Member Avatar for jimlaver

Hi guys.

I'm having some trouble trying to install a BCM94318MPG (Broadcom) Wireless LAN card on an Acer Aspire L310 desktop computer running on Windows XP.

I've tried several downloaded driver files from the web and had no luck. I've also looked for the driver as 4318 and 4318E, but the files I've found to work either. I keep getting a code 39 error on the hardware manager.

Any ideas?

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A concise, practical troubleshooting checklist for a Code 39 / driver-mismatch situation (built from the discussion and the compatibility points raised by and the persistence shown by ). Start with the Device Manager error text: Code 39 means Windows could not load the device driver (the driver is missing, corrupted, or not matching the hardware). The usual first step is a full driver reinstall from a known-good package. (support.microsoft.com)

Check the device’s reported hardware IDs in Device Manager (Properties → Details → Hardware Ids) and use the VEN/DEV string to look up exactly which driver package supports that device. If only an installer (.exe) is available, extract it (7‑Zip or extract switches) and use the “Have Disk…”/manual install path in the Hardware Update Wizard to point Windows at the extracted .INF/.SYS files. That manual path is the most reliable way to get Windows to use the intended files. (learn.microsoft.com)

If prior driver attempts may be conflicting, show and remove ghosted drivers before reinstalling: from a command prompt run the two lines below, then in Device Manager choose View → Show hidden devices and uninstall any grayed/out old Broadcom entries (remove only items known to be stale). Back up the registry or create a restore point first.

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
start devmgmt.msc

(learn.microsoft.com)

If the vendor INF doesn’t list the exact hardware ID, adding a models entry is possible (advanced; back up first). An INF per-model line looks like:

[Manufacturer]
%Mfg% = MfgSection,NTx86

[MfgSection.NTx86]
%DeviceDesc% = InstallSection, PCI\VEN_xxxx&DEV_yyyy

Follow Microsoft’s INF Models guidance and beware of platform decorations (NTx86 vs NTamd64) and driver-signing rules on x64 systems. Always match 32/64-bit architecture, keep a restore point, and contact the vendor if doubts remain. (learn.microsoft.com)

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Member Avatar for theorice

Looks like this means the hardware you are installing is incompatible with the hardware that you already have. If I recall right, I have worked on a notebook and went through the same problem I found myself searching for drivers, installing and uninstalling to no avail.

I have an Acer 3620 notebook that found my pcmci card incompatible.

Member Avatar for jimlaver

Thanks for the comment but I got it to work.

Since I was installing the WLAN card on an XP environment, I was doubtful to download any Vista drivers. But just as a long shot, I downaloaded the Vista driver from Acer's support site and unloaded the contents on my USB drive to work on the Acer PC. Once the PC restarted and showed the "found new hardware" screen I used the Vista drivers and finally, to end my headache, worked.

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