Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter

Manufacturer:	Netgear
List price:	~~$69.99~~
Our price:	Too Low To Display that is 100% off!

Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter

Average rating: Stars

Obsolete drivers discourage you from a good product

I like this product. The design is sexy; it is able to detect the signal well. The most problematic part of the package are the drivers.

The manual pages tell you that you must first install the software from the CD and then insert the gadget, otherwise your computer will crash.

You should know that when you first install the drivers from the CD and then you insert the device, your computer will crash, too. The reason is that your computer most likely has Windows XP on it. The drivers on the CD are not XP-certified and they will crash your computer.

If you've already installed them, try to uninstall them - and/or make a "system restore" and return your system to the pre-installation era. If you're lucky enough that you have not started yet, just go to www.netgear.com and find the drivers for MA111. You should choose the newest drivers - which means 2.5 beta. Although it is a beta version, it is actually the only version that is compatible with Windows XP Service Pack 2 which I suppose most of you want.

Install the 2.5 beta version only by running the SETUP.EXE program from the UTILITY subdirectory, nothing else, and your gadget will work very well.

Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter - Netgear

the next thing I'll try to make this work well...

I bought this in March 2005 and had a great initial experience, but the connection began dropping with increasing frequency as time went on.

Since you're reading this review, you probably don't fully understand how routers and adaptors work, like myself. This product will work really well if an expert installs it. I'm rather confident of that. The problem is that, for a certain percentage of people who buy it, it will take an expert to make that happen.

Two things may or may not help if you have problems:

1. Install the software first, before plugging in the device, remove the disc and reboot. When you do plug in the device after rebooting, you might see a screen that tells you to put the software disc in your CD drive. DON'T. Click continue without doing this.

2. Right click on "my computer" and select "manage". Under "Service and Applications" double click on "Services" and then double click on "Wireless Zero Configuration". Make sure that this is stopped and disabled.

Netgear - Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter

Overheats Regularly

I was able to get a v1 which DOES work with my TiVo, but this adapter overheats like clockwork, and shuts down. To get a connection I need to unplug it, let it cool, and force a reconnect. This is very annoying, and I don't reccomend you buy this if you don't want to have to update your TiVo manually. That said, when it IS running, it works fine.

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