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AxelFoley8
join:2005-01-31

2 edits

AxelFoley8

Member

[Info] Atheros v3.3.2.4 drivers (for DWL-G650)

net5211.zip
3,729 bytes
INF file for v3.3.2.4 drivers
(net5211.inf)
For anyone using Atheros drivers instead of D-Link's drivers, here are a couple of urls in order to have the latest drivers/utils combination.

The latest complete Atheros pack (drivers+ACU) that I could find on the web was v3.3.0.156. It includes ACU v3.1.3.10. You can find it here:

»www.yellowbloc.com/drive ··· 0156.zip

Unpack and run the setup, it will guide you through the installation process.

If you've never used Atheros drivers, be sure to uninstall all D-Link drivers and utilities before installing these ones.

After the installation of v3.3.0.156, you can upgrade to v3.3.2.4 drivers.

Unfortunately I haven't found a complete pack, but just the drivers (ar5211.sys, net5211.inf, net5211.cat).

I found these while doing a Windows Update on Microsoft's site, they were made available by a company named Wistron NeWeb that manufactures wireless devices using Atheros chipsets.

Here's the direct url to the latest drivers (believe me, it's been hard finding the direct link while doing the download via windowsupdate.microsoft.com, MS has done the impossible to try to hide the links, but with a network sniffer there's nothing they can hide from us )

»www.download.windowsupda ··· 2405.cab

Extract the cab, it is a nested directory structure, you will find the files needed for the driver upgrade. Unfortunately, the .inf file contained in that cab only works with the network card of Wistron NeWeb, but you could easily do the necessary changes (like I did) by using the net5211.inf file of v3.3.0.156.

If the forum lets me do it, I will attach the .inf file so you don't have to mess with it.

Anyway, now that you have the two files from the cab (ar5211.sys and net5211.cat) and the working net5211.inf, just go to Device Manager and do a normal driver upgrade procedure by pointing to the directory containing the three files.

After all this, you'll have the latest Atheros drivers and utils working (I hope) for your configuration.

I'm working with 2 DWL-2100 APs (v2.01B1r248 firmware) and DWL-G650 (hw rev. C2), SuperG with static turbo and WPA-PSK is working great, no strange things happening and very stable.

One of the APs is configured in client mode to the main AP, it has an Xbox attached to it (Wireless Xbox is great..).

I can highly recommend using Atheros drivers over D-Link's, they are less buggy and give us better control on how things should work; but it's just an opinion...;)

Ciao,

...Axel
tc17
join:2003-08-14

tc17

Member

Don't suppose you happen to know if these are compatible with the Dlink DWL-G520 pci card?

I am currently using the .150 drivers off the Atheros website.

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

funchords

MVM

said by tc17:

Don't suppose you happen to know if these are compatible with the Dlink DWL-G520 pci card?

I am currently using the .150 drivers off the Atheros website.
They should be. They are the same product in different a different form factor.

[Insert standard disclaimer here].
tquade7
join:2000-10-14
Regina, SK

tquade7

Member

I'm post this through a G520 card running the 3.3.2.4 driver.

Ted
michaelzhao
join:2004-04-17
Toronto, ON

michaelzhao to AxelFoley8

Member

to AxelFoley8
Thanks for the info.

It is so hard to find the newer Atheros driver these days.

Finally got the new one and it is up running on my G520 card.
tc17
join:2003-08-14

tc17 to AxelFoley8

Member

to AxelFoley8
Maybe its just me, but when I tried it on a G520 card, it would not let WindowsXP boot using the graphical login and logoff screens.

If I went to the user control panel to force it back to using the welcome screen, it tells me it can't because the Atheros program won't let it.

So I went back to using the Atheros drivers off their website. I get a stronger signal reading using them anyways, but maybe its innacurate. The only problem with the drivers on their website is that it takes like a minute before their user interface loads after Windows boots up.
tquade7
join:2000-10-14
Regina, SK

tquade7

Member

I should have expanded a bit. I am using the 3.3.2.4 driver with the D-Link version 2.54 client utility.

To get there, first install the D-Link package and then manually replace the driver, ar5211.sys in windows\system32\drivers directory, and reboot or use linkmon from atheros to Unload Driver - Load Driver (found under Action).

Make sure everything is configured correctly before doing the driver switch.

Ted
tlstrieg
join:2003-09-10
Fredericksburg, TX

tlstrieg to AxelFoley8

Member

to AxelFoley8
said by tc17:

Maybe its just me, but when I tried it on a G520 card, it would not let WindowsXP boot using the graphical login and logoff screens.
I ran into the same problem. I'm using these new drivers with the DWL-G650. For now, I have decided to live.

However, I am curious what these new drivers do tha the old ones don't. I guess I'm one of those who always installs the newest drivers, but I must admit that I seldom have a clue what improvements are included in the new drivers.

Tom

McChen
@attbi.com

McChen to AxelFoley8

Anon

to AxelFoley8
You can fix the issue with the XP login screen by reverting back to the original Microsoft gina dll (graphical identification and authentication) instead of the installed Atheros one. Atheros installs it's own gina so that it can support single sign on. You don't need single sign on unless you are in an enterprise wifi environment. To revert back to the default MS configuration simply delete this registry key:
HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\WindowsNT\\CurrentVersion\\Winlogon\\GinaDLL
so now you can use the newer drivers/utility while still keeping the welcome screen login and fast user switching.

Dibbet
@range81-157.btcentra

Dibbet to AxelFoley8

Anon

to AxelFoley8
I followed your instructions but after a few minutes my latop dies again and I have to turn it off. I have the B2 revision of the card maybe this has something to do with it?? Please email me and let me know your thoughts.
Arnie_75
join:2004-02-17
GERMANY

Arnie_75 to AxelFoley8

Member

to AxelFoley8
Thanks, I tried the new drivers (.156) and finally the Atheros-utility shows up as soon as WinXP SP2 has loaded. Prior to this it only showed up abput 30 seconds after loading WinXP

nonegiven
@cstltn01.in.comcast.

nonegiven to AxelFoley8

Anon

to AxelFoley8
Good write-up. I just upgraded my Atheros mini-pci card and it worked perfectly.
kuranuk
join:2004-10-06

kuranuk

Member

I recently upgraded and now my "Auto Select" doesn't appear to be working; instead of finding and associating, it simply says "Current Profile: " and never associates. Has anyone else had this problem?

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

funchords

MVM

said by kuranuk:

I recently upgraded and now my "Auto Select" doesn't appear to be working; instead of finding and associating, it simply says "Current Profile: " and never associates. Has anyone else had this problem?
While I'm not having this problem nor using this version, Is WZCSVC running?
sprog123
join:2001-12-18

1 edit

sprog123 to kuranuk

Member

to kuranuk
said by kuranuk:


I recently upgraded and now my "Auto Select" doesn't appear to be working; instead of finding and associating, it simply says "Current Profile: " and never associates. Has anyone else had this problem?
Are you using the Atheros client utility? If so, I've found that the Auto-Select profiles only works with what's defined in the auto-selectable profiles list (which isn't the same as the main list that shows all the profiles you have, or all the networks it detects). I don't have my laptop with me at the moment, so I can't tell you exactly where it is, but it's on that middle tab around the auto-select profiles stuff.

Maybe when you updated the drivers, the auto-select list got erased?

I noticed this behavior when I wanted to try to connect to new networks by just trying to activate them from the main list directly. It would never work, and I finally realized I had to either disable the auto-select (to allow manual connection), or to add the new network to the auto-select list. The auto-select list also lets you set the order of preference in which to connect to the networks (ie. profiles listed higher in the list get priority, and you can use the tool to change the order, add new, remove, etc).
kuranuk
join:2004-10-06

kuranuk

Member

quote:
Is WZCSVC running?
Stopped and disabled, the way I like it. =)
quote:
Are you using the Atheros client utility?
Yup, upgraded that to the latest version above, and I know about the "Order Profiles" list, too, and it was set up correctly, just not working.

I'd uninstalled and reinstalled, to no effect; I just did a system restore and it's working again with version 3.1.3.5 of the utility and 3.3.2.4 of the drivers. I'm guessing it was some weird registry problem; it doesn't appear to be a problem
with the drivers, but I probably wouldn't upgrade to the 3.1.3.10 of ACU unless your current one is giving you problems.

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

funchords

MVM

said by kuranuk:

I'm guessing it was some weird registry problem; it doesn't appear to be a problem
with the drivers
I'm guessing you are right, but I do not have enough experience here to know how Windows XP interacts with configuration software other than WZCSVC.

If you're just happy to have a working network and don't really want to keep screwing with it, that's perfectly understandable.

If you want to experiment with this, I think the interesting part of the registry is from memory) \HKLM\CurrentConfig\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EAPOL\Interfaces\{your interface}. After setting a restore point, see if you can get your computer into that funky state again. Then go to the above entry, delete that entry, reboot, and see what happens.

If something interesting happens, repeat the experiment after running netsh ras set tracing * enabled and writing down the exact times you take various steps. Then, run netsh ras set tracing * disabled and correlate those experiment times to the various logs in the C:\windows\tracing directory.

If there is no EAPOL log of consequence, then it's not running and that key is not really being used. Otherwise, it is running and performing tasks along with the Atheros utility.

EAPOL handles 802.1x, including WPA-PSK. If it's running with WEP or non-encrypted connections, then it is in error and will cause the problem you saw (it locks out the AP because the AP is not doing the authentication secret handshake and won't let the computer associate with it).

I have seen this myself and this is why I tell people that if they change the encryption method, to also change the SSID at the same time. That way EAPOL will store the different method in a separate entry. My suspicion is that EAPOL becomes confused when authentication changes but it does not correctly store the change. The particular key is binary, so other than blowing away the key and letting EAPOL create a new one -- there is no other way.
masraum
join:2002-05-06
Friendswood, TX

masraum

Member

I've got a DWL-G520 revB, and was using the 3.3.0.150 drivers which worked fine. I never got a really noise reading, and my power level always showed 79mW. I upgraded to 3.3.0.156 and got the dreaded athgina.dll installed(which I promptly fixed by deleting the registry entry), but the drivers worked great. With the .156 driver my power shows 100mW, and the noise is the same. Always -98dB, and Netstumbler always reports -100dB. I then used the files linked in the first post to upgrade to 3.3.2.4 which again updated to the atheros Gina which I again killed. These drivers seem to work about the same as the .156. Still no change in the noise. Man! I would really love to see a real noise level on this card. I'd run out and buy another card if I could get away with it. A card that doesn't report the noise is like a car with a speedo and no other gauges. It's just not right.

But, with WinXP SP2, and my G520 revB everything is working fine. I didn't really have a reason to upgrade other than to see what it did. Not much really other than add the XR which doesn't matter to me, and change the power setting from 79mW to 100mW. My WAP is old and doesn't support SuperG or G anyway.

If anyone knows of a way to get the noise...

I've heard rumors that the next version of Netstumbler is going to, but no release date yet that I'm aware of
tquade7
join:2000-10-14
Regina, SK

tquade7

Member

The Atheros client utility (ACU.EXE) displays both singnal level and noise under the advanced tab. It can be run without being installed. I am using version 3.1.3.5 along with the 3.3.2.4 driver. Running static turbo, signal is at -49dBm and noise is at -90dBm. Both wander around plus or minus a db over time. (Generally around 40db SNR). Very pleased with the whole setup.

Ted
masraum
join:2002-05-06
Friendswood, TX

masraum

Member

Ted, with which card are you using those drivers/util?

I've got a DWL-G520. My noise is always -98 dB. Never changes. My signal is good -50 -- -55 dB. It does bounce around. I built a cable to relocate the antenna (worth about 25dB) and built a parabolic reflector. I get about 6-9 dB extra with the reflector.

Seems odd that my noise would be so stable though. I know that Netstumbler won't report noise with the Atheros chips.

Thanks for the info on yours.
tquade7
join:2000-10-14
Regina, SK

tquade7

Member

DWL-G520 rev A3.

Ted
tc17
join:2003-08-14

tc17 to McChen

Member

to McChen
said by McChen:

You can fix the issue with the XP login screen by reverting back to the original Microsoft gina dll (graphical identification and authentication) instead of the installed Atheros one. Atheros installs it's own gina so that it can support single sign on. You don't need single sign on unless you are in an enterprise wifi environment. To revert back to the default MS configuration simply delete this registry key:
HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\WindowsNT\\CurrentVersion\\Winlogon\\GinaDLL
so now you can use the newer drivers/utility while still keeping the welcome screen login and fast user switching.
Thank you for this info. It fixed the problem. I'm using the 156 drivers.

someone2
@adelphia.net

someone2 to AxelFoley8

Anon

to AxelFoley8
Ok I had v3.3.0.156 installed so I manually replaced the driver, ar5211.sys in windows\system32\drivers directory, rebooted and I now have the 3.3.2.4 driver installed and running correctly.

But what do the .cat and .inf files do? Are they the files required to run the new atheros ACU or are they just needed if you want Win XP to update to the new driver? If they are required to run a new ACU is there any advantages/features to upgrading to it?

Any feedback on the .cat and .inf files would be greatly appreciated.
someone2

someone2 to AxelFoley8

Anon

to AxelFoley8
Ok after some research and reading the inf file I now see that the .inf and .cat are needed if windows is to update the driver and not required if you manually update the driver yourself. And have no effect on the acu file.
SoCal99
join:2004-01-22

SoCal99 to AxelFoley8

Member

to AxelFoley8
Yea, I just copy and paste the new ar5211.sys file in the system32\drivers directory and reboot and then I'm using the new driver.
reichew
join:2005-03-04
UK

reichew to AxelFoley8

Member

to AxelFoley8
Hi guys,
I recently bought the DWL-G650+, the Hardware is B1 & firmware version is 20.2 and I have been in distress since! HELP HELP>>>

I must say DLINK tech support sucks!

The driver that I've installed, version 2.04 and the earlier versions is causing fatal errors to my notebook!

I am running a COMPAQ PRESARIO 80, with 700mhz and 256MB RAM, on Windows XP Pro.

Anyway, I've installed the driver i.a.w. the user manual. Also, I can use the device, i.e. it is able to detect and connect to the WLAN.

However, I DO face 2 problems with this sevice, that make it useless at the moment.

1. The device will cause my laptop to "hang" each time I use the device. This problem usually occurs within the first 15mins of using the adapter. By "hanging", I mean :
>>. The mouse and keyboard stops responding totally, although I can still see some activity going on in the windows via the display. The only way to use the laptop again is to hard reboot it. Initially, I thought that my windows XP Pro has been corrupted, and I did a fresh installation. I then monitored the OS for a few days (for system stability, and it worked fine!)
before installing the DWL-G650+ card. But soon after installing the driver and use the device, the same "hanging" problem occurred. That concludes that the device is the root of the problem.

2. Whilst using the laptop with the device working, I face very frequent connection failure over the WLAN, despite sitting right infornt of the transmitter. The problem seems to affect only my laptop as the rest of the WLAN user were getting full signal and steady connection. I've since carried out my own diagnosis, with my laptop and my WIFI Palmtop. Whilst my laptop keeps getting cut-off, my palmtop was steady on its connection with no problems.
I've followed the advice from the DLink website, by using the adapter utility software instead of the MS controller. But it yield no results!

These problems had caused me much tears and heart ache due to lost work and wasted time sorting it out! And this is certainly not a happy customer, as this device is almost brand new!!!

I really hope that you guys, with your collective knowledge, can provide some assistance pls.

Thank you.

Cheers,
Rei


yourfriend
@sympatico.ca

yourfriend

Anon

DWL-G650+ isn't the same as the DWL-G650. I don't think it has an Atheros chipset and therefore cannot be used with this Atheros driver.
reichew
join:2005-03-04
UK

reichew

Member

hello my friend,
thanks for the info.. do you have any suggestion then to my hair loss problems??

Thnaks in advance,,,,

Rei

xeonox
join:2002-11-05
Los Angeles, CA

xeonox

Member

drivers work but the ACU client utility wont work for me, anyone have any ideas??? i have the G520.

Styrian
@195.3.x.x

Styrian to AxelFoley8

Anon

to AxelFoley8
@reichew: the D-Link G650+ uses the TI-chipset. If you encounter problems with the horrible D-link support, you can try the USR 805410 drivers (my DWL G650+ Rev. A1 does its work now). If you are familiar with german language, have a look at the german D-Link forum. ThereĀ“s is a topic about G650+ and USR drivers.

Greetz, Styrian