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Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter

Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter

List Price: $69.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Buyer beware
Review: I had an experience similar to the reviewer below, "redlinerx." My system is running Windows XP with Service Pack 1, very clean and always stable, until I installed this thing. The drivers are not certified by Microsoft (many wireless adapters are not, I've noticed). Anytime I had this thing installed my system would blue-screen frequently, which has otherwise never happened with my computer. On top of that, signal quality and connection speed were poor. When I bought a Microsoft USB wireless adapter and used it in the same location, the connection improved a lot, and the drivers don't hose my system. In short, I'd advise those looking for a USB adapter to get the Microsoft one, although it's not cheap.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect for novices
Review: The advantage to getting a USB adapter over a network card is that you don't have to open up your computer's case to install it and, because it uses a USB port, you can order it for either Windows or Mac. I am using it for Windows XP. I was worried about signal strength after reading all of the reviews, but I consistently get around 70% signal strength capacity and I am upstairs from the router. Installation was easy too. Just read the user's manual, install the software first and plug in the USB adapter. And because it's outside of your computer, you can move it around to see if you can pick up better signal strength. One of the unexpected highlights of the USB adapter is that, if you turn off your computer, it stops scanning for a signal which means you don't have to worry about a stranger using your connection when you're not using your computer. I had no knowledge of networking before asking friends and reading all of Amazon's reviews--and good for you for reading! This will come in handy! This ended up being my first and last choice because Netgear is a topseller, easy-to-use, and offered a rebate. This is my first time ever having a high speed connection at home and I'm loving it. One of the best investments along with the Netgear router. Together after the rebate, the two items cost around $70. Just a great product and great deal.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No Luck On My System
Review: Though the system requirements state Windows XP, it appears that the drivers are not happy running on my system. My system is a newer Dell model, with only windows security patches applied, so the OS is pretty clean. Anytime the install program for a driver tells you to ignore the fact that Microsoft has not certified the driver you are installing, be prepared that things may not be easy.

Once I installed the drivers and the MA111, my system would blue screen almost everytime I logged off and about 50% of the time I logged in.

Signal strenght was poor, even from about 20 feet away and 2 walls between the router and PC (on the same floor in the house).

It is being sent back, the Linksys USB Wireless adapted I bought is working totally fine.

Glad to hear other folks got decent service from Netgear. The only way I could get a person on the line was to call their Pre-Sales group and pretend that I wanted to buy the MA111, but had some questions before I did.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: Small, Compact. I bought this b/c of it tranferability between my laptop and desktop... nice job

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Quick and easy networking... for most...
Review: First of all, let me warn users of Windows 98 that, in spite of product claims, this product may not work well with Windows 98. I bought this, intending to use it to plug my existing Windows 98 machine into an existing wireless network (with the Netgear WR814 router). Some five aggravating hours later, I learned (via Usenet) that many Windows 98 users had much trouble getting this (and other USB) network adapters to work.

Luckily, the timing was good for me to try an upgrade of this older (P3-500) machine to Windows XP Home Edition. Installation onto the same machine with the Windows XP OS took about 15 minutes. I now have a good solid working connection across the house from the router (40 feet away and through two walls).

Given that I was willing and able to upgrade my older machine's OS, I'm very happy with the MA111's performance. I can't be sure about its compatibility with other versions of Windows, or with other OSs, and would strongly suggest that you check out online reviews (such as on Amazon.com),or just ask around, regardless of what the product package might tell you.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: so easy! excellent stuff
Review: I bought this and the 802.11b router from Netgear last night....had my network operating within 15 minutes or so. This is some world-class stuff and it works extremely well on the floor above the router, one room over. I have XP on a newish Dell, so the compatibility is perfect. Buy one..it's great..very easy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor compatibility
Review: I bought this item thinking it would work as well as the MA101, which has good compatibility. I was wrong. It ONLY works under Windows. Don't even try using it anywhere else such as Linux.

Even if I buy something intending to use it only under Windows I only buy products that can later be moved somewhere else. I've been burned too many times by products that worked under one version of Windows then weren't supported in the next. I find that products that are Windows, Mac & Linux compatible have a longer useful life.

This product is being returned today.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fair Performance, Slightly High Price
Review:
I got this device because I have an older laptop that has the older "double-thick" card slot that won't take the newer type II cards. Thank goodness, the laptop has 1 USB port.

This adapter was easy to install and hook up - and I was able to get it to link to a D-Link 614+ wireless router (after a little trial and error). The performance is good as long as you don't have too many obstacles (or too much distance) between your adapter and the wireless router. I found I have to use the extension cable with the adapter to get it to work best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just plug it in...
Review: It works and works great! I have it on windows xp desktop pc.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Clear clear with Windows 98
Review: I'm running a Netgear network at home, all wireless, with the Netgear MR814 router and another Netgear MA401 PCMCIA wireless card. No problems with both. With the MA111, the story is a little different. Upon installing the configuration utility, it totally froze my machine. Nothing you can do about it. I had to re-boot in Safe mode, remove all of the drivers and utility, and upgrade to Windows 2000 to make it work. Not worth the effort.


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