Close but no cigar - yet (Helllllp!) [View all]

[IrishAyes]

UPDATE: When I checked things over this morning, Devices and Printers tells me the wireless lan (802.11, I think) now has the latest driver. So that's no longer the problem. But when I click on the computer icon in Devices and Drivers and then click on the wireless lan in the dropdown box, it says this device doesn't work, error 10 whatever that is. Hope it doesn't mean I bought a turkey.
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A friend offered to save me a good bit of $ by letting me piggyback on his wireless. He lives just across the alley from me and his reputable employer, who keeps an open system for some unfathomable reason, is just across the street from him. I know he has a powerful signal. So I bought a highly touted external usb signal booster with 2 antennas and plugged it in, thinking I was ready to go.

When pigs fly. Thankfully the Signal King booster requires no external power source and it appeared on my hard drive the instant I plugged it in. Then the trouble started - the two mini-installation disks don't work, and further research showed they don't offer a driver anyway. After searching for a suitable driver for my Win7 OS what seemed like forever, I finally found an updated one and downloaded it. Ran the Win wizard and did everything possible, including an attempt at manual discovery, but do you think Windows has YET recognized and absorbed it to usefulness? Again - all together now - when pigs fly.

By the time I finally threw in the towel last night, my eyes were crossed from exhaustion and stress. I even got desperate enough to try dropping a copy of the driver onto the wireless lan icon, which of course didn't work. I don't want to return the booster because according to supposedly independent reviews on Amazon, it's fantastic when installed properly, which everyone seems to have trouble doing. Also, by the time I did return it and got something else to try, which also might present problems, my present internet account would have rolled over into the next billing month, and I'm trying to beat that deadline. The phone company doesn't prorate.

If anyone can tell me how to make Win7 (32-bit) swallow that driver deep enough for the signal booster to accept it, I'd be eternally grateful. Don't know what else to say. There's one computer guy in this remote little town where I retired, and frankly, I think he knows less than I. I can't help anyone in this group with computer questions, because believe me I'm nowhere near that level of expertise. If you want to know how to train horses or dogs or decorate on a dime, I'm your contact. Otherwise, don't take my tech advice about anything. Best I can do is to promise to make a donation to your favorite charity - as soon as I get out from under the phone company's thumb.

Here's the link to the Amazon page where I bought it:

http://www.amazon.com/Signal-Wireless-Adaptor-Antenna-150Mbps/dp/B007M7RP6Q/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1

Just in case that inspires anyone.