Member Avatar for Patrick

Hello,

I've gone through heck today to try to get the NetGear Wireless USB Adapter MA111 to work with the MR814 router on my Windows XP Professional SP2.

I was on the phone for like two hours with NetGear Tech Support. They ran me through a bunch of stuff and at the end, blamed SP2 and said I needed to uninstall it.

I tried to set it up via the CD, originally, but the drivers caused a blue screen. So, I went online and got the new ones and it recognized it. It appears that there is a signal - but it doesn't make the connection. Websites don't work. I have tried so many things I can't even put it into words, but I am sure there is a ton I haven't tried.

I'll give anything a shot. I'd like to try to wipe my PC off of everything to do with this (maybe the old drivers are causing issues still?). I did uninstall and reinstall, but I am not sure if that gets all of it or not... well, I'm rambling, so I'll stop. Any ideas, please respond. Thanks. :)

I am basically giving up and buying some ethernet cables.

Thanks.

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A compact, practical checklist for (and a nod to — firmware is worth checking): focus first on eliminating software conflicts and confirming basic IP/DHCP connectivity, then move to router firmware and encryption checks. Back up the machine (System Restore) before editing anything.

Clean-install the adapter and utility

  • Remove any Netgear wireless utility from Add/Remove Programs, then reboot.
  • With the adapter unplugged, open Device Manager, enable View -> Show hidden devices, and uninstall all Netgear/unknown network and USB entries. Reboot again.
  • Use msconfig to disable Netgear startup entries and delete the NETGEAR folder under Program Files if present.
  • Plug the adapter back in and install only the driver (not the extra utility) to avoid a utility vs. Windows Wireless Zero Configuration conflict. If you prefer the Windows service, make sure the Netgear utility is not running.

Quick network checks to isolate the problem

  • Temporarily disable any software firewall and test whether the adapter receives a valid IP (not 169.254.x.x). Use these commands from a command prompt:
ipconfig /all
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
ping <router-ip>
ping 8.8.8.8
ping www.google.com

Router and encryption

  • Follow and check for a router firmware update (back up router settings first). Also verify the wireless security mode: older USB adapters may not support newer WPA/WPA2 modes. Temporarily set the AP to open or matching WEP/WPA to test.

If problems persist

  • Test the MA111 on another PC or a different USB port to rule out hardware. If installers caused BSODs earlier, stop and capture the minidump before proceeding. If none of the above works, consider a current replacement USB adapter — modern units handle XP and modern APs more reliably.

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Member Avatar for Bear

Have you checked the Netgear support site for the latest firmware for the router and the latest drivers for the wireless NIC? Just a thought :D

Member Avatar for Patrick

I do have the latest drivers for the device, but not the firmware for the router (I don't think). That is something I could try.

I wanted to find out if the original CD left some stuff on my PC, registry, what have you and see if I could clear all of that off and start fresh with the new drivers. The NetGear people wouldn't tell me if uninstall cleared everything off or not and they wouldn't tell me how to clean it off, either, if there was (no response to both questions, just continuation of spiel).

Thanks for the response.

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