Problems with PCI Wireless Adapter

tomdelada · 03-05-2012, 05:16 AM

Hi guys, wondeing if you can give me a little advice?

I bought a wireless PCI card for my newly built PC (the brand of the card is Tenda and the model W311P). It says it's compatible with Windows 7 but even when I install the drivers, either from the included CD or downloaded from their website, Windows refuses to recognise the device. It shows up in Device Manager as an Unknown Device no matter what I do. Is this fixable or should I just return it to the shop?

Thanks a lot for any advice or suggestions, I've been pulling my hair out over this for a while now and have finally admitted defeat.

Edited to add: I'm running Windiws 7 64 bit. I can post the machine's specs but really doubt they have anything to do with this issue.

TeKraken · 03-05-2012, 05:33 AM

What version of windows 7? 32 or 64 bit?

I had trouble finding w7 64 bit drivers for my Dlink wifi card.
So I sold it and bought an Edimax one, I think I'm using vista 64 bit drivers, not at home at the mo so can't look until later.

tomdelada · 03-05-2012, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeKraken

What version of windows 7? 32 or 64 bit

Edited the OP to say it's 64 bit. Sorry, I should have realised I missed that out

Alshain · 03-05-2012, 07:34 AM

I would RMA the card. It shouldn't be that difficult. Not to mention, that is a half speed card. No reason to buy those these days, they are about the same cost as the 300Mbps cards.

I recommend the ASUS PCI-E cards. They work really well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833320074

If you absolutely don't have a PCI-E 1x slot, then try to find a PCI card with a RALink chip.

tomdelada · 03-05-2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alshain

I would RMA the card. It shouldn't be that difficult. Not to mention, that is a half speed card. No reason to buy those these days, they are about the same cost as the 300Mbps cards.

I recommend the ASUS PCI-E cards. They work really well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833320074

If you absolutely don't have a PCI-E 1x slot, then try to find a PCI card with a RALink chip.

RMA? I consider myself fairly PC-literate but haven't come across that term before.

I do have one PCI-E slot... The problem is that's where my graphics card lives

The network card is only PCI, and I'm pretty sure it already has an RALink chip. At least, it has a black section on the card that reads RALink.

Alshain · 03-05-2012, 08:08 AM

Return Merchandise Authorization = Fancy way of saying, send it back.

I'm taking about a PCI-E 1x (it's a little ~1" slot).

Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong company. It's either Atheros or RALink, I thought Atheros was the wired and RALink was the wireless but I could have them backward.

EDIT: yeah it's Qualcom Atheros, but RALink makes them too. I'm sure either would be fine, but I've seen some lower quality wireless chipsets that don't work so well.

FYI Centrino is also good, but you can't get that on a desktop.

tomdelada · 03-06-2012, 01:02 AM

I'll have a look around and try to find a more compatible card then. Thankfully the shop I bought this from is just a short walk away (local mom & pop store)

Thanks for the advice.

TeKraken · 03-06-2012, 01:05 AM

You might try having a google for the name of the chip on the wifi card and see if there is a 64bit driver for it.

I think my edimax uses a 3rd party ralink driver.

Versteken · 03-06-2012, 09:14 AM

I've never heard of that particular brand before, but you're probably just not pointing it to the drivers correctly.

Automatic driver installation routines have come a long way in the past decade, but they're still not foolproof. Manually browse to the correct driver folder and point windows there.

tomdelada · 03-06-2012, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Versteken

I've never heard of that particular brand before, but you're probably just not pointing it to the drivers correctly.

Automatic driver installation routines have come a long way in the past decade, but they're still not foolproof. Manually browse to the correct driver folder and point windows there.

I'm almost certain that I have (as I said, I'm no slouch when it comes to PCs and am usually a fairly decent troubleshooter) but would you be kind enough to post the steps anyway? I'd imagine it's along the lines of Device Manager-choose device and right click-Properties-Update Driver-when given the option choose to locate manually and point it to the correct folder? Obviously that's a very rough and probably not word-perfect run-down.

Also it may be worth adding that the card is listed as just Network Adapter in Device Manager, and I've tried taking the 'select driver to install from this list' option with no success either. When I choose the RALink (presumably the company who made the chip) options it usually gives me an error code 10.

Alshain · 03-06-2012, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomdelada

I'm almost certain that I have (as I said, I'm no slouch when it comes to PCs and am usually a fairly decent troubleshooter) but would you be kind enough to post the steps anyway? I'd imagine it's along the lines of Device Manager-choose device and right click-Properties-Update Driver-when given the option choose to locate manually and point it to the correct folder? Obviously that's a very rough and probably not word-perfect run-down.

Also it may be worth adding that the card is listed as just Network Adapter in Device Manager, and I've tried taking the 'select driver to install from this list' option with no success either. When I choose the RALink (presumably the company who made the chip) options it usually gives me an error code 10.

He has a point, I've seen issues where the auto detection doesn't work right. You want to use the "Have Disk" method.

1. IN control panel, right click the device. Choose Update Driver.
2. Browse my computer...
3. Let me pick...
4. Ignore the list, click Have disk...
5. Browse for the *.inf file on the CD and force the driver down Windows throat.

Versteken · 03-06-2012, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomdelada

I'm almost certain that I have (as I said, I'm no slouch when it comes to PCs and am usually a fairly decent troubleshooter) but would you be kind enough to post the steps anyway? I'd imagine it's along the lines of Device Manager-choose device and right click-Properties-Update Driver-when given the option choose to locate manually and point it to the correct folder? Obviously that's a very rough and probably not word-perfect run-down.

Also it may be worth adding that the card is listed as just Network Adapter in Device Manager, and I've tried taking the 'select driver to install from this list' option with no success either. When I choose the RALink (presumably the company who made the chip) options it usually gives me an error code 10.

pretty much, but when you do it that way, you're simply telling Windows where to look, and then trusting the driver autodetection routine to work from there. The method Alshain posts above is more what I was talking about, where you manually choose what driver to load - Windows usually will still refuse to install the wrong driver though.

Code 10 means the device failed to start. This could be be because the driver is broken, or something is wrong with the hardware.
I'd first try to get a newer driver from the manufacturer's website (I googled it earlier, but the page would not load for me). You can also try moving the card to another slot.

tomdelada · 03-06-2012, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Versteken

pretty much, but when you do it that way, you're simply telling Windows where to look, and then trusting the driver autodetection routine to work from there. The method Alshain posts above is more what I was talking about, where you manually choose what driver to load - Windows usually will still refuse to install the wrong driver though.

Code 10 means the device failed to start. This could be be because the driver is broken, or something is wrong with the hardware.
I'd first try to get a newer driver from the manufacturer's website (I googled it earlier, but the page would not load for me). You can also try moving the card to another slot.

Yeah, the Tenda web site is... best described using a word that isn't often encounteredin polite company

I did manage to get an updated driver from there but pointing Windows at it does nothing. And, poking through the file system, I can't see anything with the extension .inf.

Moving to another slot isn't an option, since thee aren't any others I can switch to.

03-05-2012, 05:16 AM	#1
tomdelada Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 0 Posts: 35	Problems with PCI Wireless Adapter Hi guys, wondeing if you can give me a little advice? I bought a wireless PCI card for my newly built PC (the brand of the card is Tenda and the model W311P). It says it's compatible with Windows 7 but even when I install the drivers, either from the included CD or downloaded from their website, Windows refuses to recognise the device. It shows up in Device Manager as an Unknown Device no matter what I do. Is this fixable or should I just return it to the shop? Thanks a lot for any advice or suggestions, I've been pulling my hair out over this for a while now and have finally admitted defeat. Edited to add: I'm running Windiws 7 64 bit. I can post the machine's specs but really doubt they have anything to do with this issue. Last edited by tomdelada: 03-05-2012 at 06:38 AM.

03-05-2012, 07:34 AM	#4
Alshain Join Date: Mar 2009 Reputation: 737 Posts: 1,736	I would RMA the card. It shouldn't be that difficult. Not to mention, that is a half speed card. No reason to buy those these days, they are about the same cost as the 300Mbps cards. I recommend the ASUS PCI-E cards. They work really well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833320074 If you absolutely don't have a PCI-E 1x slot, then try to find a PCI card with a RALink chip. Last edited by Alshain: 03-05-2012 at 07:39 AM.

03-05-2012, 08:08 AM	#6
Alshain Join Date: Mar 2009 Reputation: 737 Posts: 1,736	Return Merchandise Authorization = Fancy way of saying, send it back. I'm taking about a PCI-E 1x (it's a little ~1" slot). Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong company. It's either Atheros or RALink, I thought Atheros was the wired and RALink was the wireless but I could have them backward. EDIT: yeah it's Qualcom Atheros, but RALink makes them too. I'm sure either would be fine, but I've seen some lower quality wireless chipsets that don't work so well. FYI Centrino is also good, but you can't get that on a desktop. Last edited by Alshain: 03-05-2012 at 08:12 AM.

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03-05-2012, 05:33 AM	#2
TeKraken Join Date: Nov 2011 Reputation: 4619 Posts: 6,059	What version of windows 7? 32 or 64 bit? I had trouble finding w7 64 bit drivers for my Dlink wifi card. So I sold it and bought an Edimax one, I think I'm using vista 64 bit drivers, not at home at the mo so can't look until later.

03-06-2012, 01:02 AM	#7
tomdelada Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 0 Posts: 35	I'll have a look around and try to find a more compatible card then. Thankfully the shop I bought this from is just a short walk away (local mom & pop store) Thanks for the advice.

03-06-2012, 01:05 AM	#8
TeKraken Join Date: Nov 2011 Reputation: 4619 Posts: 6,059	You might try having a google for the name of the chip on the wifi card and see if there is a 64bit driver for it. I think my edimax uses a 3rd party ralink driver.

03-06-2012, 09:14 AM	#9
Versteken Banned Join Date: Nov 2010 Reputation: 747 Posts: 1,079	I've never heard of that particular brand before, but you're probably just not pointing it to the drivers correctly. Automatic driver installation routines have come a long way in the past decade, but they're still not foolproof. Manually browse to the correct driver folder and point windows there.