Realtek RTL 8187 Wireless with Vista

[lastrider04]

Hi, It's been a long time, but I'm back with a problem, well more of an annoyance.

Basically I have a new PC, with a ASUS P5N32-Sli Premium Mo-Bo. I have vista running on the system all and well... however there is a little quirk which is really becoming quite annoying.

Basically the Mo-Bo comes with ASUS WIFI AP SOLO. On vista it shows up as "Realtek RTL8187 Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps USB 2.0" I've tried installing the Drivers from separate websites but with no luck... On Device Manager either it shows up with unknown device at other times it will not function properly and will have the yellow icon with the explanation mark.

I've tried installing the driver from Windows Update however the driver update for the device fails. Also now when trying to install the drivers manually I usually get this message: "The name is already in use either as a service name or a service display name." If I try uninstalling the device from device manager then retry the drivers, I get the same error message.

The drivers I have tried are from both the ASUS website under the above Mo-Bo and also the Realtek site. No luck...

There is however a temporary fix, If I try installing the software for WIFI AP SOLO off the Mo-Bo CD under Windows XP S2 compatibility, the PC seems to recognize the Wireless Network Card and is functioning normally.

However there is bad news. First of all, it can only connect to an open encryption network... I have tried WPA PSK TKIP however it only connects for about 10-20 mins then disconnects. (After this Windows can't even connect to an open encryption network... or any other, even after a restart, both PC and Router. Usually the only thing I can do is uninstall and then re-install the drivers from CD) Second of all, what I mentioned earlier... for usually some unknown reason the network card stops working even though the green light on the card can be seen, it just can't simply find any networks in range, if there is an open network, sometimes it may find it, although Vista can never connect. The only thing I can do to get it functioning is re-installing off the CD again.

I've searched and searched for a solution, and frankly I'm just exausted and about to give up

Any input/help much appreciated, thanks in advance.

Regards.

 

[lastrider04]

P.S. Sorry to double post. Just remembered more details if needed, running on x86... if that helps

OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Business
Version 6.0.6000 Build 6000
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name MY-DESKTOP-PC
System Manufacturer System manufacturer
System Model System Product Name
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz, 2400 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N32-SLI PREMIUM ACPI BIOS Revision 0503, 18/10/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6000.16386

 

[linney]

See if any of these are similar?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...+Realtek+RTL8187+Wireless+802.11g&btnG=Search

http://groups.google.com/groups?um=...WIFI+AP+SOLO+Realtek+RTL8187+Wireless+802.11g

 

[lastrider04]

Nope, no luck I'm afraid.

 

[linney]

Is it a new PC you built yourself or is there some Warranty fall-back for you.

Have you thought about that the Wireless Network Card may just be faulty, maybe purchasing a new one will solve the identification crisis and give you piece of mind you deserve?

Did your machine come pre-installed with Vista? Why do you have to use the Compatibility Mode of XP SP2?


Name already in use.

http://www.tamos.com/products/commwifi/faq.php#q50

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...+a+service+display+name"+wireless&btnG=Search

http://groups.google.com/groups?um=...vice+name+or+a+service+display+name"+wireless

Wireless Network card keeps losing connection (router is ok)
thread779-1134080

 

[lastrider04]

OK, I've searched some more, and simply I just believe either its a faulty device or problems with the drivers. After contacting ASUS they assure me that its most probably drivers since there are only a few stable drivers for vista.

Now I have come to the conclusion that the device simply doesn't get rid of or clean up old drivers and leaving them on the system. Hence "The name is already in use either as a service name or a service display name."

Also when uninstalling and re-installing the device I usually get a pop up asking if I wish to install new hardware under the name of "Realtek RTL 8187 Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps USB 2.0 Network Adapter #42" Now in reference to the "#42" obviously the system isn't uninstalling the drivers correctly and thus is probably causing the clash. Even after a few restarts the same applies.

So now I'm going ahead with the following:

http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=823771

Though this is intended for XP and 2003, I'm pretty sure the same applies to vista.

However there is one problem, I'm not quite sure what service name the device/drivers come under. Since a couple of different drivers have been used I can't seem to find the realtek service on regedit.

Any help on this much appreciated, Thanks

P.S. Is it not possible to find the service name in the .inf file for the driver? If anyone can point me to where I should be looking I'd be very grateful.

 

[lastrider04]

By Jove, I think he's got it!

Did the above, yep, that was the problem. The services came under the names of rtlprot and rtlwusb.

After getting rid of those and a restart, installing the drivers, it works perfectly. No drop outs yet, and PSK TKIP works a charm too.

The only problem is, Windows Update still has a driver for it which fails to install, However I think or believe I have the best driver atm. So I'm happy.

Thanks for all your input. Cheers

 

[linney]

Permanently "Hide" the Windows Update, driver offer. WU "drivers" have killed more machines than I care to mention. The only thing they seem to drive, is the user mad!