External wifi adapters crash the PC?

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Samsung LC-20. XP SP3. Has built-in wifi.

Trying out external wifi adapters (ones with better, more directional
aerials). Two different models.

One I tried a few months ago - I don't have it to hand so can't tell you
the details, but it had a dish aerial. (No, not a Hawking.) I can't
remember the details, other than that it did work briefly, then started
to cause the PC to spontaneously reset when plugged in.

The latest one I've tried is this: http://bit.ly/10xdGox . When I first
plug it in, it doesn't cause problems of the resetting sort; it is
recognised as new hardware, but no existing driver is found. When I
install the driver from the little CD that came with it, the
installation appears to complete, but then the PC crashes. If I do it
without the new hardware plugged in, all seems well - until I plug it
in, when it crashes within a second or three: quite spectacular crash,
in that the screen goes blank, and the PC then restarts - as if
something is drawing too much from the power supply or something. (Both
have been USB devices.) If I system restore to before I loaded the
drivers, I can plug the device in, and as before no crash occurs, the
device is detected, but no in-built driver is found.


I've tried both disabling the built-in wifi, and not doing so; it
doesn't seem to make any difference.

Any ideas?

(I have one more to try, which I'll try tomorrow as it's getting late:
http://bit.ly/10xf9ev . Since that one claims to work on '98, I can also
try it on an old '98 laptop I have.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

A true-born Englishman does not know any language. He does not speak English too
well either but, at least, he is not proud of this. He is, however, immensely
proud of not knowing any foreign languages. (George Mikes, "How to be
Inimitable" [1960].)

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

I have had very good results using the Netgear N150 (WNA1100).

Ah, sorry, I didn't make that very clear: when I said "any ideas", I
meant any idea what's going on, rather than recommendations for other
units. (Yes, I think I've heard good things about that one.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

A true-born Englishman does not know any language. He does not speak English too
well either but, at least, he is not proud of this. He is, however, immensely
proud of not knowing any foreign languages. (George Mikes, "How to be
Inimitable" [1960].)

 

[jim]

Samsung LC-20. XP SP3. Has built-in wifi.

Trying out external wifi adapters (ones with better, more directional
aerials). Two different models.

One I tried a few months ago - I don't have it to hand so can't tell you
the details, but it had a dish aerial. (No, not a Hawking.) I can't
remember the details, other than that it did work briefly, then started
to cause the PC to spontaneously reset when plugged in.

The latest one I've tried is this: http://bit.ly/10xdGox . When I first
plug it in, it doesn't cause problems of the resetting sort; it is
recognised as new hardware, but no existing driver is found. When I
install the driver from the little CD that came with it, the installation
appears to complete, but then the PC crashes. If I do it without the new
hardware plugged in, all seems well - until I plug it in, when it crashes
within a second or three: quite spectacular crash, in that the screen
goes blank, and the PC then restarts - as if something is drawing too
much from the power supply or something. (Both have been USB devices.) If
I system restore to before I loaded the drivers, I can plug the device
in, and as before no crash occurs, the device is detected, but no in-built driver is found.


I've tried both disabling the built-in wifi, and not doing so; it doesn't
seem to make any difference.

Any ideas?

(I have one more to try, which I'll try tomorrow as it's getting late:
http://bit.ly/10xf9ev . Since that one claims to work on '98, I can also
try it on an old '98 laptop I have.)

Install driver first then plug aerial in ?

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message
<254780566389863255.291671bojimbo26-gmail.com@news.eternal-september.org>

Install driver first then plug aerial in ?

I tried that - well, I tried the adapter without an aerial connected.
Didn't seem to make any difference.

 

[Ben Myers]

Samsung LC-20. XP SP3. Has built-in wifi.
Trying out external wifi adapters (ones with better, more directional
aerials). Two different models.
One I tried a few months ago - I don't have it to hand so can't tell you
the details, but it had a dish aerial. (No, not a Hawking.) I can't
remember the details, other than that it did work briefly, then started
to cause the PC to spontaneously reset when plugged in.
The latest one I've tried is this: http://bit.ly/10xdGox . When I first
plug it in, it doesn't cause problems of the resetting sort; it is
recognised as new hardware, but no existing driver is found. When I
install the driver from the little CD that came with it, the
installation appears to complete, but then the PC crashes. If I do it
without the new hardware plugged in, all seems well - until I plug it
in, when it crashes within a second or three: quite spectacular crash,
in that the screen goes blank, and the PC then restarts - as if
something is drawing too much from the power supply or something. (Both
have been USB devices.) If I system restore to before I loaded the
drivers, I can plug the device in, and as before no crash occurs, the
device is detected, but no in-built driver is found.
I've tried both disabling the built-in wifi, and not doing so; it
doesn't seem to make any difference.
Any ideas?

Try the install again, restart the computer, then go to "Control Panel",
"Administrative Tools", "Event Viewer" and see if there anything significant
in the system folder. Also, you might try temporarily disabling the "Plug and
Play" service in "Administative Tools", "Services" and try to install manually.
If none of this is helpful, go to "Control Panel", "System", "Hardware", "Device
Manager" and see if the built-in wireless is still enabled. If so, disable it.

Ben

 

[RJK]

Samsung LC-20. XP SP3. Has built-in wifi.

Trying out external wifi adapters (ones with better, more directional
aerials). Two different models.

One I tried a few months ago - I don't have it to hand so can't tell you
the details, but it had a dish aerial. (No, not a Hawking.) I can't
remember the details, other than that it did work briefly, then started to
cause the PC to spontaneously reset when plugged in.

The latest one I've tried is this: http://bit.ly/10xdGox . When I first
plug it in, it doesn't cause problems of the resetting sort; it is
recognised as new hardware, but no existing driver is found. When I
install the driver from the little CD that came with it, the installation
appears to complete, but then the PC crashes. If I do it without the new
hardware plugged in, all seems well - until I plug it in, when it crashes
within a second or three: quite spectacular crash, in that the screen goes
blank, and the PC then restarts - as if something is drawing too much from
the power supply or something. (Both have been USB devices.) If I system
restore to before I loaded the drivers, I can plug the device in, and as
before no crash occurs, the device is detected, but no in-built driver is
found.


I've tried both disabling the built-in wifi, and not doing so; it doesn't
seem to make any difference.

Any ideas?

(I have one more to try, which I'll try tomorrow as it's getting late:
http://bit.ly/10xf9ev . Since that one claims to work on '98, I can also
try it on an old '98 laptop I have.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

A true-born Englishman does not know any language. He does not speak
English too
well either but, at least, he is not proud of this. He is, however,
immensely
proud of not knowing any foreign languages. (George Mikes, "How to be
Inimitable" [1960].)

FWIW, if it doesn't IMMEDIATELY do what it says on the tin, get a refund !
In my experience. there are two types of software driver supplied to make a
corresponding piece of hardware work.

The first type of software driver supplied is simple a heap of crap, with
next to no resources, effort, or expertise applied to it, during driver
development, and whilst it might work on PC hardware and software
environment into which it's thrust, that happens to be VERY similar to that
on which it was developed, it won't work on almost every other type of PC in
the world.

The second type of software driver supplied with a piece of hardware, has
been expertly & EXPENSIVELY, and thoughtfully crafted, and has been tested
on MANY brands and models of PC hardware, and most recent Windows platforms,
and when STUFFED into the hideous software mess, (which is most peoples
PC!), it can cope with this environment 999 times out of a thousand !!!!

In short, if you install it, (hardware and software), as per installation
instructions, and it doesn't work, and especially if it collapses your PC,
(that was most likely on the point of collapsing anyway), GET A REFUND.

regards, Richard

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <[email protected]>, RJK

In short, if you install it, (hardware and software), as per installation
instructions, and it doesn't work, and especially if it collapses your PC,
(that was most likely on the point of collapsing anyway), GET A REFUND.

regards, Richard

To be fair, both suppliers have offered a refund (one has already
happened, and I am fairly certain the other is going to - these are ebay
purchases), and neither have asked for the hardware back.

It's a pity; the software that came with at least one of them looked
more useful than the default Windows XP one, and was so close to
working: I think the _driver_ _was_ working, in that the adapter and
software between them were coming up with a very informative table of
the networks within range, what channels they are on, strengths, and
other such. I could even connect to one of the unsecured ones (it's one
of the BTFon ones - you just get to their login/payup page whatever URL
you give, unless you do payup), but couldn't get into my own network. I
think I probably could if I fought it long enough: I got to the point
where I could enter the WEP key, but couldn't work out what to do next.
So I think the _driver_ may be OK, subject to working with the software.

 

[RJK]

In message <[email protected]>, RJK

To be fair, both suppliers have offered a refund (one has already
happened, and I am fairly certain the other is going to - these are ebay
purchases), and neither have asked for the hardware back.

It's a pity; the software that came with at least one of them looked more
useful than the default Windows XP one, and was so close to working: I
think the _driver_ _was_ working, in that the adapter and software between
them were coming up with a very informative table of the networks within
range, what channels they are on, strengths, and other such. I could even
connect to one of the unsecured ones (it's one of the BTFon ones - you
just get to their login/payup page whatever URL you give, unless you do
payup), but couldn't get into my own network. I think I probably could if
I fought it long enough: I got to the point where I could enter the WEP
key, but couldn't work out what to do next. So I think the _driver_ may be
OK, subject to working with the software.

Having re-read this thread, I thought back to a case where a cheap nasty
Lexmark printer was causing the PC it was connected to, to black screen on
power up. It turned out that the VIA chipset on the motherboard was not
supplying enough current on the USB ports, (other USB peripherals were
connected - can't now remember what they were), and when the Lexmark printer
USB lead was connected, all sorts of funny things happened, including black
screen on a cold boot.

I've lost count the Edimax wi-fi stuff I've bought, ( mostly from
ebuyer.com ), not expensive and always works well, (not bought any of the
tiny Edimax nano wifi dongles though), never had to fight with the drivers !
Also TPLINK brand, cheap and cheerful and works really well - I have a
TPLINK TD-W8901G adsl/router/wifi out here in the office, must be a couple
of years old, impressive performance, wifi'ing across the drive, through
very thick old stone walled house to Laptop, and Edimax USB Wifi Adapter
(previous G model), similar to ebuyer.com QuickFind code: 161823
Manufacturer ID: EW-7711UAN plugged into Dads PC in the house - though had
to add a 2 metre USB ext. lead and hang that one over the curtain rail near
his PC, as his PC is in a corner !

regards, Richard

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <[email protected]>, RJK

Having re-read this thread, I thought back to a case where a cheap nasty
Lexmark printer was causing the PC it was connected to, to black screen on
power up. It turned out that the VIA chipset on the motherboard was not
supplying enough current on the USB ports, (other USB peripherals were
connected - can't now remember what they were), and when the Lexmark printer
USB lead was connected, all sorts of funny things happened, including black
screen on a cold boot.

[]
I don't think it's that (overloading the USB supplies); without the
offending drivers loaded, the PC will sit there happily indefinitely
with these wifi adapters plugged in (just can't use them; it knows
they're there). Also, as I've said, for one of them, I have managed to
get it as far as getting a list of available wireless networks, I just
couldn't figure out what to do next: again that looked like it would
continue indefinitely, no sign of distress. With the offending drivers
loaded, if I leave the device plugged in, the PC boots, gets well
through the normal boot process (certainly reaches the desktop with all
my icons), then at some point goes black screen and restarts,
repeatedly. Despite what I've said earlier there _does_ seem to be some
connection with the built-in wifi: if I turn that off, _one_ of the
external ones _doesn't_ cause reboots (if plugged in after turning off
the internal one); that's how I got as far as seeing the list.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I don't think I would make a great rock star. I like my tea too much!
- Jessica Raine (Jenny in "Call the Midwife"),
in Radio Times 19-25 January 2013.

 

[Paul]

In message <[email protected]>, RJK


I don't think it's that (overloading the USB supplies); without the
offending drivers loaded, the PC will sit there happily indefinitely
with these wifi adapters plugged in (just can't use them; it knows
they're there). Also, as I've said, for one of them, I have managed to
get it as far as getting a list of available wireless networks, I just
couldn't figure out what to do next: again that looked like it would
continue indefinitely, no sign of distress. With the offending drivers
loaded, if I leave the device plugged in, the PC boots, gets well
through the normal boot process (certainly reaches the desktop with all
my icons), then at some point goes black screen and restarts,
repeatedly. Despite what I've said earlier there _does_ seem to be some
connection with the built-in wifi: if I turn that off, _one_ of the
external ones _doesn't_ cause reboots (if plugged in after turning off
the internal one); that's how I got as far as seeing the list.

Look in Event Manager. Check for crash information.

If there is absolutely no crash info, your restart could be hardware
related. Such as overloading +5VSB.

If the crash causes a system panic, leaves a dump file or whatever,
that's a software-related crash. Look for bread crumbs etc.

Your symptoms did not strike me as hardware, and I have no
good theory that fits your symptoms. Which is why I didn't reply.

At least look for bread crumbs first, to categorize the failure type.
Look in Event Manager. Look for .dmp files. That sort of thing.
Read up on where a kernel panic and dump would be stored.

A laptop should use a power bug, should be able to disconnect
an overloaded USB port, and do so instantly. The power bug uses
MOSFETs to disconnect the load, and works even faster than a fuse.
A Polyfuse is used on desktops. Loss of +5VSB on a desktop,
causes the box to shut off. It doesn't do a reset. I can't
really mesh your symptoms with a hardware event. If the laptop
actually had a Polyfuse, then the details of what happens next,
will depend on how the power conversion is designed. If a port
overload is not isolated, then you would be relying on the
overcurrent protection in the power conversion block. That
converts battery power (like 14.4VDC) to 5V, for USB.

Paul