USB Wireless Issues

[Closebyu33]

OK, so I have been burning my eyes out of my head starring at this screen reading forum after forum about Windows 7 and USB Wireless problems. :shock: The thing is that I still haven't found anything that matches the problem I have. Let me explain in detail...

Ok, to start off with, I am in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor....So running to Walmart or Radio-shack is out of the question. I have my work computer, a piece of crap Dell PP18L running XP and I have my not so piece of crap Toshiba L505D running W7. Hears the skinny. I bought a USB wireless adapter to be able to pick up wireless in Kuwait while I was at camp. Great, works fine on the Dell. Later, I get to Afghan and decide to buy my own computer (Toshiba). Well the little tiny antenna that I bought (Realtek RTL8187 USB Adapter) cant pick up the signal from the wireless because I'm basically in a big metal can for my office. GREAT! So I go online and buy through Ebay a freaking giant directional wireless antenna (Ralink RT2500) that pics up everything I point it at within a mile! AWESOME!!!! So now I have the small adapter, and the Macdaddy adapter... Hmmmm... I can use the big one to pick up the signal from outside the can, and use my dell and the small antenna and use it as an access point. Works almost like a charm. Crappy network signal drops a lot, but does good enough for what we need it for. Soooo. Now they decide, hey, were going to upgrade the wireless for much better reception and connectivity. YAY says I! But oh wait... and I quote "Wi -Fi Access Points. Wi-Fi access points have been placed in LSA I , 2, and 3. It is strictly prohibited for any user to configure their personal machine to act as a Wi-Fi access point. Doing this is viewed as malicious activity and will result in denied Wi-Fi access along with legal actions if necessary." WTF? So. Now I am trying to connect the Macdaddy adapter directly to my Toshiba. Yeah, not happening. I do the install and yes! It's working...... For all of 30 seconds. Then it kicks the adapter and tells me to go F^%k off. Hhhhh, Ok drivers are probably out of date. Update the driver and still nothing. Now I cant even get the computer to show the adapter on the wireless CURRENTLY CONNECTED TO. But shows that the device is working and up to date. Unplug it and plug it back in and it goes into a fit of turning it off and on and off and on for about 20 seconds and then off for good. This is really getting on my last nerve and I'm tired of reading. So this is what I have done so far to remedy the problem.
* Installed updated drivers, however the only one I can find is for Vista.
* It has a third party utility that comes with the adapter. Have tried with and without that, and even downloaded the updated version of the software!
* Tried hooking up the small antenna and I get the same exact problem.
* Tried running program in every compatibility mode, but I'm guessing that only has to do with running the software, not the driver. Dont have any problems with the software.
* Tried uninstalling and re-installing drivers and software. Works for a minute....
Any help on this would make my year since that's how long I'm here for! PLEASE HELP ME!!!

 

[RedBirdDad]

Welcome to Seven Forums!

You seem to have a few different problems here. But let's look at each one in order.

First off, let's see about getting the USB wireless going correctly:

Is the Realtek 8187 USB what you've been referring to as the "Macdaddy"?

Is it installed on the Toshiba? If so, does the Toshiba already have a built in wireless and did you disable it to install the Realtek? I noticed on the Realtek site there are native W7 drivers for the RTL8187. Did you use those?

Realtek

 

[Closebyu33]

I did try disabling the built it wireless thinking that might be causing some issues, but to no better result. And no, the Ralink rt2500 is the large directional antenna. It is the one that I need to be able to use.

 

[RedBirdDad]

What's the Macdaddy adapter?

 

[Closebyu33]

The ralink is the macdaddy! 14"x14" directional antenna!

 

[RedBirdDad]

Ok, got it.

You mentioned you tried Vista drivers. Did you see the Windows 7 drivers I found on the Realtek site?

 

[Closebyu33]

No I havent. Because I need the Ralink rt2500 to work, not the Realtek. I cant pick anything up with the realtek.

 

[RedBirdDad]

Now I'm really confused. The Ralink is an antenna. What are you connecting it to?

You also mentioned trouble with a USB adapter and drivers, what drivers for what USB adapter?

Sorry about the questions. Just trying to get the big picture.

 

[Closebyu33]

OK. The ralink is a wireless usb antenna.
And yes, the network adapter that it uses drops.

 

[RedBirdDad]

So is the Ralink is a USB radio with an external antenna fed by coax?

I noticed on the Ralink site there are indeed no native W7 drivers and the ones on the site are over a year old. You may be out of luck getting it to work on W7 though. It looks like that product is probably close to being EOL'd since it's 802.1b/g only. that would explain the old driver support.

If you can lay you hands on a pair of AP's like DLink for example, you can put them into "bridged" or "WDS" (wireless distribution system) mode. It basically turns them into ethernet bridges. They don't act as AP's at that point so they shouldn't violate your TOS.

 

[Closebyu33]

But the thing is that I have gotten it to work. When I first install it, it showes on the Currently connected to with all of the networks available. The problem is that it wont stay connected. It works for a short time and then the adapter just disconnects. Then no matter what I do I cant get it to come up again without uninstalling and reinstalling the software and driver. It shows in the network connections, even says that it is enabled, but disconnected. then it does the drop thing and wont enable after that.

 

[RedBirdDad]

When it disconnects does it indicate why? Could this be an interference or signal strength problem?

 

[Closebyu33]

No. No error messages, no nothing. Just drops. And when it is hooked up to the dell with xp, I have a 100% signal strength, 85 -95% link quality. 23% noise.

 

[RedBirdDad]

No. No error messages, no nothing. Just drops. And when it is hooked up to the dell with xp, I have a 100% signal strength, 85 -95% link quality. 23% noise.

At this point I'd say it's just not compatible with W7.

 

[Closebyu33]

HAHA!!!! Figured out the problem!!! Because of the distance from my computer, I had to use 3 USB cables! Got pissed today and wanted to make sure they were OK and not causing the problem. Took everything apart and tested first the Ralink directly to the USB. Guess what, no problems! Hooked right up and stayed this time. OK WTF? I guess I have a bad cable. Tried each one of them connected straight from the computer to the Ralink and Not one problem!? WTF? Connected 2 of them together and no problem. Connected the 3rd and PROBLEM!!! It seems that even though I spent big money for USB cables with boosters in them, either the power wasn't enough to properly run the adapter, or the signal was degrading so badly that it just dropped it. GO FIGURE. Moved the Antenna so that I am using only one USB cable and have had no further issues. Who would have thought it would be that simple...

 

[RedBirdDad]

Huh???!!! How long is the USB cable run? Is the radio integrated into the antenna and the connection is all USB?