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Doomie22
join:2006-10-10
|  Netgear WG311 v3 Trouble
Hello,
I've been trying to install the Netagear WG311 v3 wireless network card into my desktop which runs Windows XP Home edition. Inside the box was a warning that that card my not be compatible with windows xp. So i ran the software anyway and was told to shut down the computer, install the card and reboot.
We'll, upon rebooting my welcome screen was disabled as well as my switch user login screen. Clicking "OK" allowed to access my desktop without any user name.
Now the rest of the installation process wont continue, as its supposed to automatically continue. There is a desktop icon for the smartwizard. I click it but nothing happens.
I reinstalled it, same problem. Am I better off just getting a new wireless card or is this problem fixable? | |
skooterlicious
@ucsf.edu
|  I've been having the very same problem. Installed the card and tried to install the software. Installshield errored out with a 1062, which tells me that the software was poorly put together. I looked around on the website and I've found no software download links. They have "firmware" updates but that's it.
So I call Netgear support. After stumbling through their pbx system and holding for 10 minutes, the system informs me I need to register the product before I can get my 90 day free technical support. I register a login on the site, register the product and call back support. Without question, I've reached India.
The woman asks for my serial number, which I provide, and she tells me that's not a serial number. "I'm reading it right from the manufacturer sticker on the box." She says that's not it, read it from the back of the card - it's the same. Exasperated she says, "Hold please." After confirming my registration I tell her the problem. She says that the problem is with my system manufacturer, I need to contact them, giving my the bum rush.
"Ms, there is no system manufacturer. I built this machine, it's brand new and it has a clean install of XP with all updates and it's working fine."
Roughly she responds "Well then you need to find the updated software on the netgear website."
I reply, "As I've mentioned, I've looked and I'm unable to find it. Can you tell me where to find it."
"I don't know the exact link, you'll have to search the website and find it yourself."
"Mam, please listen to what I'm saying. I've looked on the website and I've found no software, only a firmware update. Please help me locate what you're referring to."
Curtly she says, "Hold while I check my resources."
While I'm holding I do a little more researching and find that people have been having this very same problem since August of 2005 and an announcement from Netgear that it is a XP SP2 problem and they aren't going to wait for a fix and supplied their own. This all seems like more help than this woman on the phone, so I hang up. The problem is this information appears on the netgear forums which I'm unable to locate on their webiste, so I figure I have to login to access this resource. I try to login with the account that registered with earlier, I even recieved a confirmation email, and the website says that that information doesn't exist in their database. Turns out there's a separate registration for the website and support. Go figure the thinking on that one.
I decide to look into this "firmware" update to see if it might help, come to find out that it's a driver/software install package. I install it, shut down and install my card, boot up but still can't connect to my access point. I double click on the netgear wireless management desktop icon and it says my card is not installed. Device Manager sees it, the motherboard sees it and it is supplying it power. I give up and remove the hardware, I'm returning it.
So how come this person I was speaking too doesn't know of this problem? How come they don't know about what's on their own support website? Why are their support forums inaccessible? They're sure quick to blame the problems on anyone but themselves. It appears that not only is the hardware bad, so is their support. Having worked as customer service and support, it seems clear to me their motivation is to get you off the phone and/or stall you out so you keep the product beyond retail return policies, all in an effort to buy themselves some time to produce a fix. Except in this case I'm dealing with support personnel that can't provide information to fix the problem that was already fixed nearly a year before. | |
skooterlicious
@ucsf.edu | here's the info I found
»tinyurl.com/yzqoqy | |
downshft
join:2001-12-17
| reply to Doomie22
I have the WG311T and despite 33 steps (»kbserver.netgear.com/release_not···2993.asp) to 'properly' install/upgrade the adapter utility, it still won't install. There's no step 29. Once you've uninstalled, shut down, physically removed the adapter, restarted, installed, shut down again, re-inserted the adapter, and powered on again..it doesn't install and the Netgear Smart Wizard does nothing. There's no prompt to select a country. It's amazing that a company could be so poor at documentation and releasing final versions of software. I followed their steps 3 times. Same result. | |
skooterlicious
@sbcglobal.net | reply to Doomie22
Yay! I finally got around to installing the Atheros driver. Works great, THE FIRST TIME!
Netgear needs to get their act together, seriously. | |
Sentinel
Premium
join:2001-02-07
Florida
1 edit | reply to downshft
I did it this way and it works great. I don't know if it will work for you but this works for me.
»WG311T possible to install driver only? | |
downshft
join:2001-12-17
| reply to Doomie22
Thanks Sentinel. The one thing I liked about the old software is that it did the security key translation (match) for you when you entered the passphrase on PC attempting to connect to the secure router. I actually went back and installed version 3.3, and now I'm getting the card not inserted error message.. hoo boy! I'll look at it again when I find the time. | |
credman1
@comcast.net
| I'm experiencing a serious problem with my WG311v3 card.
It works fine when I install it, but after rebooting once, it won't detect the wireless network OR it says it connects at "1.0 Mbps" but I still can't run anything that accesses the Internet. And when it does work, I notice my computer locking up frequently. I just recently formatted this computer and the driver for this card was the first thing I installed, and the problems were there from the beginning.
Something else that's curious--after I reboot, Windows will hang for maybe 5 minutes after I move the mouse cursor over the "Connect To" tab on the Start menu, or when I try to uninstall the driver. It just does this once every time I reboot, then the computer apparently runs fine. (Another thing--Windows Messenger and the wireless network tray icon, which are supposed to be loaded at startup, won't actually appear until I move the cursor over "Connect To" and get through the 5-minute freeze.)
The only workaround I know of is to uninstall and reinstall the driver EVERY time I reboot, which is often because my computer locks up so much. I've reinstalled it more than 20 times in the last two days.
Help! | |
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