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Hey guys. I bought the linksys USB network adapter and it's great, however it does occasionally disconnect but not as much as the belkin cheapo adapter. I can now play online games which is a plus.

I want to completely fix this disconnecting problem or at least limit it. I have two theories it's either my USB drives or the router.

1. My USB drives are 1.1 but they are clearly 2.0 but I cannot install service pack 2 for Windows XP so I can update the USB. The reason is (which I'm going to regret saying due to being borderline piracy) because I used my uncle's copy of Windows XP and because of Microsoft's persistent piracy protection it won't allow me to update my drivers. I don't see the point in buying a legit copy of XP since Vista is out and I don't want to buy Vista yet because I cannot afford it and it doesn't have a service pack yet to remedy all the bugs it's still got. I don't know what company made my USB drives because my uncle installed the USBs so I can't get the drivers off their site. Is there a way to get an upgrade to 1.1 to 2.0?

2. My router is a product of Belkin, a company which I hate now, I also hate PC World for selling me crap but that's the only computer company I know that's near me. The router is probably the same quality as the network adapter. Would the router be the cause of the disconnections?

I would prefer it if I could see if the USB is the problem so I don't have to shell out $56 on a decent router when I could of fixed the problem with a simple USB upgrade.

THANKS

At 9/19/07 10:39 AM, RageOfOrder wrote:

At 9/19/07 06:00 AM, darksigns wrote:

At 9/18/07 03:02 PM, RageOfOrder wrote: stuff

BIOS detects my drive. The cables, Linux and IDE ribbon I haven't tried out yet, but I'll do those soon.

If the BIOS detects them, the ribbon is fine and so are the drives. It's a Windows problem.

I'm not really sure what it would be though. My gut feeling is drivers, but I'll see what else I can dig up for you.

Good news - my CD-ROM drive is back online, but my CD-RW one isn't. ah well, my setup can hobble back into the sims 2 with only one drive :-) I guess that trip into MS-DOS 6.22 (could run Win3.1 on it but I don't have the files...) with MSCDEX and those Oak technologies drivers to check if it WAS a driver problem did something to my system, god knows what it is, I've a feeling satan's contolling every copy of windows in the world... not far from the truth, eh? (I'm not a linux guy, I guess i'm used to have everything done for me.) DOS read both my drives, while windows reads only CD-ROM as mentioned above.

Bad news - while this is totally unrelated, it is important - my usb drive went bonkers and I've lost everything. Of course I backup, but I didn't back up recently enough. :'( So how would I go around restoring my data? My drive is 2gb large, formatted using fat32. anyone can point me towards something appropriate like a restorer?

oh, and my shabby grammar & spelling is because I keep firefox on my drive.

At 9/21/07 03:57 PM, BlueFlameSkulls wrote: Hey guys. I bought the linksys USB network adapter and it's great, however it does occasionally disconnect but not as much as the belkin cheapo adapter. I can now play online games which is a plus.

I want to completely fix this disconnecting problem or at least limit it. I have two theories it's either my USB drives or the router.

1. My USB drives are 1.1 but they are clearly 2.0 but I cannot install service pack 2 for Windows XP so I can update the USB.

Ok so http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/VIA_USB2_
V270p1-L-M.zip is a link for the VIA USB 2.0 drivers. Requires SP1 only.
I think the whole thing with piracy is simple. Once you start, it's tough to back out wherever you want. I'm not suggesting nor supporting that you continue, but in most cases for a pirate it's the only route available. All-in or all-out.

And it's definately the USB. USB1 cannot keep up with the amount of data your internet will be sending back and forth.

At 9/22/07 10:28 AM, darksigns wrote:

Bad news - while this is totally unrelated, it is important - my usb drive went bonkers and I've lost everything.

You really had that much important stuff on a 2GB usb stick?
Those things are pretty much the most unreliable source for important info. Mine quit on me randomly last year, so I use my iPod to transfer files now.

Anyway, Using something TuneUp Utilities' Undelete app you can sometimes recover things, but it's not 100%.

Try download.com for recovery tools.

At 9/22/07 01:33 PM, RageOfOrder wrote: And it's definately the USB. USB1 cannot keep up with the amount of data your internet will be sending back and forth.

Unfortunately I cannot install SP1 either, says I've got an invalid key.

At 9/22/07 03:57 PM, c wrote:

At 9/22/07 01:33 PM, RageOfOrder wrote: And it's definately the USB. USB1 cannot keep up with the amount of data your internet will be sending back and forth.

Unfortunately I cannot install SP1 either, says I've got an invalid key.

Check your PMs.
You shouldn't even be running Windows without SP1, there's so many vulnerabilities fixed by SP1.

At 9/22/07 04:02 PM, RageOfOrder wrote: Check your PMs.
You shouldn't even be running Windows without SP1, there's so many vulnerabilities fixed by SP1.

Thanks for the help I have fixed the problem however another problem has arisen. I was about to play battlefield 2 when it came up with an error saying the disc was not in the drive. I have clearly got it in the drive when I saw that I had two DVD drives and a CD drive. This is strange as I only have one CD drive and one DVD drive. I have no idea how this has happened. Any DVD game in the DVD drive will not play. How would I fix this problem to have only one cd drive and one dvd drive?

hi, im planning on installing more RAM to my PC and i'm fairly sure of how to do this but my problem is whether to buy DDR or DDR2 RAM. I've been told that which of these i should get is determined by my processor. I have a Pentium 4. Anyone know which would suit me best?thanks.

At 9/24/07 12:43 PM, Solidone wrote: hi, im planning on installing more RAM to my PC and i'm fairly sure of how to do this but my problem is whether to buy DDR or DDR2 RAM. I've been told that which of these i should get is determined by my processor. I have a Pentium 4. Anyone know which would suit me best?thanks.

Just bring in one of your sticks to the store when you buy the RAM. I'm guessing you have DDR and you should buy that. DDR and DDR2 have notches in different places so you wouldn't be able to use them both on the same motherboard.

At 9/24/07 02:19 PM, TJ wrote: Just bring in one of your sticks to the store when you buy the RAM. I'm guessing you have DDR and you should buy that. DDR and DDR2 have notches in different places so you wouldn't be able to use them both on the same motherboard.

I'm buying online not from a store though.

At 9/23/07 04:46 PM, BlueFlameSkulls wrote:

At 9/22/07 04:02 PM, RageOfOrder wrote: Check your PMs.
You shouldn't even be running Windows without SP1, there's so many vulnerabilities fixed by SP1.

Thanks for the help I have fixed the problem however another problem has arisen. I was about to play battlefield 2 when it came up with an error saying the disc was not in the drive. I have clearly got it in the drive when I saw that I had two DVD drives and a CD drive. This is strange as I only have one CD drive and one DVD drive. I have no idea how this has happened. Any DVD game in the DVD drive will not play. How would I fix this problem to have only one cd drive and one dvd drive?

Do you use and disc emulation tools like DAEMON TOOLS? That would be a cause of having an extra CD/DVD drive. Does your DVD drive recognize any of the discs you put in it? Does your CD drive? Are the drivers installed for them? When was the last time you used it?

At 9/24/07 02:26 PM, TJ wrote: Do you use and disc emulation tools like DAEMON TOOLS? That would be a cause of having an extra CD/DVD drive. Does your DVD drive recognize any of the discs you put in it? Does your CD drive? Are the drivers installed for them? When was the last time you used it?

Aha it seems that the disc was faulty as I tried a couple of games in my DVD drive but they would not work the other day. But this raises the question of whether my DVD drive is faulty as my Oblivion game suddenly cracked and now my Battlefield 2 just stops working despite the care I've given it. I'll try to see if battlefield will work now after I post this.

This is quite bad that two of my favourite games break. Oh well looks like back to the Sims 2 and Civ 4.

Oh yes I do use DAEMON TOOLS but strangely the drive only appears when I've mounted a disc image, obviously the drive just stays in My Computer now.

EDIT: I just tried playing battlefield and it works. No idea why it starts to work, however I am back to my original problem.

My wireless internet is pure shite, even after buying a new USB network adapter made by the best people which I knew and you guys and others recommended my internet keeps disconnecting. I even tried connecting to the neighbours router and it does not disconnect at all even after an hour. It's even better signal despite being at least 15 meters away from my router. So I am here for a recommendation again, linksys router?

This is a note to all anyone buying a router or other networking hardware DO NOT BUY BELKIN'S PRODUCTS AS IT WILL INVOLVE YOU BUYING ANOTHER NETWORK ADAPTER AND ROUTER. EVEN IF THE LOW PRICES TEMPT YOU, YOU WILL BE UNSATISFIED.

At 9/25/07 02:40 AM, BlueFlameSkulls wrote:

My wireless internet is pure shite,

I have a brand new Linksys Wireless N router.

So far, not a single disconnect.
It's fast, stable, and fucking expensive.
But the Wireless G routers are a lot cheaper and should work for your purposes.

At 9/25/07 03:41 AM, RageOfOrder wrote:

At 9/25/07 02:40 AM, BlueFlameSkulls wrote:

My wireless internet is pure shite,

I have a brand new Linksys Wireless N router.

So far, not a single disconnect.
It's fast, stable, and fucking expensive.
But the Wireless G routers are a lot cheaper and should work for your purposes.

Money is not an object anymore I recently have £300 in my bank account and I saw the N router on play.com and it's convinced me to buy it since (correct me if I'm wrong) 802.11n advanced technology. Better yet it is backwards compatible with G adapters which will go with my new Linksys USB network adapter G, I could of waited and got that beefy Linksys N USB network adapter but this G will suffice. Here's the one I saw on play.com and if it was a woman it would be sex standing. It's £80 which is just under a 1/3 of my money but luckily I have paid my parents rent and all that money in my account is mine and some for my brother's birthday.

Also I did a quick tinkering and disabled linksys' network configuration menu and enabled Microsoft's Wireless Zero Configuration in administrative services and I have not disconnected in the past 5 hours, maybe I'm having a good day or it's fixed the problem. Perhaps I should keep Wireless Zero Config instead of linksys' software. I only turned WZC off when I had the belkin network adapter and it was disconnecting every second. Nevertheless I will purchase the N router because I want to keep up with the times. Also I need to purchase new ram, however I don't know what type of ram it is (I haven't done maintainance in 3 years). I'll have to find my camera because obviously I cannot use my webcam as the ram needs to be in the computer for the webcam to work, also I need to know if two 2GB of ram will be compatible with my motherboard. I will post another time when my router comes a knockin'.

In the meantime thank you and adieu.

Glad it worked out for you.

I had a fun time getting online this weekend myself....
My laptop connected to my parents' D-Link router, but I had LAN connection only. Couldn't ping any outside servers. No google, no nothin.

For whatever reason when I rebooted Sabayon and loaded up Slackware instead it connected just fine :o

when I turn on my computer it says boot disk failure, please put disk in and press enter. so what do i do to get past this?

At 10/16/07 04:49 PM, ZyklonB wrote: when I turn on my computer it says boot disk failure, please put disk in and press enter. so what do i do to get past this?

More info please?

What have you recently installed? Is there any reason you can think of why this is happening? Maybe something you deleted recently? Improper shutdowns?

You could start by checking your BIOS to make sure it is indeed trying to boot from your hard drive, and not something else (say an iPod you plugged into your USB and forgot to disconnect).

Typically though a Windows Repair fixes this problem, since it's usually a broken or missing system file in your MBR. There's a faster way to fix just the MBR if you think that might be the problem.

1. Put in your XP CD and reboot
2. When it loads up, press 'R' (or whatever the option is) for the Recovery Console
3. Type: fixboot c:
4. Type: reboot
5. Remove XP CD

If that doesn't fix it, a Windows Repair should.

At 10/16/07 06:48 PM, RageOfOrder wrote:

More info please?

Well I was just given the computer by someone who didnt know much about them and they probably deleted a bunch of system files

1. Put in your XP CD and reboot

I dont have the disk it came with, where could i get one>? do i have to find a disk that is compatable with the system?

I'm having this problem of the 'acquiring network address' loop, when trying to connect using my wi-fi.

I have no problems whatsoever when using a WEP key, everything connects just fine. However, when I use a WPA TKIP PSK I just can't seem to connect to internet.

I can connect to the router (linksys WRT54GS), but the router isn't giving me a private IP to connect to the 'net. Which is odd, considering it does connect when I use WEP.

I even brought a new router (I had a WRT54G before) and a new wireless PCI NIC (the name escapes me, it's from the linksys WRT range, though) thinking my old WNIC could be the problem. I don't know how I managed to convince myself it was the old WNIC, considering WPA was designed with backwards compatibility in mind. Anyway...

Which leads me to now believe it's a problem with Windows. I have everything needed enabled (obviously, otherwise I couldn't connect using WEP). It's a fully up-to-date legitimate copy of Windows XP. And all drivers and firmware are updated for my wi-fi hardware.

Why can't it connect using WPA TKIP? It's strange.

I would just use WEP, but WEP is so badly broken now (it can be cracked in a minute) I want something much more secure.

Any solutions? I have tried everything. Including nearly jumping off a cliff.

Thanks guys.

I have tried:

Using static IPs rather than DHCP
Using the linksys software for wireless connection. Now I'm back to Windows
Updating all the drivers for everything that's needed.
Changing the router IP
Renewing/releasing my public IP
Disabling then re-enabling the DHCP client built in to Windows.
Bricked my router, then fix it from scratch.
Having a cup of tea and a ciggie
Giving up completely.

lmao

Disregard that last post, I suck cocks.

Solution:

Open up network connections > right click on your network > properties > In the "General" tab click "Internet protocol" (TCP/IP) > Click "Properies" > Click "Advanced" > Click the "WINS" tab > Click the Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP button > OK

That's the solution for if your wirelessly connected computer can't connect using WPA, but can connect using WEP.

this is a great thread

At 10/17/07 04:12 PM, ZyklonB wrote: Well I was just given the computer by someone who didnt know much about them and they probably deleted a bunch of system files

I strongly suggest you format the hard drive and do a clean install of Windows or Linux.
Otherwise you'll probably encounter more problems down the road.

I dont have the disk it came with, where could i get one>? do i have to find a disk that is compatable with the system?

Well if you already own a legitimate copy of Windows XP, it's ok to download a new one should the disk go missing. So!

If you know what bit torrent is, you can go to http://mininova.org or http://torrentspy.net and look for a new Windows XP disc.
( This one should give you what you need )

For this to work you'll need a valid XP Pro CD key, so if you don't have one I can't condone this (since it's illegal). I'm going to assume you have one.

Download the torrent (using something like uTorrent or Azureus) and burn it to a CD. Reboot your computer with the new XP disc in the tray. If you don't care about what's on this computer right now, I highly highly recommend you do a fresh install. So follow the instructions on the screen, making sure you format the hard drive (as NTFS) and do a Clean Install of Windows XP.

This will wipe out anything on the computer though, so if you have something you want to keep, then follow the instructions on the screen to do a Windows Repair instead.

Now, this might also be a good time to toss in a plug for Linux. Linux is free, isn't vulnerable to viruses, and runs better on older hardware than Windows does. It's also quite easy to install. For a first time Linux user, I might suggest you try out Ubuntu. Simply download the file from the website, burn it to a cd, and reboot with the disk in the tray.

It will load up a fully operational Linux environment, and there will be an icon on your new desktop to "Install to Disk". It's extremely easy.

Good luck!

Hi there.
I'm trying to install a new video card on my computer, but I'm running into problems...
Basically, this is what happens.
I put the video card in...
I plugged the monitor into it and booted up.
The screen displayed the manufacturer's logo, then went black, and stayed black for a half hour.
What's up with this?
My other graphics card is onboard, so I cannot remove it.
Any help?

At 10/20/07 07:38 PM, condawg wrote: Hi there.

I thought I answered you in the last thread?
I said

1. Remove your old drivers and shut down
2. Insert the new video card
3. Boot up and install the new drivers

You can't have both drivers at once, and you can't have the drivers for the wrong card in your system (Since when you plug in a PCI card is supercedes the onboard one) so if you remove your old drivers, then put your card in, it should boot up fine, but it won't operate well until you install the new drivers and reboot.

If that doesn't work, post again.

At 10/20/07 08:12 PM, RageOfOrder wrote:

At 10/20/07 07:38 PM, condawg wrote: Hi there.

I thought I answered you in the last thread?
I said

1. Remove your old drivers and shut down
2. Insert the new video card
3. Boot up and install the new drivers

You can't have both drivers at once, and you can't have the drivers for the wrong card in your system (Since when you plug in a PCI card is supercedes the onboard one) so if you remove your old drivers, then put your card in, it should boot up fine, but it won't operate well until you install the new drivers and reboot.

If that doesn't work, post again.

Yes, you did post that, but I thought I responded to it saying that it will not let me install the drivers for the video card I'm trying to put in... the installer says that it cannot find compatible hardware.

==========
Computer Hospital
==========

Happy Page 24
// GUIDE: Adware/Spyware/Malware Removal

// GUIDE: Installing RAM

// Please read Page 1 for other useful tools.

##########

When posting, remember to include the following if relevant:

>> Computers Operating System (Vista, XP, ME, Mac OSX, Linux (distro) etc)

>> Specifications (RAM/Graphics card/Processor type and speed etc)

>> If you get any error messages, post them exactly as you see them, in their entirety

>> Please try to use proper english so that I may understand exactly what your problem is

##########

Tools that RageOfOrder finds useful

For Basic Users

Mozilla Firefox - If you are
having problems with popups, consider switching to a safer, more
secure browser. Install firefox, and then the Adblock Plus! addon, and you'll never see a popup (online) again.

Ad-Aware SE - It's a classic spyware removal program, and free to boot.

Spybot Search & Destroy - Another great free spyware remover.

Housecall - An excellent (free) online virus scan

For Power Users
BartPE- Bootable Live Windows Environment CD. If you can't boot
your computer and need to fix something, this might be the way to go.

Hijackthis! - detects against spyware and hijacking attempts, but requires some knowledge to use effectively

For Uber Geeks

Trinity Rescue Kit - A free live Linux distribution that aims specifically at recovery and repair operations on Windows machines,
but is equally usable for Linux recovery issues.
nLite OS - Build and customize a Windows installation from scratch, then burn it to a
CD/DVD and install it anywhere.

##########

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If so, please spread the word. Tell your friends, bookmark the
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If you think you can contribute, please feel free to do so.
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Thanks to everyone who has contributed in the past and continues
to do so.

==========

At 10/20/07 08:20 PM, condawg wrote: Yes, you did post that, but I thought I responded to it saying that it will not let me install the drivers for the video card I'm trying to put in... the installer says that it cannot find compatible hardware.

Yes, I think you missed my second post though.
You tried to install the new drivers before you put your card in right? That's why it says it can't find suitable hardware.

So in my second post I said to remove the old drivers, but don't install the new ones yet. Then shut down, insert your new video card and boot up. It will look horrible (600x480 resolution, or something similar), but thats normal until you install the new drivers.

Once the new card is in, and you don't have any video card drivers, you should be able to install the new ones without any problems.

Sorry for the confusion.

At 10/20/07 08:32 PM, RageOfOrder wrote:

At 10/20/07 08:20 PM, condawg wrote: Yes, you did post that, but I thought I responded to it saying that it will not let me install the drivers for the video card I'm trying to put in... the installer says that it cannot find compatible hardware.

Yes, I think you missed my second post though.
You tried to install the new drivers before you put your card in right? That's why it says it can't find suitable hardware.

So in my second post I said to remove the old drivers, but don't install the new ones yet. Then shut down, insert your new video card and boot up. It will look horrible (600x480 resolution, or something similar), but thats normal until you install the new drivers.

Once the new card is in, and you don't have any video card drivers, you should be able to install the new ones without any problems.

Sorry for the confusion.

Ohhhh, okay. I'll have to figure out how to uninstall my current drivers...
Do you think you could assist me with that?
Sorry... This is my first time working with drivers and the like.

No problem. It's actually quite simple. Your new drivers will come with an uninstall program, for future reference, but these ones we will remove via the Device Manager.

So pop up your start menu and right click on "My Computer"
Go to "Properties" and find the Devices tab, I believe. click on it, and you'll see a button labeled "Device Manager" Click it.
When it comes up, you'll get a list of hardware installed on your computer. Click the + beside Display Adapters, and then click on the one listed and press Disable.

That should be all you need to do. If you still get a black screen, post again, I have another solution but it's more complicated.

At 10/21/07 03:17 AM, RageOfOrder wrote: No problem. It's actually quite simple. Your new drivers will come with an uninstall program, for future reference, but these ones we will remove via the Device Manager.

So pop up your start menu and right click on "My Computer"
Go to "Properties" and find the Devices tab, I believe. click on it, and you'll see a button labeled "Device Manager" Click it.
When it comes up, you'll get a list of hardware installed on your computer. Click the + beside Display Adapters, and then click on the one listed and press Disable.

That should be all you need to do. If you still get a black screen, post again, I have another solution but it's more complicated.

Also, go to your control panel, and open up Add/Remove programs. You might be able to spot your onboard video drivers in there, and if you can, remove them.