pc cards

I put this PCI card into my 900mhz AMD Atholon 256mb, and it crashed windows on its very first try. After spending 4 hours reinstalling windows xp it would crash and restart my computer every time.
The product worked ok on my Dell Pentium IV 2.4ghz. Still I'd rather use a wired rather than wireless because the connection isn't very stable. I did keep the Netgearrouter WGT624, for my laptop which works pretty good, maybe because it's a pentium wireless card in there. But for the near futures I'll keep 3 of my desktops wired.
Don't get this unless you absollutely have to.

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I installed the NETGEAR WG3111T 108 mbps Wireless PCI Adapter while still utilizing my Microsoft MN-500, 11 mbps router. I find it easier to resolve any issues by taking things one step at a time. After the adapter card is operating correctly, I will then install the new NETGEAR WGT624 108 mbps router. I have Windows XP Home edition.

First word of advice, for this or any other piece of hardware: Go to the NETGEAR website (www.netgear.com) and check out the support area, and see if there is a newer version of the device driver and the utility software. If at all possible, download and install those BEFORE you install the WG3111T. It would have saved me a lot of time if I had done this myself.

Installation started smoothly. The Smart Configuration Utility setup the new network connection easily even while my old MSN-510 adapter was connected and operating. The utility listed my available network. I selected it and entered my encryption key. All I had to do was disconnect the old adapter and the NETGEAR WG3111T was up and going.

Then I restarted my computer... and I began losing connectivity. When McAfee VirusScan was installing, it would get "synchronization errors" and "VSMain errors". When AOL started up the network would lose connectivity and the IP address was getting changed to 169.254.120.96 or other variations of 169.254. The IP address was also getting changed when I uninstalled CyberSitter. If I ran the Smart Configuration Utility and hit APPLY, then everything would be fine until I restarted AOL. After going to the NETGEAR website and checking out the support area, I found a newer version of the device driver and the utility software. After downloading and installing these, everything is going just fine.

Since the antenna sticks out of the card, I was a little concerned about reception but the signal strength turned out to be a little better than with my Microsoft MN-510, 11mbs Wireless USB Adapter. I do have to remember to fold the antenna in before I move the computer around since I get the best reception by sticking the antenna straight out. (The computer is on third floor and router is in my basement ceiling.) The instructions tell you to point the antenna up.

After I installed the NETGEAR WGT624 108 mbps router, the WG3111T found the new network and was operating without any effort on my part. When the router broadcast channel was changed, the WG3111T picked-up the change automatically. The reception is consistently in the "excellent" range (and runs at 108 mbps), but it does drop to "very good" (and 54 mbps) briefly. Your reception will be based on the location of your router and receivers.

This card went in without any problems, setup was simple enough anyone could do it. I'm using mine with the WGT634U, which will have an external hard drive connected to it next. What more could you ask for? A fast setup, fast secure connection, and no operating problems, superior range, and a quality name brand.