Here's the deal: I bought a laptop today. Didn't like how it came from the factory so I formatted it and installed my own copy of XP (looking back, probably should have left it...). Anyways, I've gotten everything to work except for the wireless LAN connection thingy that's built in to the computer. It is supposedly a Broadcom unit, if that helps. When I ran the installation that Acer provides via their website, I had no problems. But checking my device manager it tells me that the Network Controller is there but it doesn't know what it is and has no drivers for it. Every time I try to install the drivers afterwards. I get an error message that says "Error 1598" and that setup cannot continue. I have no idea what to do at this point! I made the recovery discs as soon as I powered up the computer for the first time as it suggests so I can go back to factory default, but I would really like to try and get this working if at all possible. Thanks in advance!
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
One option:
Check on any specs that came with the laptop. Google the model number of the Broadcom and search for drivers.
Another:
Go to your device manager and open up the unknown network controller. Go to the "Details" tab and Google based on what (or parts of what) shows up in the big white square area.
At the very least that could give you a model number to work with for option one.
Posted by Chris (Member # 71) on :
I've downloaded drivers from the Broadcom website and Windows says they didn't work.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"It is supposedly a Broadcom unit, if that helps."
No. In fact, in informational value it's roughly equivalent to saying that the needle in the haystack is made of metal. My crystal sphere just happens to be down for maintenance, though, so your best bet might be to invest in a really big magnet.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I'd open the case and look. But that depends on how comfortable you are doing so. Laptops aren't designed to be user-serviceable, at least not to the degree that PCs are. You might have trouble getting it back together, or god forbid break something (like I did the first time I ever opened a laptop and snapped the plastic that held the battery in place. OOps).
Posted by Chris (Member # 71) on :
Well I ended up wiping it again and putting the factory image back and it works fine now. The Acer folks basically told me that unless I have their version of XP installed things won't work.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
A bit late, but that seems unlikely.
It seems more likely that they will "just" refuse to support anything but their version of Windows XP, not that the part will physically be unable to work otherwise.
Posted by Chris (Member # 71) on :
Oh I'm sure the part would work fine, but the hassle in trying to find the driver or get it from Acer just doesn't seem worth it, y'know? Especially seeing as how when I checked the drivers for the Acer XP version, it appears as though the required drivers are part of Windows.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I've recently switched to a Netgear wireless ADSL router; however, my laptop is my work one and doesn't have wireless. I'm also thinking about pinching one of our retired laptops for my own use - but again, being at least a couple of years old now, anything I get will likely not have wireless either.
So I'm thinking of getting a wireless adapter for a laptop. I've seen them in both PCMCIA and USB versions, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either?
Obviously there are pros and cons. A USB one would mean that it could be used in a desktop PC as well, but how reliable are they (I've had some problems with USB peripherals of late)? Mind you, my sister-in-law is currently living in her parents' attic and uses a USB adapter to share their broadband, and runs a business from that PC, so I guess it must be pretty reliable. And PCMCIA cards aren't without their faults, too. . .
Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :
It's a pain when you do a fresh install of a new OS into a laptop since the laptop's factory OS is customized for the brand. I learned this with going from XP Home to Pro on a Sony Vaio back in 2001. When I got my Gateway in '04, I just said f*ck it and got Pro loaded.
Posted by LOA (Member # 49) on :
Lee~
I've used both types of adapters. On my last laptop, I had a Netgear PCMICA adapter, and I loved it. I never had any problems with it, and it always stayed securely in place.
On my boyfriend's laptop, he traded in the exact same PCMICA adapter for a USB one of another brane (I can't remember....) because he wanted something less bulky. They both seem to preform the same, though I don't like the software that came with the USB adapter as well. That's a branding thing though. One thing I don't like about the USB adapter is that it just seems like it's loose all the time... it wiggles a lot.
If I had to choose, I'd get the PCMICA card. But that's just me.
Posted by keith brey (Member # 1929) on :
hey...i beat the stupid acer crap... i did a format and clean install from windows xp disk and finally got the wireless to work..i had the same problems that you had...error 1598