Review on Cisco-Linksys WMP54G Wireless-G PCI Adapter: High-Speed Connectivity for Your Desktop by Michael Duman

I don't care that there are a lot of harsh warnings in the instructions and on the box that the software needs to be installed first. Do not do that. If you don't believe me, do yourself a favor and google it first. device, and then turn on the device. Numerous testimonials on the Internet indicate that this will lead to hardware failures and/or improper installation. Instead, the correct approach is to turn off first, then install hardware, then turn on, and then let Windows detect the device as new hardware. Windows will then ask for the CD and ONLY install the necessary core drivers (no buggy software). I just did it like this (on a clean install of WinXP Pro, Service Pack 2, no updates). Thirty seconds after I inserted the on-demand CD, I was done and reported available wireless networks via a tray popup. You can manage the device and its settings via Windows via the path "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel". , System Properties, Hardware (tab), Device Manager (button), Network Adapters (folder) . instead of using buggy LinkSys/Cisco software. Some posters have stated that this is indeed the solution that Linksys technical support staff found when called with installation issues. Apart from this failure, the device is unreservedly recommended. This is the second one I own. The first card is a version 1.0 card that I've used for years with no problems (it fits a Linksys/Cisco WRT54G version 2.0 router, an older black/blue version with two bunny ears sticking out of the back). , rather than the newer spaceship-style black version). I "tweaked" the hardware/software settings using foolproof free software (TCPOptimizer) that analyzes the current settings and makes changes to optimize them. This process greatly improved my speed/throughput/performance. Remember to back up your registry and create a restore point before running TCPOptimizer, just in case something goes wrong. By the way, the pictures for this product are not correct. These are images of a previous version where the map was "higher". Amazon. currently (09/2009) version 4.1 of this product is being delivered and the card is not very high quality at all. I'll upload the latest pictures here soon.