Windows 7 ate my router!

[johnwillyums]

Actually I'm not sure it did but I know my incompetance has caused this mess so here's my cautionary tale.:huh:

Some of you may have read my previous posts about my attempted dual boot Vista HP 64 bit and Windows 7 beta.

I created a 30GB partition on my c: drive and installed Windows 7 on it.
The dual boot worked fine but I could not get on line from W7.
Vista logged on via my ethernet connected router but W7 could not see any network adapters or devices.

I was given loads of advice by people on this forum but nothing seemed to work. It seemed to be a problem with not having the necessary ethernet controller in W7. (Atheros)
I tried numerous downloads of the driver from various sites but could not get it to connect or recognize the router, it did not appear in device manager, W7 could not see it.

I've spent literally dozens of hours on this and eventually I got fed up, figured I'd screwed the install in some way and formatted the 30GB partition, wiping W7.
I intended to start from scratch with a fresh download and see if I could get it right.
However, I now found that Vista would not even post let alone boot up!

In a panic I rang my ISP. Their tech guy put me through various diagnostics and declared my router dead. They would send me another.
As this was over a weekend I spent a week suffering acute disconnection anxiety waiting for my new router to arrive.
I also re installed Vista and set up my desk top as best I could using backups and transferring files from "old Windows" to the new install.

When the new router arrived I eagerly set it up and tried to log on.
No! Vista could not see my new router and I couldn't get on line.
I contacted my ISP again who tried various things and then declared that I needed to get in touch with the manufacturer as this was a hardware problem.
This would have been difficult as at least three people and myself have had a hand in building my current rig.

On a whim I tried inserting the disk that came with my Asus P5Q Pro mobo.
This immediately installed the Atheros ethernet controller, restored my LAN settings and I was back in business. So probably I did not need a new router at all!

I apologise for the lengthy post but I can't tell you what a relief that was but now I've some unanswered questions.
-do people think that using the mobo disk in W7 might have solved my original dual boot problem?
-I have a formatted 30GB partition on my c: drive can I try installing W7 to that again?
-Should I then try the mobo software to get my ethernet connection in W7
-I've now got Vista running sweetly. Am I too much of a cretin to do this and should I just stick to Vista?

Actually you don't have to answer that last question. Curiously Vista is running 10-15% cooler now than before. Can't see why that is.

Anyway, hope you're all having fun with W7. With some help I hope to join you.
Best wishes, John

 

[rgauchey]

1)yes, your W7 install needed the correct drivers for your mobo.
2)Yes, install w7. Then the mobo drivers

 

[NosferatuX]

Hi johnwillyums,

A very amusing post
Let's try to answer your questions.
Since you have a fairly new system, the motherboard software is really very helpful in any case, especially if it's vista ready.
Yes, go for the Windows 7 install and go dual boot
Please read up on this first before hand so you'll be ready.

Please let us know what you decide to do and progress

 

[johnwillyums]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've downloaded a fresh iso. and burned and verified a disk just in case the original was corrupt in any way.
I formatted the 30Gb partition as NTFS so I think it'll go on there. Last time I think it just said unallocated space.
It's getting late here and I've got to work early so I'll wait until tomorrow night to install it.
So I'll probably be bleating on and asking for advice by mid evening.
Thanks again, J