Rating: 
Summary: Can't tell you how bad this thing is
Review: I have gone through 3 of these. Every time there is a power failure while my PC is on, it fries this card. Tried using customer service the 1st time it happened. Took forever to convince them it was fried even though I could prove that it did not work in more than one PC. When the replacement was never delivered (most probably a FedEx problem) company ignored my request to ship a replacement and take the problem up themselves with UPS. This is the last Netgear product I ever buy.
Rating:
Summary: Can't tell you how bad this thing is
Review: I have gone through 3 of these. Every time there is a power failure while my PC is on, it fries this card. Tried using customer service the 1st time it happened. Took forever to convince them it was fried even though I could prove that it did not work in more than one PC. When the replacement was never delivered (most probably a FedEx problem) company ignored my request to ship a replacement and take the problem up themselves with UPS. This is the last Netgear product I ever buy.
Rating:
Summary: fragile little board
Review: I have purchased three of these cards. After a few months two stopped working entirely, for apparent no reason. One day they worked the next day -- nothing.
Rating:
Summary: High Failure Rate
Review: I have purchased three of these cards. After a few months two stopped working entirely, for apparent no reason. One day they worked the next day -- nothing.
Rating: 
Summary: could be great...
Review: I have two computers networked using the PA301. It was simple to install the cards and run the software. We can easily share files and printers as long as we're not on-line. We cannot get it to work properly on-line. My goal was to use my computer as the primary one and have the other computer able to be on-line simultaneously and to be able to get phone calls while on-line. I am completely stumped on what I'm doing wrong with that part of the setup. I have contacted Netgear several times and found the person I spoke with (different each time) much less than helpful. They sounded like they didn't have any idea how the product worked. If I can get this one thing working, I'll be thrilled with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: I'm an old hand at networking - I've been doing it since I was 12 (I'm 22 now). This device works AS ADVERTISED. In fact, I was only running a 10 Mbps thinnet network in my home before, and my new HPNA network (made of 3 of these cards) marginally outperforms the coax. Over telephone wire! Without interfering with the phone (or vice versa)! Wow! WOW! This is a great time we live in. A note: If you're a novice with networking, I don't know how well the included networking software works. As I said, I'm very familiar with networking, so I just installed the drivers and configured Windows' built-in networking myself. If you know what you're doing, however, this is a definitely a GREAT product.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 Months and still running
Review: In my first review a failed to mention what systems and software I was running. I believe this may be the cause of many people's woes... I run these cards on 3 very different systems: 1) AMD athlon 1ghz biostar mb 2) Intel p90 "Micron" who knows what kind of mb 3) Intel p133 "Gateway" ditto on the mb But, for all three, I am running windows 98se (second edition). I believe the determining factor in getting your PC's to talk to each other using this device and provided drivers is having the same operating system on each platform. As I recall, during software installation for the Netgear cards, I was required to "insert the windows installation CD" for the complete software installation. As the Netgear software relies on windows networking software this is key to getting these things working. There are a lot of differences between windows95, windows98, and windowsME, especially in the area of networking. Netgear's installation should overcome these differences, or at least document the problems. For this I am downgrading my rating to only 2 stars...
Rating:
Summary: Works Great!
Review: My home setup consists of an ABS K6-2 300mhz system with Windows 98 acting as a server, it is connected to a cable modem via a Farralon 10/100 ethernet card. It branches out to the second floor to two Dell Dimension 166mhz m166s's, one with WIN98SE the other with WIN95 OSR2. It also goes to the third floor to a 400mhz Dell Dimension XPS-R400 with WIN-ME. The server uses Norton Anti-Virus 2001 and ZoneAlarm firewall software. Installation was extremely easy and the whole thing, with shared files and printers was up in running in an hour or two (basically the time it took to install the network cards physically). Throughput is quite acceptable, even with multiple people on the internet at once. The only problems I have encountered is the AOL refuses to stay connected for more than 10 minutes or so if you are typing email, and that ZoneAlarm's settings must be customized to allow for network connectivity. Other than that, everything works as it should, and has been for more than a year. I reccomend this product to anyone who needs to network through their phonelines!
Rating:
Summary: Now I know why Netgear has discontinued this product
Review: Now I know why Netgear has discontinued this product. The product consistency is very poor. I have gone through probably about six of these network (PCI) cards, all outside of warranty. I did have one that lasted a little over a year. I recent bought two used PA-301's and they gave up the ghost in less than a month (one died in just the first day). I would recommend purchasing the PA-101 instead. I have that on my laptop ( it is the USB model) and it has never given me any trouble. I'm going to replace my PCI card with a USB one. The PCI cards don't seem to stand up well against power bumps or static discharges. I use a UPS for my computer, so I think I'm well protected against power spikes, but the card still gets fried. None of my other PCI cards (video, sound, etc) gets damaged. If you have to go the HPNA route, I recommend the USB model PA-101 instead of the PCI cards. They're too inconsistent. When they work, they work great; they just lack the stamina to go the distance.
Rating:
Summary: Now I know why Netgear has discontinued this product
Review: Now I know why Netgear has discontinued this product. The product consistency is very poor. I have gone through probably about six of these network (PCI) cards, all outside of warranty. I did have one that lasted a little over a year. I recent bought two used PA-301's and they gave up the ghost in less than a month (one died in just the first day). I would recommend purchasing the PA-101 instead. I have that on my laptop ( it is the USB model) and it has never given me any trouble. I'm going to replace my PCI card with a USB one. The PCI cards don't seem to stand up well against power bumps or static discharges. I use a UPS for my computer, so I think I'm well protected against power spikes, but the card still gets fried. None of my other PCI cards (video, sound, etc) gets damaged. If you have to go the HPNA route, I recommend the USB model PA-101 instead of the PCI cards. They're too inconsistent. When they work, they work great; they just lack the stamina to go the distance.
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