pc cards

We'd just set up our wireless network using a Netgear MR814 router, and had one desktop computer plugged into the router via cable. Next step was to get my wife's Toshiba/WinXP laptop connected wirelessly to the network so that she could simultaneously roam house and net. The Netgear MA521 card slid right in, and the installation software was straightforward (including printed instructions to walk the uncertain user through each detail). Installation and configuration took maybe 15-20 minutes (and we're very slow and methodical about such things). Connection strength and speed throughout the house (typically 40-50 feet and 2 or three walls away from the router) is high. It's been a few weeks now, and we haven't had to touch card or configuration once since installation...

At first it will now work on my Compaq Armada 100s 550MHZ AMD K6 (June 2000) 16bit card bus with Win98 (not SE) giving out " NDIS.VXD NTKERN.VXD device loader for this device could not load the device drive {code 2)" error and exclamation mark under device driver. I suspect it to be either the previous PCMCIA LAN Card I used and interfering with this new wireless hardware or the anti-virus program. I have no time to find out. So I reload my laptop with a clean install of Win98SE (SE this time). This time it works and no more code 2 errors. It averages 85% signal strength and 85% link quality thru walls and close doors.

I have been using an SMC wireless card for some time now (with XP Pro) and couldn't figure out why the signal was being dropped every 5 or 10 minutes. Incredibly aggrevating! My dad also had an SMC card and XP Pro with his laptop and was having similar problems. It wasn't until I read reviews on Amazon when I was looking for a new card that I realized it wasn't the router or the age of my card (dad had newer), but the compatibility of SMC with XP Pro. I ordered two of the Netgear MA521s for both of us and neither has had any problems since. It takes slightly longer on boot up for the card to recognize that the network is there, but after that, never drops the signal. It has good range, I've been everywhere in our two-story, four-bedroom house and have not had a problem anywhere. I would highly recommend this card, especially to anyone running XP Pro.