Thanks for the analysis Jeff:
I have the data sheet for the KG54AI in front of me and it clearly says
"USB 2.0/1.1"
The "AI" stands for auto install and that is why a pc at first sees it as a
disc drive before the autoinstall progmamme kicks in. There is no question
of having to load any software before plugging in this particular device -
which is why I bought it! (Though the 'package' that comes with the device
does include a cd with the same software on, there is no indication that
this should be used first, and unless one resets the auto install switch on
the side of the device first, it would presumably ignore the cd in any
case.)
The details of the D-link adaptor on our pc are not relevant: only that the
install programme of the K54AI played havoc with our settings for this so
we had to do a system restore to get them back.
The USB2 minihub that works fine on the laptop is a Sitecom Pocket HUB
CN-032 (don't know off hand what it's power consumption is but it is rated
at input 5v 2500mA MAX.)
The K54AI is rated at 1452mW (max). I don't know what the ratings of the
laptop's USB ports would be.
"> 2. Uninstall the Buffalo driver and client manager using Add and
> Remove. Also, clean up any mess you made mangling the USB drivers
> using the latest downloads from the Dell site."
As noted, there is no Buffalo stuff on the laptop to uninstall as far as I
can see (and I have tried VERY hard to find it.)
I made no mess 'mangling' any drivers: they work just fine for everything
else.
As I mentioned, I sought out the correct set of drivers from Dell for the
chipset that is in the laptop, and ran the install programme that came with
this, and it informed me that no update was necessary. I did ask whether
(and if so how) I should uninstall the existing chipset driver suite before
running this install programme, but nobody has given me any feedback on this
yet.
"> 4. Install the Buffalo software from the supplied CD or from the
> latest version downloaded from their web pile. If downloaded, make
> sure you get the right version:
> <http://www.buffalo-technology.com/support/downloads-product.php?productid=103>
> 5. Plug in the WLI-US-KG54 when it asks and only when it asks. Since
> you've already installed the driver, it should magically find the
> driver and cease complaining."
As I mentioned: I can't install the driver any more because, since it
stopped being 'recognized' the install programme cannot see it when it is
'plugged in when asked': all this does is send the programme into limbo
until one cancels it!
"Sigh.
> Right click on "My Computah" and select "Properties".
> Hardware -> Device Manager
> Find the Buffalo driver under "Network Adapters".
> Right click and hit "delete"."
Not funny! During this exercise I have found a surprising number of
different ways to access Device Manager, and it has never (since this
problem arose) contained anything about Buffalo adaptors. It also has the
rather irritating habit of sticking my 'unknown device' in as if it was an
extra root hub, even though it is clearly appended to one of the two real
ones!
"Ok, that's another way to vaporize the driver"
As was the intention. But a now, completely bovine free laptop still cannot
'recognize' the USB device that is the KG54AI, and so it cannot install its
built in software...
And similarly, the install disc still gets as far as 'insert the device' and
asking you to wait... and wait.... and wait...
"Find another laptop or PC that you can mess with" "Go buy a $15 USB to PCI
card"
Round here, pc's and dollars do not grow on trees (and in fact its pounds
and in the twenties), which is why I have spent the last week researching
the problem and seeking the advice of experts such as your good self before
deciding whether this was a computer problem or a device problem.
I do not want to come anywhere near any of your computers: but, if I did, I
am sure I could apply your good advice to them as equally as I can to my
own.
"Have you considered rolling back your computer using System Restore to
> when it was working?"
Sigh!
"the degree of registry hacking you've done"
Was minimal, and only as a last resort after a week's research; was
successful in removing traces of Buffalo without upsetting anything else;
was done only after trying out two different restore points.
Your notes about the HP printer are interesting, but would not explain why
the device did work and then suddenly stopped being recognized. I did wonder
about permissions though - especially as the USBSTOR Buffalo keys had to
have the permissions granted to Administrators before they could be deleted.
However, unless such non-permissions now exist inside the device itself, I
cannot see how this can be the problem that is stopping it being recognized
now.
[Incidentally we had problems with our own HP printer (Laserjet 3330
series): and after a great deal of hassle found that it had default settings
that would not let 'users' use it. On its security tabs, only
Administrators and Power Users had the necessary permissions. Fair enough,
but because XP comes set with 'use simple file sharing' enabled, and this
hides the 'security' tab on the properties sheet, it took a hell of a lot of
background reading to find this out and reset the permissions!]
Thanks once again Jeff,
Regards,
Steve_H
_______________________
"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in message
news:lh3at2p72gtvfm72um5235go6gs6g8ascq@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 18:57:37 GMT, John Navas
> <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:29:03 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
>><jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in
>><5b79t2tnv8tj02up9sh0nsoc0bdkbpm8b3@4ax.com>:
>>
>>>The Inspiron 2600 has two USB 1.1 ports. You will have problems
>>>trying to run a 802.11g wireless device without also installing a
>>>PCMCIA USB 2.0 adapter.
>
>>I've had no problems running Wi-Fi on USB 1.1 ports (other than the
>>annoying Windows nag popup).
>
> I have on 2 out of about 20 assorted USB 802.11g radios I've dealt
> with. One was a Dlink WUA-1340 that sorta claims to be 1.1 compatible
> with:
> http://www.dlink.com/products/resour...rid=1824&sec=0
> "Using a USB 1.1 port will affect device performance." When I tried
> it on an older Dell laptop (forgot the model number), it installed,
> ran, and did all the right things but at 11Mbits/sec maximum. However,
> over a period of a few weeks, the customer started experiencing some
> problems. It often not recognize the USB device on reboot. It it
> were accidentally unplugged, it would not recover gracefully and had
> to be power cycled. It had the habit of locking up when coming out of
> hibernate and standby. The problem was that it was very erratic.
> When I played with it and tried to reproduce the symptoms, it would
> only do these things perhaps about 20% of the time. Weird.
>
> So, I shoved in a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card. The customer wanted one anyway
> for his external USB hard disk backup contrivance. I plugged the
> WUA-1340 into the USB 2.0 card, and everything has been working just
> fine for about 2 weeks.
>
> Now, I'll grant that there's a good chance that this was due to some
> USB chipset oddities or driver problems, but I also had a DLink
> DWL-G122 do much the same thing with a USB 1.1 port (although far less
> often).
>
> --
> # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
> # 831-336-2558 jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> # http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
> # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS