I don't recall at this moment.
As for Netgear hardware, my only complaints are that their routers tend to have poor wireless range, and they don't ship with tftp recovery mode. To add insult to injury, if you kill the think you have to break off the stand to get inside to access the serial headers. MyOpenRouter MyButt. ASUS provides much better recovery and flashing facilities, and external antennas to boot.
That said, the WNR3500L packs some decent hardware specs for a router that can be picked up for less than $70 and flashed with Tomato. Worth looking at if you don't care about wireless range.
And I love their Prosafe switches. Yeah, I've seen some flaky firmware ship with them, but updates invariably correct the issues. Again, great value for the price.
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