Linksys WMP54G Wireless Adapter Freezing PC

I am using Win XP SP2 on a GenuineIntel PC. I have installed a
Linksys WMP54G wireless on the PC. When I install the driver that
came with the adapter the PC freezes - won't respond to mouse or
keyboard. When I go into safe mode and remove the adapter using Add/
Remove Programs, the problem goes away but then I cannot access the
Internet. There have been times in the past when I have managed to
trick the PC by connecting using the LinkSys CD and then removing the
CD driver at just the right time. Then the PC works fine with the
Linksys hardware. Unfortunately I forget how I managed to do that in
the past. Usually, when I remove the CD driver, I lose connectivity.
If I don;t remove it, the PC freezes. However, it does indicate that
the problem is with the driver rather than with the hardware. Any
ideas of how I can get around this conundrum? I don't know why XP
can't just recognize the hardware.

Many thanks in advance,
Peter.

PeterOut <MajorSetback@excite.com> hath wroth:

>I am using Win XP SP2 on a GenuineIntel PC. I have installed a
>Linksys WMP54G wireless on the PC. When I install the driver that
>came with the adapter the PC freezes - won't respond to mouse or
>keyboard.

Does the GenuineIntel PC have a manufactory and model number?
More specifically, is it a commercially assembled product or something
thrown together out of mail odor parts?

Did you try the PCI card in different slots? Did you install the
software FIRST, before shoving in the PCI card?

>When I go into safe mode and remove the adapter using Add/
>Remove Programs, the problem goes away but then I cannot access the
>Internet. There have been times in the past when I have managed to
>trick the PC by connecting using the LinkSys CD and then removing the
>CD driver at just the right time.

You've trashed the driver. Uninstall it. Better yet, use System
Restore to put your machine back to where it was before you started
this adventure. Then, try again.

>Then the PC works fine with the
>Linksys hardware. Unfortunately I forget how I managed to do that in
>the past. Usually, when I remove the CD driver, I lose connectivity.
>If I don;t remove it, the PC freezes.

Ok, try this. Remove the driver. Plug in the card (violating the
instructions). Plug-n-play will complain that it can't find the
driver. That's fine. Now, try doing something useful with the
computer and see if it hangs. If not, then card is probably ok. If
it hangs, your card is probably fried.

>However, it does indicate that
>the problem is with the driver rather than with the hardware.

Well, you can also test that problem. Install the driver, but not the
card. Same problem?

>Any
>ideas of how I can get around this conundrum? I don't know why XP
>can't just recognize the hardware.

No. My guess(tm) is a blown PCI card or totally trashed driver
install. I've also seen such behavior when the machine is full of
viruses and spyware. Check for these.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. If all else fails, try the card in
a different XP computer. If it works there, then the card and the
driver are fine. If not, the card is probably shot.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Hi Jeff. Many thanks for replying

On Jan 29, 11:29 pm, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> PeterOut <MajorSetb...@excite.com> hath wroth:
>
> >I am using Win XP SP2 on a GenuineIntel PC. I have installed a
> >Linksys WMP54G wireless on the PC. When I install the driver that
> >came with the adapter the PC freezes - won't respond to mouse or
> >keyboard.
>
> Does the GenuineIntel PC have a manufactory and model number?
> More specifically, is it a commercially assembled product or something
> thrown together out of mail odor parts?

It was manufactured by a local computer shop.

>
> Did you try the PCI card in different slots? Did you install the
> software FIRST, before shoving in the PCI card?

No.

>
> >When I go into safe mode and remove the adapter using Add/
> >Remove Programs, the problem goes away but then I cannot access the
> >Internet. There have been times in the past when I have managed to
> >trick the PC by connecting using the LinkSys CD and then removing the
> >CD driver at just the right time.
>
> You've trashed the driver. Uninstall it. Better yet, use System
> Restore to put your machine back to where it was before you started
> this adventure. Then, try again.

Actually this was the procedure I have used a number of times to test
the problem out.

0/ I back up all my files (of course).
1/ Using the Hitachi disk utility, I erase the entire hard disk.
2/ I reformat and partitioned the disk and reinstall Windows XP,
setting up an administrative account with administrated access and
other accounts with limited access.
3/ Before connecting to the Internet, I install XP Service Pack 2
Spyblaster, and AVG antivirus.
4/ I then install the wireless driver.

OK. It gets to a point where Internet access comes up once I enter
the WEP key. The Linksys installer tells me that after I click Next I
will be asked to restart my PC. It is when I click Next at this point
that the PC freezes. Instead of clicking Next, I R-clicked on the
tool bar icon for the Linksys program and closed it. That was two
days ago. Haven't had any problems since. I am typing this on the PC
in question.

Thanks,
Peter.

PeterOut <MajorSetback@excite.com> hath wroth:

>It was manufactured by a local computer shop.

Make and model of motherboard? It will give me a clue as to the
quality. You might also want to check the motherboard manufacturers
web pile for BIOS updates.

Also, hardware revision of the WMP54G? 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 or 4.1. I had
some problems with a 1.0 card and finally gave up. However, no hangs.

>> Did you try the PCI card in different slots? Did you install the
>> software FIRST, before shoving in the PCI card?
>
>No.

Well, I've seen dead PCI slots. However, in the case of a PCI card,
it probably doesn't matter if you install the software or card first.

>0/ I back up all my files (of course).
>1/ Using the Hitachi disk utility, I erase the entire hard disk.
>2/ I reformat and partitioned the disk and reinstall Windows XP,
>setting up an administrative account with administrated access and
>other accounts with limited access.
>3/ Before connecting to the Internet, I install XP Service Pack 2
>Spyblaster, and AVG antivirus.
>4/ I then install the wireless driver.

Yech. The standard joke is:
"Microsoft. What do you want to reinstall today?"
You should not need to go to such extremes. At worst, go unto:
"Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Hardware Profiles
and make yourself a profile to do some experimenting. You can
enable/disable/remove/add hardware in this profile, without affecting
your original profile. When done and you've figured out what's wrong,
then just delete it.

I also see a few minor problems.
1. Just installing SP2 is not enough. There were a mess of wireless
specific updates that came after SP2. Some might be prerequisites for
the wireless PCI card install.
2. What's the Hitachi disk utility? If it's not made for the
specific motherboard (or generic XP for most anything), then it might
be installing customized drivers and configurations that work just
fine with a Hitachi laptop, but may not work with your desktop.
3. If you have to add SP2, then you're using an old XP SP1 CD. You
might find an XP SP2 CD more useful, less buggish, and faster.

>OK. It gets to a point where Internet access comes up once I enter
>the WEP key.

WEP? You should be using WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK (or WPA-Personal). WEP
is grossly insecure and nearly useless.

>The Linksys installer tells me that after I click Next I
>will be asked to restart my PC.

What? That's not the way I remember the WMP54G install. There's no
reboot.
<http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4084>
Do you have the most recent version of the installer or are you using
the CD that came with the WMP54G.
<http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayo ut&cid=1166859843981&packedargs=sku%3DWMP54G&pagen ame=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=43981439 81B01&displaypage=download>

>It is when I click Next at this point
>that the PC freezes. Instead of clicking Next, I R-clicked on the
>tool bar icon for the Linksys program and closed it. That was two
>days ago. Haven't had any problems since. I am typing this on the PC
>in question.

Weird. I would guess(tm) that as soon as the driver tries to
interrogate the card, it hangs the PCI bus. However, I can think of a
few other things that might cause this problem, such as a broken
driver, broken motherboard, bad motherboard BIOS, or too many devices
on the same PCI IRQ line. If the PCI card uses DMA, there are a few
other possible things to hang.

Check if the BIOS setup offers to let you tweak the IRQ lines that the
WMP54G uses. If it does, then make sure you are NOT sharing an IRQ
with the video card.

Other than that, the only way I know how to identify the culprit is by
substitution. Try the card and driver in a different machine.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558