need to replace old wifi card, recommendations?

computer wont detect card. at all. in any way. installer wont install drivers unless card is detected.


UPDATE:
card seems to be dead on arrival, despite no physical damage to card or package, package was even still factory wrapped...

just got off the phone with their support hotline.... despite calling the USA-specific number they still had to ask me which country im calling from, the support tech, used the word "um" alot, and most likely was not a native english speaker... i also had to tell them that the card was NOT a usb wifi adatper, and was actually a pci express card, despite telling them the model number of the card when they asked me. they also told me to check device manager even though i told em at the start that it wouldnt even show up there.

their solution: contact the retailer and deal with them/send it back for another

after doing a little searching im apparently not the only person whos had issues with this card in particular.
not even gonna try to send it back, just not worth it

long story short. it would probably be best if you didnt recommend this card, or company anymore without some more research.

2 things.
1.) installing drivers for something that won't even show up in device manager is pointless. I checked every category.
2.) their driver installer won't even attempt driver installation if the card is not detected. Both the one on the disk (which was out of date anyways) and the one I got off their website

Ps. I don't fault the company for the dead on arrival card. Cuz shit happens, I know that (doesn't make it less frustrating though).

I DO, however, fault them for their utterly incompetent tech support... They tried to tell be to try plugging a PCI express card into a different USB port, despite the fact that if they had actuall checked the model number I gave them, when they specifically asked for it, that it is not a USB device. Now that I think about it, I actually should have counted the number of time ps I heard the person on the other end say"um" without even putting the phone down. Unprofessional IMO


part 2:


check the amazon reviews. granted only one person had the exact same issue that i had, but i was not the only one to have had issues with it.
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/product-reviews/B0079XWMEI/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_2?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&pageNumber=2&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending

seeing as you apparently did not open the spoiler box that i put my machine specs in, INCLUDING the operating system it runs, i will tell you now it runs windows 7 x64 fully up to date

i even tested the card on 2 other machines, one running widows xp the other also running windows seven. card didnt show up in device manager in either case.

as for just "reverting" back to win 7... thats an awful big assumption that somebody would have had win7 on the machine before, let alone have access to a legitimate win 7 install disk

im giving em one more chance. ive got a replacement card on the way, due monday. if that one has issues as well.. so be it. but if it works... it may prove that at least their hardware is good, even if the tech support isnt

The link I gave you was only displaying the 1 star reviews to price that I wasn't the only one that has had issues with that card.....


It's the same card. the description, picture, model number, and price all match, you did recommend the n900 correct? price tag around $40? (around $55 list price?) 3 antennas, pci express x1?

the one i ordered was the n900 pci express card list price: 54.99, with amazon prime discount: 39.99
+tax of course, my amzon order history also says i ordered the n900


its a multi selection page, on that same page, you can chose between the n150, n300 2t2r, n300 3t3r, n600, and the n900. the link wont change if you click on a different one, because it doesnt need to load a new page. the one i ordered was the n900 pci express card

there are indeed some negative reviews for the n900, though mostly it relates to driver issues

just realized i forgot to go into better detail as to how i figured the card was just dead, and that it wasnt just a driver issue.

first i tried doing exactly what the manual/booklet that came with the card said. to no results, this was when i found out the driver installer wouldnt install the drivers without detecting the card, this was also when i decided to check device manager just incase the detection software was faulty or something. the card did not show up in device manager under any catagory, as anything. then i remembered my BIOS was out of date, and went bout updating it (was 2 versions out of date) that didnt fix it either

finally i tracked down the driver files them selves from the disk and put them in the system32 folder (after making sure my recent ghost backup was nearby, just in case)

well, that didnt work either.
waited a few hours for my dad to get home so we tried it on 2 of his computers that had pci express x1 slots, one running windowx xp pro SP3 and the other running win 7. same results as i got with my computer.


thats how i came to the conclusion that the card was somehow dead on arrival, even though there was no discernible damage to the packaging or the card itself

after that i called Tp-link's usa specific hotline... i went through with all the things they asked, well, except for when they tried to tell me to plug the (PCI Express) card into a different USB port, not sure what that was about. everything else they asked i did exactly as they asked.

i realize ive been quite an ass to you, and im sorry, you dont deserve that, especially since you are trying to help, and i have no excuse for my earlier behavior.
i did indeed order the n900, (that is the one you were recommending right?)

first one was dead on arrival, the replacement is due to arrive tomorrow.

and i also realized i forgot to go into better detail as to how i figured the card was actually dead, and that it wasnt just a driver issue. (wall of text ahead)

first i tried doing exactly what the manual/booklet that came with the card said. to no results, this was when i found out the driver installer wouldnt install the drivers without detecting the card, this was also when i decided to check device manager just incase the detection software was faulty or something. the card did not show up in device manager under any catagory, as anything. then i remembered my BIOS was out of date, and went bout updating it (was 2 versions out of date) that didnt fix it either

finally i tracked down the driver files them selves from the disk that came with the card and put them in the system32 (after making sure my recent ghost backup to an external drive was nearby and ready, just in case)

well, that didnt work either.
waited a few hours for my dad to get home so we tried it on 2 of his computers that had pci express x1 slots, one running windowx xp pro SP3 and the other running win 7. same results as i got with my computer.


thats how i came to the conclusion that the card was somehow dead on arrival, even though there was no discernible damage to the packaging or the card itself

after that i called Tp-link's usa specific hotline... i went through with all the things they asked, well, except for when they tried to tell me to plug the (PCI Express) card into a different USB port, not sure what that was about. everything else they asked i did exactly as they asked.

as i said above, ive decided not to give up on tp-link because of a card that could have been dead for any number of reasons beyond their control. the replacement card is due to arrive monday.