Netbook Network

I recently purchased a wireless network adapter for my desktop PC, as I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having a 100 foot cable running through the house just to get Internet access. The adapter is plug and play with Windows 7, but the manufacturer provides special drivers for the adapter. As it turns out, the Windows 7 default drivers caused the adapter to stop working every now and then, even if I tried over and over again to install the specific drivers. The key to fixing this is removing the default drivers and then installing the specific ones, and here’s how its done.

The mistake I made while installing the drivers for the wireless adapter was that I plugged it in first before installing the device specific drivers. Once you’ve plugged in a device that Windows can’t find a specific driver for, it simply whips on a generic driver that hopefully works. In the case that it doesn’t, you’re in trouble: Windows might override every attempt to use device specific drivers and continue to use the generic drivers instead.

Thankfully, there’s a way to stop having Windows apply the generic drivers every time you boot up your system. In the Device Manager (which can be accessed via the Start menu search), look for the device you want to install specific drivers for. Right Click and view Properties to view the device’s properties and information, as shown in the image above. Head over to the Driver tab, and click “Uninstall” to remove the generic drivers for the device.

If you have the specific drivers for your device (typically found on the manufacter’s homepage), remove the device from your PC. Install the drivers, and if prompted, plug in the device during or after the installation.

At this point, the device should be using only the specific device drivers you just installed. If you get a New Hardware Found popup after a restart and Windows fails to find proper drivers for your device, try reinstalling the device drivers.