Windows 7 and the Drivers that you Loved

Don’t necessarily work together any more. Just like the days of old, when a new version of Windows came out, the hardware industry had to play catchup.

Well, welcome Windows 7 on the scene and the story is the same. I have been working on installing a new Gateway PC into a professionals home network and it wasn’t any surprise that their old Dell wireless external adapter didn’t work with the new system. I went out and bought a few different kinds of adapter from Linksys, a USB stick adapter, a range booster and an internal card.

First I tried to install the internal card, but discovered that because the PC was a space saving slim line model, the full height card would not fit. OK let’s try the USB stick. Installed the accompanying software and barely got a signal from the Linksys router. OK remove the USB stick and try to get the range expander to work. After all the router is in the basement and the PC is in the 1st floor living room. BTW, the old PC didn’t have any problems getting a signal with this setup.

Spent way too much time trying to get a good signal, called Cablevision to troubleshoot. We got a great signal to the modem. I even put a laptop and connected it to the router via network cable. Worked great. So the problem is either the wireless signal or the adapter.

After much research I came upon a FAQ on Microsoft’s website that said that not all hardware would work yet with Windows 7. You would think that a company as big as Linksys would be one of the first to get the new drivers out, right?

Well not so. I now have to find another brand of adapter that is Windows 7 compliant and test it out. So much for keeping everything Linksys.

Word to the wise, Make sure that the box says Windows 7 compliant! It will save a lot of frustration on your part. For me it is too late!

Linksys Wireless Networks

I was over a new clients house the other day installing a new wireless network for him. It consisted of a new Linksys wireless router, a wireless card for his PC and a wireless card for his laptop. I have to admit to admit that Linksys has come a long way to making it their products the closest thing to plug and play that I have come across lately.

After installing the cards in the desktop and laptop, I powered on the computers, put the CD in and within 5 minutes each was done.

The router needed a few more minutes to configure and to ensure it was secure, but it only took about 30 minutes from start to finish!

After all the equipment was rebooted, the client logged on to all 3 computers to ensure everything was working correctly. I was greeted with a smile when each PC was able to connect to the internet. And due to a quick registry cleaning and making sure all the Windows patches were up to date the PCs actually ran a bit faster!