Solved Problem installing usb wifi dongle on laptop running win7 x64

[george1977]

Dear Friends,
i have a problem installing a USB WiFi Dongle on my Laptop which is running Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

To be more specific:

My laptop is HP Pavilion dv5 1160ev and it's running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. The laptop works fine and there isn't any problem. It's Wifi Network Adapter is : Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN and it has no problem.

A few days ago i bought 2 USB WiFi Dongles (1. TP-Link TL-WN821N and 2. Netis F2120) which are both compatible with Windows 7 64bit.

Before using them on my laptop i tested the 2 adapters on my desktop PC (Windows 7 32bit) and they work perfectly fine.

Afterwords i tried to install them on my Laptop but unfortunately i wasn't able to make them work. I will try to describe in detail the problems that appear, because they are common to both USB wifi Adapters. (Note i try to install 1 adapter every time... the reason i bought the 2nd adapter is to check if there was a problem with the first one i bought)

The steps i followed were:

A.First TRY
1. Disable the Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN which is on the laptops motherboard.
2. Install the Drivers & the Utilities from the CD Included in the box
3. The USB WiFi Adapters where installed - I checked in the Device Manager (Working Fine)
4(a). The USB wifi adapters cant find wireless networks ( on Network and Sharing Center and Device Manager the USB Adapters appear enable)
4(b) Sometime the USB Adapters appear on Network and Sharing Center Disabled and i can not make them enable (on Device Manager the adapters appear to work fine)

5. When i run DIAGNOSE (Wireless Network Connections) i get the message " There might be a problem with the driver for the wireless Network Connection Adapter"

B.Second Try
1. I followed the above steps but i used the latest drivers and utility i have downloaded from the TP LInk and Netis Websites

2. The problem still persists.

c. Third Try
1. I followed the steps on FIRST TRY but i used UPDATE DRIVERS option on Device Manager to update the drivers. The drivers were up to date.

2. The problem persists

d. Fourth Try
1. I tried to install the 2 USB adapters on 2 different laptops Lenovo windows 7 64bit and HP Probook Windows 7 Home 64 bit but the same problems appear.

e. Fifth try
1. I formatted my laptop , upgrade the BIOS to the last Version, Update the windows
2. The problem persists

f. Next Tries

1. I check Service WLNA Autoconfig and i found working fine ( STARTED and set to AUTOMATIC)
2. I disable FIREWALL and ANTIVIRUS..nothing again!!
3. I tried on CMD the ipconfig /all command but the Adapter is not Found


Please Help me !!! What do i do wrong? are there any more setting i can try!!

Best regards,
George

 

[Shimshom]

Sometimes it helps to unplug the modem/router from the power for a few minutes then restart it as well as restart the computer. Don't worry about using 3rd party utilities to find and log into your network as Windows mostly manages it well enough and it saves you having another program running in the background

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, turn off or uninstall any other wireless manager besides Windows own superior wireless in the System tray.

Uninstall the driver in Device manager along with its software including in Control Panel. Now reboot and enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3), Check for Updates, install all Important and Optional Windows Updates which may include the driver Win7 wants as well as important patches needed to even make the device work.

If this fails try another driver (Vista, Windows 8) to see if it works better.

 

[george1977]

thnk you for your replies!!

i have tried already everything you mention above.....

unfortunately the problem still persists!!

 

[gregrocker]

Since the adapters work on 32 bit this might be an anomaly with 64 bit only.

With 4gb RAM you'll get better performance with 32 bit anyway, so I'd consider reinstalling 32 bit doing a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164. Everything needed to get and keep a perfect install is in the tutorial.

 

[george1977]

thnks guys!

 

[Shimshom]

As your built in Intel WiFi works fine why did you need the dongles all together

 

[george1977]

The solution was very simple!!

Thnks to the TP-Link Support team the problem was solved.

SOLUTION
1. Remove the Driver and Utility of the TP-Link USB WiFi Adapter
2. Start windows 7 in SAFE MODE
3. Install only the Latest Driver for the adapter
4. And it works!!

Thnks all of you for your help and Support.

Best Regards,
George