Making ME Wireless: Belkin's USB Wireless G Adapter
Written: Jan 15 '07
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Installation: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
|
|
|
Pros: inexpensive, stable, and reliable; runs under older versions of Windows
Cons: hinky install (though that may just be ME)
The Bottom Line: Getting our old computer on the network was quick and simple with Belkin's USB Wirelss G Adapter - even it is is running Windows ME!
|
|
|
| scmrak's Full Review: Belkin Wireless G USB (F5D7050) Network Adapter |
Warm air rises, which means that there are times when our attic (the residence of our backup desktop computer) is one of the warmest places in the house. That's probably why the Ms decided last fall that she'd take a dog or two upstairs and do her take-home word processing and spreadsheet work 'way up in the sky. Which, of course, raised a little problem: I said offline - what if she wanted to do online work? The answer was obvious: a wireless adapter for the attic desktop. Since it's our backup (meaning "the one we replaced a couple of years ago") it's neither particularly powerful nor is it running the latest OS. In fact, the 933 Mhz Compaq is running the world's worst OS; Windows ME (run away! run away!) What to do… what to do…
First, I had to choose either a desktop card or use a wireless USB adapter. I opted for the USB adapter so I could move it to another computer at a later date if necessary. Second, I had to find a Wireless G USB adapter that clearly stated it was compatible with Windows ME (I know better than to assume). I looked at half a dozen over at the BigBox stores, and of the few that claimed ME compatibility, the best bargain was a Belkin Wireless USB Adapter (F5D7050). Third, I had to install it… and it works. Hooray.
Up Front: To install Belkin's F5D7050 wireless adapter on your desktop computer or laptop, you’ll need this minimum configuration: PC running Windows XP, 2000, or ME at 300MHz or faster; CD-ROM drive; 64MB of free disk space; at least one USB port (supports USB 1.1 or 2.0). Notes: Instructions for installing the adapter under Windows Vista are available on Belkin's website – not an issue with a computer than can't even be upgraded to XP. FWIW, the card is not compatible with Mac or Linux systems (there may be open-source drivers for Linux – check the usual sources).
What’s included: The F5D7050 is a dark gray rounded rectangle about 2-1/2 inches tall by an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick. The USB male plug is covered by a cap that can be stowed on the opposite end when the adapter is in use. Belkin ships the F5D7050 with a stand on a three-foot cable that plugs into a USB slot; a printed quick-install guide; and a CD-ROM containing installation instructions, user manual, and drivers/software. The adapter is in a vertical position when placed in the stand; it can also be plugged directly into a USB slot like a flash drive, although it projects so far from the CPU that it seems it would be easily bumped unless on the back of the CPU.
Installation: First, install the software and drivers (if necessary), then physically hook the adapter into a USB slot (using the desktop stand if desired). Windows will finish the installation process and, depending on the OS version, require a system reboot. Once the adapter is installed, Belkin's utility program allows you to select and acquire a wireless signal
Specifications: The F5D7050 uses the IEEE 802.11g standard on the 2.4GHz band, though it is backward-compatible with access points running the 802.11b standard. This adapter has a nominal throughput of 54 Mbps (on an 802.11g network). It will run (at the rated 11 Mbps) on an 802.11b network, but doesn’t access the 5GHz band or support the 802.11a standard. Note: In order to attain the maximum 54 Mbps rate with an 802.11g system, the adapter must be routed through a USB 2.0 port.
The F5D7050 has a green LED that displays a steady light to indicate an active link or a blinking activity light to indicate that the adapter's searching for a signal. When there’s no connection, the LED is dark.
Security: The F5D7050 supports 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption and WPA (PSK-mode) protocols, using 802.1x authentication..
Range: Rated indoors for 100 meters (328 feet), outdoors for 400 meters (1312 feet) – numbers are IEEE 802.11g standards, not the card’s limitations.
Living with the F5D7050: Installation took me two tries, which seems to be pretty much par for the course whenever I install anything on that cussed Windows ME (run away! run away!). After I completed the installation, the LAN Monitor Utility icon appeared in the tray, and I was off and running (after entering my WEP key, of course). I was able to tap into my G wireless network in the house from the Linksys WRT54G running on the Dell two floors below and a room to the side (perhaps thirty feet and three walls/floors). The tray icon shows red when there's no connection and blue when it's on; handy if your adapter happens to be plugged into the back of the CPU instead of standing on the desktop in plain sight.
Belkin's LAN utility is a click away and it's been easy to use, albeit a little crude-looking. Even though we routinely unplug the adapter from its stand when the attic computer isn't in use (you have any idea how hard it is to find a firewall for Windows ME?), the only time we've had trouble getting back on the network is when we had power failures and everything in the house was hosed – the router reset itself to factory defaults, believe it or not.
The manual (a pdf version on the installation CD-ROM) is an improvement over the manual for the D-Link DWL-G650 on our laptop (yes, the two of us have three computers… we also have three cars). It contains a better-than-average troubleshooting section, and even a little introduction to wireless technology.
Bottom Line? With rebates and sale prices, I got a USB adapter that's plenty fast for that aging computer and it only cost about $35. It might have been a little hinky to install, but it's proven more stable than my laptop adapter and just as reliable. I'm fine with that.
The other wireless components:
D-link AirPlus Xtreme® G DWL-G650 (109419) 802.11g/b Wireless Adapter
Linksys WRT54G 802.11g 54M Wireless-G Router
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35
Driver Availability: Windows only
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.