WiFi USB Dongle Problems

[Grey Beard]

I have recently bought an Alfa WiFi USB Dongle unit (uses an RALink Chipset), so I can get better WiFi reception, particularly camping. The unit has an external antenna so can be used outside a motor home for example.

I am trying to run this on a Dell Studio 1557 Laptop with Win 7 Home Premium and in 64 Bit installation. The unit cannot see ANY WiFi signals, but the Windows Device Manager says it is working OK. My smart phone sees other networks, e.g. from my neighbours, etc.

I have tried deactivating in the BIOS, the Cabled LAN, the Dell Internal WiFi card, the Bluetooth and the WWAN (SIM card unit). I temporarily disable the Virus Checker AVG during installation. The drivers look like the correct ones.

It does work on an older ThinkPad running WinXP Win Upgrade 2, so the unit is working OK I think.

I have also tried hacking the Registry to remove any artefacts associated with previous installations.

I have tried the drivers from RALink and from Alfa websites rather than those supplied on a mini CD, in case these are out of date.

I am running out of ideas and the seller, based in the UK, has tried to help, but have exhausted their ideas, other than to go back to a Restore Point, before my first installation and try again.

The RALink Software says there is a Card Conflict, but the Internal WiFi Card is already disabled in BIOS and the alternative Alfa software does not report any conflicts but says the WiFi dongle is deactivated. I have also tried the Fn2 key, which deactivates the internal WiFi, but this does not help.

Any ideas of things to try? It does look like a driver problem, unless there is some switch, which I am overlooking to activate the dongle.

Grey Beard

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Just an idea but this might be a 64bit issue. These days whether you go 32 or 64 bit it doesnt really matter except for drivers and it sounds to me like you have a driver issue. You have probably already done this but make sure you have the latest drivers you can get. Also if you know someone with 32bit win 7 give it a go on that and see how it works. Also (you have probably done this too) disable the network connections in network config. Shortcut to that being type ncpa.cpl in the search bar.

 

[alistairl]

You've done all the things I would think of, Marki_GSA makes a good point about 64 bit - XP 64 Bit was bad enough, but there are a lot more Win 7 x64 machines around so it comes up more.

Like you I would disable on-board wifi in the bios to avoid conflict, though I wouldn't be so worried about other comms.

With Windows 7 and a usb device I would always boot up with the device disconnected and then connect and observe what the machine says about drivers. Also check the system and application event logs to see if anything goes in to there when you connect.

If the device shows up in device manager and windows says it is working then it is a case of getting the right network driver - getting that is a hunt around the internet. Make sure you know exactly the chipset and version and scour around - it can take a few goes to find a random driver that works.

A.

 

[shugie]

Just an idea but this might be a 64bit issue. These days whether you go 32 or 64 bit it doesnt really matter except for drivers and it sounds to me like you have a driver issue. You have probably already done this but make sure you have the latest drivers you can get. Also if you know someone with 32bit win 7 give it a go on that and see how it works. Also (you have probably done this too) disable the network connections in network config. Shortcut to that being type ncpa.cpl in the search bar.

I think this might be the problem as well, I've got the same USB adaptor on a Dell XPS1640 and Windoze 32bit 7 full fat, works no problems whether the internal WiFi is running or not. As I recall it didn't need any drivers either, Windoze 'acquired' them automatically.

The conflict is more likely to be resource allocation, if you go to system in control panel, then device manager, have you got any devices with a yellow exclamation mark next to them? If you have, right click for properties, then look at the text in the box under the general tab. What does it say?

 

[Grey Beard]

Many thanks for all your replies and thoughts. Much appreciated

The only yellow triangle I get in Device Manager associated with a USB Controller, is to do with an IR Reader for a Polar Sports Monitor Watch and I haven't loaded software for that and will probably have to buy new software from Polar for it. The WiFi Adapter there seems to be OK, no yellow triangles and the system says it is working OK.

I think the drivers say 32 rather than 64 bit, so this could be the problem, though the supplier thought this would be OK.

I probably should finish rebuilding my desk top PC and load Win 7 64bit on that and see if the WiFi Adapter works or not.

I am using the chipset listed on the Alfa website to search for drivers and it looks like I must try a few more websites.

I don't know if I can contact Alfa support, via Skype or email. The supplier said he hadn't had much of a problem with these but I would have thought there would be a few Win 7 64bit machines around.

The Network Folder also does not show any conflicts either. I did not have any problem with the XP 32bit machine, even without disabling the internal WiFi adaptor.

Grey Beard

 

[ianf]

This is the sort of thing that gets folk buying Macs.

64 bit windows needs 64 bit drivers. If a USB device is class compliant it will have a driver from MS. If it isn't it'll need a vendor driver, if it's a legacy device they may not have built a 64 bit one.

The upshot of this is you may have a plug-n-play hang where device discovery and driver initialisation are stuck.

Unplug all the other stuff and fix one piece of hardware at a time.

 

[Grey Beard]

This is the sort of thing that gets folk buying Macs.

64 bit windows needs 64 bit drivers. If a USB device is class compliant it will have a driver from MS. If it isn't it'll need a vendor driver, if it's a legacy device they may not have built a 64 bit one.

The upshot of this is you may have a plug-n-play hang where device discovery and driver initialisation are stuck.

Unplug all the other stuff and fix one piece of hardware at a time.

Yes, the would be the normal diagnostic technique with a desk top where it is easy to open the case and remove cards one by one until the problem is resolved. This is a lap top and still under warranty, so don't want to open the seals. I could have just done a hack and drilled a hole in the case and brought out a standard external antenna connection from the on-board Dell WiFi card.

As it is, there are no external USB plug ins (except a USB Cordless Logitech mouse) and I tried with the BIOS isolating the WiFi and LAN cards, so at a loss what to do next.

Can Windows 7 64bit not fall back to 32 bit mode for some equipment which doesn't have 64 bit drivers?

Grey Beard

 

[shugie]

Well, I moved the Alfa USB Wifi unit from my Dell to this desktop running Win7 x64, and it works fine. Chipset is RTL8187, which is Realtek, not Railink, so seems to be a different unit to yours.

Which unit do you have, do you know the part number?

 

[Grey Beard]

Well, I moved the Alfa USB Wifi unit from my Dell to this desktop running Win7 x64, and it works fine. Chipset is RTL8187, which is Realtek, not Railink, so seems to be a different unit to yours.

Which unit do you have, do you know the part number?

Hi Shugie

The Model number from Alfa is AWUS051NH (802.11n Series)
Chipset Ralink RT2770 RT2750

http://www.alfa.com.tw/in/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=AWUS050NH&Category=105483

Grey Beard

 

[ianf]

Can Windows 7 64bit not fall back to 32 bit mode for some equipment which doesn't have 64 bit drivers?

Grey Beard

No.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Is this laptop supposed to run a 64 bit install? I.e have a supplied DVD with the right versions for the built in devices?


Is the dongle definitely supplied with 64 bit drivers?

You said there's nothing extra, but this polar h/m ir receiver and drilling holes makes me think you are tinkering above your weight here?

 

[Grey Beard]

No.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Is this laptop supposed to run a 64 bit install? I.e have a supplied DVD with the right versions for the built in devices?


Is the dongle definitely supplied with 64 bit drivers?

You said there's nothing extra, but this polar h/m ir receiver and drilling holes makes me think you are tinkering above your weight here?

The Laptop was bought professionally refurbished in excellent (near mint) condition and was preloaded with Win 7 64Bit. A DVD was also supplied though not required. It works very well (for a Microsoft Windows machine ). It runs an Intel i7 CPU so is compatible with Win 64 Bit.

I mentioned drilling holes in the case because that was a hack on the Internet about a cheap way of improving WiFi reception. However, I did not do that, because of warranty issues/wanted a system with the antenna outside a motor home while I sat inside) and went instead the external plug in USB WiFi Adapter. I have not tinkered with the lap top beyond my weight! Sorry if I have confused you there.

The Adapter was supplied as Win 7 compatible and did not say 32 bit only, etc. The suppliers in the UK have not said it is not 64bit compatible, either.

The only specification was that it is USB2.0 and not backward compatible, but this is not an issue here.

The Polar Receiver is just a USB IR receiver, which allows me to download logs from my Polar Sports watch (pulse monitor) to the PC. I am not using it, as the Win7 will probably require a new download of software from Polar to allow it to work. It used to run with WinME.

I will look at the link you gave me for Microsoft. The drivers do not specifically say 32 bit or 64bit - they are supplied as an .exe file with the drivers and the software application included (if you don't want to run the Microsoft Win 7 WiFi software).

Thanks for the suggestions. I am still looking for ideas to try.

Grey Beard