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Linksys WMP11 Wireless-B PCI Card

Linksys WMP11 Wireless-B PCI Card

List Price: $79.99
Your Price: $39.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It works well in Compaq Deskpro P500 Windows 98 SE if ...
Review: After trying several 54Mbs cards, none of which worked or worked perfectly, this was the only card that the computer recognized, didn't freeze up during boot, and that connected to the wireless router the first time.

I had to remove the Compaq Ethernet Wired LAN card which apparently took over the TCP/IP connection before the WMP11 driver loaded.

I then removed and reinstalled the software from the supplied CD, and then the internet connection via my Linksys high speed wireless router and Comcast cable Motorola modem was made.

A way to check what is connected to TCP/IP in your computer is to RUN winipcfg and see what is in the dropdown box. If the WMP 11 description isn't there, then the computer can't use it to connect to the internet.

The dial up modem is still installed and enabled. That did not stop the WMP11 from working.

It appears that the older computers, especially Compaq, have unique charateristics that preclude using newer cards (read: cards with higher speeds). It might be in the BIOS that recognizes cards, it might be bus speed, it might be the use of PCI connector pins, it might be the operating system, it might be the incompatibility with the cards driver. I don't feel compelled to diagnose what is wrong. After 3 weekends trying to get one card to work, I bought and simply tried major brand cards (Linksys, D-Link, Netgear) for 54 Mbs and 11 Mbs until I found one that worked. (The rest are being returned - sorry about that AMAZON.)

And another surmise, it would appear that the newer wireless lan cards are throughly tested on Windows XP and Windows 2000 computers (the install is usually much easier according to my wealthier friends) and minimally tested on Windows 98 SE and Windows ME computers.

And now the reason for 4 not 5 stars: there was nothing in the documentation or the linksys website that said the computer shouldn't have two ethernet cards (wired and / or wireless) at the same time.

Linksys apparently spent the time debugging the drivers and the resident modules on Windows 98 SE so it knows how to handle an existing dial up modem. For the super high speed D-Link card(the only high speed card for which the computer booted up successfully) I had to disable the modem (entry in network and modem in My Computer - Devices)to get it work at all.

By the way, my Dell Dimension XPS 400 Windows 98 SE has the Linksys WMP54GS card in it and it works perfectly. (The first time I installed it!) This computer has a modem and didn't have a wired ethernet card.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Do not use with HP Pavilion/AMD CPU
Review: After hooking up this card to my brand new PC, Windows XP started to freeze within seconds of loading up. If I disable the wireless network, the computer works fine. I've looked around on the web, and other people with HP and/or AMD chips running their computer have the exact same problem when they install this card. Tech support couldn't help me at all. I'd stay away from this one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Use Something Else
Review: Below is the actual live-chat transcript with a Linksys "tech" regarding a problem I am (was) having with the card. BTW - I am an IT pro with over 18 years experience...

Me: I installed a WMP11 and its software on my Dell Dimension desktop which runs Windows ME. The install was successful. At the end of the configuration utility when I save my changes, my mouse freezes AND I don't get a connection to the internet.
Me: hi
Linksys: have you tried reinstalling the card?
Me: twice
Me: The acces point I am trying to connect to uses WEP.
Me: Its on channel 7, yet the utility will not allow me to specify the channel. It defaults to channel 6.
Me: I did put in the correct WEP key.
Me: My first concern is my mouse freezing, then not being able to specify the proper channel.
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: no problem
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Me: Forget it. I'll just return the card to WalMart and buy a product from your competitor.

Conclusion: Netgear or even DLink has great products. Think of them first.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Worked once on XP; never again
Review: Bought this PCI card for my daughter's 5 year old Compaq running Windows 98. Bottom line; it installed easily and works well. Just follow the directions. The router is in the basement and my daughters room is on the first floor at the far end of the house.
The signal strength is 87% and the signal quality is 93%.

One minor hitch. Although the hardware was working, I could not get any web pages to load until I went into the Device Manager and disabled the internal dial-up modem. (r. click My Computer > l.click properties > l. click Device Manager > l. click plus sign on network adapters > l.click on your internal modem > l.click on properties and check box - disable in hardware profile. Do the same with Dial-Up Adapter.) After that - no problem - works well.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not worth the trouble
Review: The configuration utilities that ship with Linksys wireless products will not install/run properly on WinXP, Linksys requires you to use the WinXP Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) service. One feature of WZC is that once every minute it will drop the current signal in search of a better one, resulting in constant, annoying interruptions to your online play. Thus, if you try to use Linksys wireless products for online gaming, prepare to be VERY annoyed. Otherwise, the card seems to work fine for normal web browsing.


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