Help - cannot get Network Adapter to work

AuntyJean

I have an old (bought in 2000) Gateway PC with only two USB ports, operating on Windows 98SE.

When I went Broadband through Telewest they supplied a Motorola Cable modem and they connected this direct into one of the USB ports at the back of my PC. The other I used to connect to a 4 port USB Hub to which I have a scanner and printer connected. I also use the third port for downloading from my digital camera, all successfully.

I then bought a Dell laptop with wireless LAN and a Belkin Router (F5D7231 which is compatible with 802.11b or 802.11g. The company I bought this from asked me how I wanted to connect the router to my PC. As the modem was connected by USB I said I would go the same way and they sold me a Belkin Wireless G USB Network Adapter (F5D7050).

Belkin helpline (by the way the tel no is 00 800 - does this still mean the calls are free as with 0800?) talked me through setting up the router which is obviously working OK as I am connected via my laptop wirelessly.

Now, when they tried to talk me through connecting the adapter, the drivers would not load. Then, having talked me though installation, when I plugged the adapter in it would not recognise a 'new piece of hardware' had been installed and the neon on the adapter blinked on and off very briefly.

When plugging the adapter into the laptop the detection was immediate so Belkin say the adapter is working properly but it is probably the usb port on my pc.

I have tried uninstalling and re-installing the adapter three times now but still the drivers do not seem to install. Although I have the icon for the adapter on my desktop it will not activate when I double click it and there is no icon in my system tray.

I have been waiting for 2 days (this being the second) for Belkin's 'senior' technician to ring me back. Does any one know what the problem could be?

By the way, I tried unplugging the usb adapter and just plugging the network adapter in but still no joy. When I tried plugging the usb hub into the other usb port (that the modem was plugged into) it could not detect it. This could be because I still had the printer and scanner connected to the hub? Would I have to configure everything again by simply changing usb ports? It all worked fine without re-setting when I plugged it back into the previous port.

If it is a problem with my 'version' of usb port, how can I tell what version I have?

All help appreciated.

Aunty Jean

Toxteth_OGrady

I think you were badly advised. You would have been better buying a PCI ethernet card for a couple of quid rather than the Belkin USB/Ethernet adapter.

Does your 4-port USB hub have its own Mains power supply??

Just trying to understand your architecture - do you now have the Motorola modem connected by ethernet cable to the wireless router??

Why do you need to connect the pc wirelessly to the router with the Belkin wireless dongle??

What is the rating of the Gateway's power supply unit (psu)? You may have an inadequate power supply to run that number of usb devices.

:cool:

TOG

Browntoa

you may need a self powered hub (one with its own power supply) is the one you have at the moment like that ??

I get the same symptoms with my cordless mouse if the power lead gets pulled out...it detects the device then drops out again

sorry Toxteth...you beat my to it...did'nt mean to parrot what you said !!

AuntyJean

Toxteth_OGrady wrote:

I think you were badly advised. You would have been better buying a PCI ethernet card for a couple of quid rather than the Belkin USB/Ethernet adapter.

Does your 4-port USB hub have its own Mains power supply??

Just trying to understand your architecture - do you now have the Motorola modem connected by ethernet cable to the wireless router??

Why do you need to connect the pc wirelessly to the router with the Belkin wireless dongle??

What is the rating of the Gateway's power supply unit (psu)? You may have an inadequate power supply to run that number of usb devices.

:cool:

TOG

Yes, the USB hub has it's own power supply.

Yes, the Motorola modem is connected to the Router by ethernet cable.

I don't know why I need to connect the pc wirelessly to the router. All I know is I need to connect my pc to the router so that I can share printers and files. Unfortunately, there is no ethernet connection port on my pc so I presumed USB was the only way.

How do I establish the power supply of the psu? If I bought an ethernet card how do I connect it to my pc and router? Sorry but I really haven't a clue how these things work.

Thanks for your help.

Aunty Jean

blinky

Buy a network card (even Maplin is selling them for £5) and a network cable (you might have got one with the router).

Install the network card and connect it to the router.

I'm guessing that the router will assign a IP address (network address) to the network card.

You can check this by doing the following

Start Menu -> run -> command <enter>
in the DOS window type IPCONFIG /ALL <enter>

In the information it returns there is a line which says IP Address
I'd guess it will say something like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.0.x if so you have a network address and you should have internet and network access.

In the router manual it should give a web address (http://192.168.x.x or 10.0.0.x) where you can login to the router configuration.

Hope this helps.

Toxteth_OGrady

Have you tried plugging the Belkin wireless usb dongle into the 4-port usb hub?

:cool:

TOG

AuntyJean

Yes, I have tried plugging the network adapter into the hub but still no joy. I cannot seem to even get the drivers to install before I plug it in.

Is there any way of telling if the network adapter is faulty? Or, do you think it is just my pc?

Have managed to find the old spec for my pc but it doesn't specify the version of the usb hubs. I do now know that I have five PCI expansion slots one of which is shared with one ISA slot, whatever that means. Trouble is I would not even begin to know how to install a PCI ethernet card.

Power supply is 200 watts. ATX power connector. Is that what you meant by PSU?

Toxteth_OGrady

Power supply is 200 watts. ATX power connector. Is that what you meant by PSU?

Yep. Probably on the low side. See online psu calculator here.

Belkin wireless dongle can't be faulty because you posted earlier that it works in your laptop.

Fitting a pci card is easier than wiring a 13 Amp plug if that helps.

:cool:

TOG

Toxteth_OGrady

The fact the Belkin dongle doesn't work even when plugged in to the powered usb hub suggests it's not a power supply problem but a driver problem.

This also explains why it works in your laptop and not the Gateway - it probably a combination of using 98SE with very old chipset drivers in your motherboard.

Worth trying a chipset drivers update. What's your motherboard/chipset?

If you don't know download and run Belarc Advisor and copy/paste result here.

:cool:

TOG

AuntyJean

Thanks for the calculator but can't find my spec on there.

If I call into PC World, what PCI ethernet card do I need? Would it come with full installation instructions? How likely am I to damage my PC installing it? I have so much info on there I am scared of losing it all.

Don't know if it is significant but hard drive is only 20 gb so had second hard drive installed by a friend. Could it be the limited space on my main hard drive that is causing the failure of the drivers to install?

AuntyJean

Toxteth_OGrady wrote:

The fact the Belkin dongle doesn't work even when plugged in to the powered usb hub suggests it's not a power supply problem but a driver problem.

This also explains why it works in your laptop and not the Gateway - it probably a combination of using 98SE with very old chipset drivers in your motherboard.

Worth trying a chipset drivers update. What's your motherboard/chipset?

If you don't know download and run Belarc Advisor and copy/paste result here.

:cool:

TOG

To check out my chipset drivers I would have to plug the modem back into the PC as I cannot get internet connection otherwise. This could take some time!