Intel PRO/2200BG wifi users, plz respond

hey...

i just ordered one for my laptop..and wanted to know if you guys have any good, bad experiences w/ that particular card.

does it lose connection a lot, pick up great reception..all that info.

is there anything i need to know prior to installing it?

like...use the drivers off of the cd, or install the latest ones off Intel's site, or better to use older drivers etc.

any help would be appreciated.

thx in advance.

Edo

O contraire mon ami...

the search button is as useful as an illiterate pony.

most of those threads of subjects i search for either go unanswered, or replied by someone w/....another question about it.

i usually give up after trudging through endless threads about ppl spilling gatorade on their keyboard, then spraying windex to clean it, and then wonder why their computer won't boot up anymore...

since my topic pertains to a fairly "outdated" piece of technology...i'm interested in seeing how the product has held up over the last year or so. reading a thread from "back in the day" isn't really helpful.

and i completely agree w/ you that a lot of ppl complain mostly because they don't know how to properly configure their systems.

back on topic....

i've noticed that a lot of ppl w/ Linksys routers have the most problems w/ this card. in my experience w/ drivers, i've noticed that sometimes the newest driver is not always the best. so it's those little tidbits that i actually "search" for instead, that help me out.

i've been using Belkin G router/pcmcia adapter/usb adapter/desktop wifi cards for years now and am very pleased w/ it.

does anyone else use Belkin?

i decided to grab one of these because it's a hell of a lot more affordable than Atheros ones, but if i find it to really suck....then i'll consider making the switch. Atheros just seem so hard to come by.

anyway, thx for all your replies to my lazy ass...

anyone else w/ more insight, please keep postin'.

Edo

alright.

i went ahead and ordered the Intel PRO/2200BG mini wifi card and placed it in the laptop.

i connected the antenna to the "Main" port.

when it restarts, i can see the front wifi on/off button blink blue (which it's never done before) then goes into windows.

so i thought I was on the right track and this internal wifi would finally work.

but after installing the provided drivers that came w/ the card, it still says "There is no Intel supported card found in the system"...?? Windows does not even see the card installed to try to even install drivers for it.

i've pressed the front on/off button, but nothing happens at all, the LED does not come or even make a "bleep" sound.

so now I'm wondering if the mini pci slot or that wifi on/off button has never worked to begin w/?

could someone please, help me out on this matter? Tell me what I can do to get this internal wifi card to work.

i am pretty sure the card is not defective, and it was brand new...still sealed when i received it.

i've read other people w/ other brands of laptops, i.e. HP's, have difficulty using this particular card as well, they say that the HP has a bios lock out feature that prevents people from using aftermarket cards, etc...until they do a bios update or something.

could that be the same case as mine?

is there a driver that i'm missing to control the pci functionality on that laptop or is it simply plug and play when it comes to adding a card in?

you guys will be my heroes if you can help me get this to work...

Thanks.

Edo

Mitac 8355 model. it's about 20months old now, and when i got the thing, the internal wifi did not work, after talking to tech they gave me like a $30 credit, so i went and bought a pcmcia network card and have had no problems w/ that...

back then i was still under warranty, so i didn't bother opening it up to see if it even had a card installed....well it did, so i thought the card was just doa. but unfortunately this new card isn't working either, so something tells me it's gotta be the connection from the pci slot to the mobo....but i can't figure out how to know for sure to test if it's a dead slot...

i've already emailed my tech guys to ask this, and waiting to see if they are aware of this.

on Intels site they say to get approval first before using this product, and the tech guys said it would be compatible....

unfortunately, the only reply i got from them was to "just call them."

which leaves little to be desired.

i haven't called them since the first week i bought the laptop when something didn't work, and they just told me to go buy something that "did work".

pretty much any problems that came up in the past 20 months, i've fixed myself.

except this.

i was hoping someone on this forum would have some insight as to what the problem could be, or at least point me in the right direction.