Upgraded to Windows 7, but ...

Oblivion

I finally got round to upgrading my Dell laptop from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 ultimate today. All seems to have gone well except for the fact that my old Thomson 330 USB modem is no longer being recognised and so I've lost internet connectivity which is very frustrating. I was not surprised by this since a pre-installation compatibility check did throw up this as a potential issue and indicated I would need to update the Speedtouch drivers.

Unfortunately, Thomson seem to have ditched support for the 330 and I can't find a compatible driver. Has anyone with this very popular old modem found a solution that makes it work with W7?

Failing that, I may have to finally go wireless router. Can anyone recommend a reliable wireless router that will power up to 4 computers but doesn't break the bank

Hammyman

You can use Vista drivers on Windows 7 but it is old hat and superceded. You'll love the flexibility of dumping the cable and going wireless. A good stalwart is the venerable Netgear DG834G or GT. You can pick them up for £20 on Ebay.

macman

USB modems are flakey and effectively obsolete. Totally agree with Hammy, go for a bog standard Netgear DG834G.

DCFC79

Who is your isp as that can determine which router you buy,

tronator

Oblivion wrote: »

I finally got round to upgrading my Dell laptop from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 ultimate today. All seems to have gone well except for the fact that my old Thomson 330 USB modem is no longer being recognised and so I've lost internet connectivity which is very frustrating.

Do yourself a favor and get a router. You're much safer behind a router than being connected directly to the Internet through a modem. Then you wouldn't need to install any software as you connect with a network cable to it and the router does all the work for you. If you don't have a network card in your PC you'll need one too...

Oblivion

DCFC79 wrote: »

Who is your isp as that can determine which router you buy,

Hi DCFC79, I'm with Virgin on ADSL broadband. My main computer, also using a Speedtouch 330 reports syncing at around 5.4 Mbits but actual speed rarely gets above 2Mbits due to line length from the exchange and quality of the 1930's telephone lines serving my property.

Would any of this affect my choice of router please?

Oblivion

tronator wrote: »

Do yourself a favor and get a router. You're much safer behind a router than being connected directly to the Internet through a modem. Then you wouldn't need to install any software as you connect with a network cable to it and the router does all the work for you. If you don't have a network card in your PC you'll need one too...

My Dell Laptop came with two 'network adaptors' ...

1. Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN .... and

2. Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller


I'm afraid this is all 'Greek' to me as I've never had any experience of wireless internet, so if I get a wireless router, who does what which way up and to whom

Lokolo

Oblivion wrote: »

Hi DCFC79, I'm with Virgin on ADSL broadband. My main computer, also using a Speedtouch 330 reports syncing at around 5.4 Mbits but actual speed rarely gets above 2Mbits due to line length from the exchange and quality of the 1930's telephone lines serving my property.

Would any of this affect my choice of router please?

Can you not get cable broadband?

But as you are on ADSL you need to make sure you get an ADSL router, as you can also get cable routers (for obviously a cable connection).

And the first one is a network adapter and wireless
The second one is cabled network.

closed

Ask virgin for a free one

macman

If you are on Virgin ADSL then any ADSL modem/router will do the job, just don't buy a cable router, which is intended for VM cable service.
Your Intel WiFi card is the wireless adapter, the other one is the ethernet connection.
So your laptop will connect by wireless (built in) or ethernet.
Your desktop PC will almost certainly have an ethernet port, but no wi-fi. if it sits near the router use ethernet, if not buy a simple USB wi-fi adapter (wireless 'G') to connect to the router.

Oblivion

macman wrote: »

If you are on Virgin ADSL then any ADSL modem/router will do the job, just don't buy a cable router, which is intended for VM cable service.
Your Intel WiFi card is the wireless adapter, the other one is the ethernet connection.
So your laptop will connect by wireless (built in) or ethernet.
Your desktop PC will almost certainly have an ethernet port, but no wi-fi. if it sits near the router use ethernet, if not buy a simple USB wi-fi adapter (wireless 'G') to connect to the router.

Thanks Macman and everyone else. This is starting to make sense now. :beer: