Blimmin' Wireless Router

[Workingman]

Sorry Ooj, I went out. I am so glad you sorted out Mars, you clever Venusian you.

Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason as to why compuerrouterdongleusb things fail to work. They just do.

It had to be simple, I just didn't know what it was when I left.

[Oojamaflip]

You're very patient and kind WM, and your help/input is always gratefully received. I hate them Christmas smilies and so please imagine an ordinary ((( hug ))) xx

[Suff]

Ooja, it sounds like the driver for the wifi stick did not correctly reinstall when you put it into another usb port. Yes putting it back in the original will just enable the driver, already installed, again. Which works.

The best way to deal with this, if you have to, is to uninstall the driver completely and start again. But as you have it fixed then it should be OK.

Busy weekend. Sorry was tearing half the kitchen out, making new units, lugging ovens and dishwashers about and generally wrecking myself...

[Oojamaflip]

Suff, do you hire yourself out as a handyman? Mrs Suff is very fortunate in her choice of hubby. We've just completed three years of home improvements and had to pay every step of the way. But we're done now, and it's a blessed relief to no longer have 'men' around.

The best way to deal with this, if you have to, is to uninstall the driver completely and start again.

I shall remember that for another time. Thanks. But uninstalling a driver is not the same as uninstalling a programme? Or have I got that wrong? I've learnt from this that one USB port is not as good as another once you've got your machine to talk to some particular hardware.

[Workingman]

No, you are right, Ooj. You can uninstall a driver and get a new one, if available, using Device Manager - in all Windows versions. Drivers and Programs are different things.

To uninstall a program in Win7 you use Programs and Features or Add/Remove Programs in older versions - XP and previous.

USB can be a bit of a pain at times - it does not always work as intended. My printer is on an external USB hub on port 3. If I connect it to another port Windows does not always 'see' it and it asks to install it, but if I put it back on port 3 the mapping accepts it and all is well. If I use a different hub I have no problems.

[Suff]

Suff, do you hire yourself out as a handyman? Mrs Suff is very fortunate in her choice of hubby. We've just completed three years of home improvements and had to pay every step of the way. But we're done now, and it's a blessed relief to no longer have 'men' around.

The best way to deal with this, if you have to, is to uninstall the driver completely and start again.

I shall remember that for another time. Thanks. But uninstalling a driver is not the same as uninstalling a programme? Or have I got that wrong? I've learnt from this that one USB port is not as good as another once you've got your machine to talk to some particular hardware.

Dear me, no, I hire myself out as a very expensive IT consultant so that I can keep Mrs S in the lifestyle to which she would love to become accustomed.....

Removing drivers is best done at the device manager.

All current versions Control Panel->hardware and Sound->Device manager.

For wifi cards they are Networking devices. When it is plugged into the USB Port, open the networking section, identify your wifi card, right click on the device and select to uninstall. If it is the last instance of the device, it will give you a checkbox allowing you to remove the driver software so that you have to reinstall it from the original driver or windows update.

If you have installed the device into multiple usb ports, go to View and select Hidden Devices. Go back to the networking section and it will show every instance of that wifi card you have installed. Then you can remove all of them whether the usb stick is connected or not. It's easier than plugging it into every port and then uninstalling the software again.

I've had to do this a few times. I've also had to uninstall and reinstall the USB ports themselves, which is really annoying.

WM, I have a USB port on my work laptop which, from time to time, refuses to recognise my Logitech mouse/keyboard wireless transmitter. I have to disable and re-enable the specific usb hub in order to get it to work again, given that I am reboot shy. I sometimes go for weeks without rebooting my work laptop, which is a trial in windows XP....

[Oojamaflip]

Gentlemen: WM and Suff, as always, you're both stars and both appreciated. Thank you.

xx