I don’t even know why I called Linksys’ “tech support” in the first place. I guess I was pretty desperate. Have I not learned nothing over the years? After finding nothing but people who are having the same problems as me and not getting any answers from Linksys, I decided to try to figure it out.
The issue that I was having (as well as all those other people) was that the WUSB54GC would drop connection. For some people it was random. For me, it was when I downloaded large amounts of data. I couldn’t visit Google Maps or Google Images. If I’d open a few websites in seperate tabs, depending on how much content each site had, I’d dropped connection. Of course going to Linksys was a waste of time. They haven’t updated the drivers since 1/2007. Don’t even get me started with the phone support.
I did some digging around and I must have overlooked this before. The WUSB54GC uses the chipset created by Ralink Technology. Using this site I found out the WUSB54GC uses the Ralink RT2501USB chipset.
- Go here and download the USB (RT257x/RT2671) drivers
- Run the executable which will install everything to C:\Program Files\RALINK
- Open up the Device Manager, expand Network Adapters and double-click to open the properties of your Linksys WUSB54GC
- Click on the “Driver” tab and “Update Driver”
- Select “Browse my computer for driver software”
- Select “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”
- Click “Have Disk” and browse to “C:\Program Files\RALINK\RT7x Wireless LAN Card” and select netr73.inf and click “OK”
- Pick 2L (Conceptronic) and install the version you want. I installed 3.1.1.0.
- You will get a warning saying that he driver isn’t signed or recognized, but install it anyway.
- You should drop your connection and get it back.
The latest version on the Linksys site is 3.0.1.0 and now you’re running 3.1.1.0. So far I haven’t had a single drop or any issues.
Update (4/15/08): I recently upgraded my PC and installed Vista Business x64 Edition. I went through the steps here as listed, and was able to get the device connected again with no problems.
Caution: Oh, if you destroy any hardware and/or software on your computer, I’m not responsible. Do this at your own caution. I had no issues, but that doesn’t mean you won’t.
Thanks, it did work. I couldn’t download more than about 6MB quickly with the Linksys drivers. Doing exactly what you said to allowed me to download large files again!
Glad it worked for you.
I don’t get why Linksys won’t release an update, but oh well.
Actually, this might not be the best solution. I’ve been encoding some videos in x264 today, and it crashed 3 times — BSOD, reboot, and then Intel Matrix controller wants to check my array each time (a BSOD is best to be avoided).
So, I noticed that each time in the event viewer before there was a ‘The last shutdown was unexpected’ entry there was an ‘Application fault in RaUI.exe’ entry. RaUI is of course part of the RaLink drivers.
Doing what you did, I tried to find another solution. My solution was the Belkin F5D7050 v3xxx drivers. I’ve downloaded >350MB since I started typing this post, so it seems to be working. No idea if it crashes less, or if the crashing was an x264 - Vista problem — I doubt it’s my overclock since that’s been stable since July @ 2.93GHz [8×367] (Core2 E4300, 1.8GHz stock) and 975MHz RAM (DDR2-1066 spec).
Here’s what I did:
Downloaded http://www.belkin.com/support/article/?lid=en&pid=f5d7050&aid=5381&scid=223&fid=2772&fn=f5d7050v3_vista_1.0.0.2_02052007.exe these drivers (belkin -> support -> networking products -> client adapters -> F5D7050 -> Software & Updates -> Drivers -> v3xxx Vista Beta driver from 2/19/07)
from device manager, uninstall the driver you have (select device, uninstall, select delete drivers).
run the belkin setup exe, accept the uncertified driver box, plugin the adapter. it will try to find a driver, probably can’t.
device manager, select the device, click update driver. do like above from this point, except you want to go to c:\program files\belkin\f5d7050\vista driver; I selected the Belkin Wireless G USB Adapter (Ralink). There were 2 of them with the same name, which is odd, but I chose the top one, whatever difference it makes.
BTW, at 730MB downloaded.
Either solution works. All you need to do is remove the RaUI.exe from loading at startup.
Though, I haven’t had a single crash and/or problem since I installed the drivers outlined in this article.
It’s just a matter of finding the drivers for the chip, so however you go about that is fine.
Agreed, though the Belkin drivers do not install RaUI.exe, whereas the RaLink drivers would.
Should probably add if anyone were to try going from the Linksys to the RaLink drivers and then try Belkin, please uninstall the RaLink and Linksys drivers and reboot, unplug the adapter and install the Belkin drivers. You’ll probably have to force the driver install (Have Disk… type of install), though.
Thanx for the info
Last week I was really struggling with this problem, especially with bittorent, and almost returned it as defect (bought it last week as “vista compatible”). after installing the ralink driver i’ve been downloading 2 gig aprox and no issues arised anymore.
Thx again!
Bundy
Holland
I have a Atheros AR5005G adapter
so i just went to device manager and went to properties on my wireless adapter after that i just asked it to update the driver and search for it over the internet.
it did that and installed it
after that i am having no more problems (at least for now)
Thank you for that information. I have the same issue for several time and linksys driver dont resolve the problem.
It was strange because my lantop worked well with the wifi. Is a WUSB54 problem i vista but after many search i couldnt resolve it. I was giving up…
I found ur usefull article. Many thxs!!
Luis
I was wondering why I kept losing connection, even with my static settings.
trying these out now.
and a little tip for some that don’t know: setting up your connection to use a static ip will reduce your number of drop outs as well, as you’re no longer needing to renew your ip lease.
I solve my problem.
Found a little program that fix the auto search wired lans in vista.
It works for me.
http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/
Hope it helps.
Luis
Above Not wired
Wireless!!
back with a minor review.
they work. much better than linksys’ version. if you have this adapter, are running vista, and have this problem, then this is your fix
I just bought one of these and I can’t get the other computer to connect to the internet at all. I’ve tried everything that I can think of. You are right… Linksys telephone support was no help. I’ve installed and uninstalled and reinstalled and upgraded the firmware for the router. I can’t ping the router either. I’d try your fix if I could get on line in there.
maybe you can uninstall the hardware through device manager and restart the computer. The computer will automatically install the hardware and download the latest driver to run the program.
I was having trouble with my sound card and i uninstalled and installed back again and it is working fine. My wireless problem was solved by manually updating the driver through the properties.
I am having no problems with my internet connection after i updated the driver issue.
hope this helps!
how do you connect with no nic… why offer advice on a sound card driver issue. and for the record, ms drivers are normally severely out-dated. maybe that’s improved, but I don’t think so…
hey tracy, just burn the driver to cd or put it on a flash drive with the pc you used to make that post. if you need, copy the instructions to a txt file and take it with you.
“make life simple, not simpler.”
-albert einstein
DO you know a driver that can run on linux?
I am having the same problem but i am using Windows XP with the service pack 2. I set the Linksys WUSB54GC up through the linksys setup and then installing it through windows and using the WZO config and i keep geting kicked off every 10 to 20 mins, which if you were searching the web it wouldnt be a problem but i play war craft and it is a pain in the ass if you play an online game that need a constant connection. I have tried downloading allot of different drivers but nothing seems to work. If someone has a solution i would greatly appreciate it, thank you.
i ment WZC as in Windows Zero Configuration
I also tried to follow your instruction but I am not quite sure what to do here:
“Pick 2L (Conceptronic) and install the version you want. I installed 3.1.1.0.”
Where do I find this 2L (Conceptonic)? I googled and googled without any helpful result.
There is even another problem…in case of installing the Ralink Driver I always get the message that no Ralink WLAN Device was found
.
Even after the reboot.
Maybe someone could help me
?
Thx and greatz from Austria
SUPERB! Genius!
Thanks alot.. i’ve been strugling with this problem for a long time…
I am having the same problems on Windows XP - dropped connections, low signal strength, slowdowns etc when other wireless access cards on laptops in the same room have no problem.
the current XP driver information from Linksys is:
Product: WUSB54GC
Classification: Driver Release History
————————————————————————–
Last Released Date: 12 / 28 / 05
————————————————————————-
Last Driver version: 1.0.2.0 (Windows XP, 2K, Me and 98SE)
Last Setup Wizard version: 1.1
Last WLAN Monitor version: 1.1
—————–
Can I download the RaLink driver dated 10/26/2007 (USB RT257xRT2671) and use this on Win XP?
Julian: if you’re using ubuntu, google “ndiswrapper ubuntu”. there are a few guides out there. if you use any other flavor of linux just replace the name in the search.
Jay: I will say yes, as it says so on their site.
At Last Thanks to u , now i got the cursed pen working.
Hey Guys,
I’ve been having the same disconnect issue on Vista Home Basic…it looks like you tracked down a fix here, but I do not have the “Have Disk” option at any point as the original post dictates. All I get is a path directory to put in, and when I do, Vista Home Basic doesn’t recognize the Belkin or the RALINK driver in the folder as legit.
Anyone run into this? Any ideas?
Hey guys , tried the link to the belkin driver, dl it then installed, tried to update driver and thats when things looked different.
joex444 said,
“c:\program files\belkin\f5d7050\vista driver; I selected the Belkin Wireless G USB Adapter (Ralink). There were 2 of them with the same name, which is odd, but I chose the top one, whatever difference it makes.”
when i pointed to that folder there was only 1 driver in there that was not compatable with my devise.
i had a similar problem with the ralink driver in the first reply, am i doing something wrong?
It works perfectly for me in Vista Home Premium (x86) using the driver from Linksys.
But in XP (both SP2 and SP3, on the same computer as Vista), it is a b*tch. It won’t let my computer go into standby or hibernation mode (freezes at the “Preparing to stand by…” screen). It randomly drops connections, or doesn’t connect at all. When I try to repair the connection, it freezes at “Disabling the network adapter…” and when I try to connect (if it finds my network) it freezes on “Waiting for the network…”
Now this is a fully updated XP SP3 and a never-updated XP SP2. And the same problem happens in both.
The 33 MB download from Ralink is taking an hour to download.. I took the driverpart out of the package, which is available for download at http://www.cleaninstall.nl/drivers
Grtz,
Mark
Tried your steps and was successful. It’s very had to find Vista x64 support for wireless adapters but your route of measure definitely did the trick, thanks.
Those Linksys guys are amazing
This problem with the wireless adapter is well-known to them. Everyone seems to be having problems with the connection droppping. However, they just don’t care.
I, too, have started ripping my hairs out because the connection freezes every 20-30 minutes. When surfing the web it’s okay, but when it happens while playing TF2 is really boring.
Found this page while googling and thought maybe I’d be able to solve my problem.
But in Windows XP(sp 3) it doesn’t seem to work. I tried what joex444 said but the driver isn’t accepted by Windows. What version of the driver on Belkin’s page should I use?
Thanks
Hey all.
Looks like I finally managed to solve my problem alone
I posted the solution over at the Linksys forum, so you can check it out there:
http://forums.linksys.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=Wireless_Adapters&thread.id=17946
Unfortunately(and not surprisingly) they edited my message removing those not-very-flattering words I had for Linksys. Whatever makes them happy
Anyway, at least now everybody has a solution if they are using these adapters: using XP 32 or 64bit, Vista 32 or 64bit, there are *working* drivers for them!
Thanks for the workaround. I tried to install the version you used but it didn’t work, newer update driver worked perfectly though.
Hi, i would like to know if i can use the same driver to this device with Windows-XP 64, and i can´t use it. Could u tell which should use?
THX!
Check this page out:
it has the link for downloading the driver for xp 64 bits. Try it out!
http://forums.linksys.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=Wireless_Adapters&thread.id=2699&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
Many thanks for all the info, I’m currently working 8000 miles from home and my built in wifi on my laptop has just died. This Linksys piece of junk was the only USB Wifi stick I could get, and then found it doesn’t work properly with the default drivers. Now thanks to you lot it does. If you were all here I would buy you all a beer!!
gre
at
I performed the required steps and came to an abrupt ending as I’m not able to see the netr73.inf file within that specified directory.
I also encountered problems with the netr73.inf file. After some searching, I found the file on softpedia and installed with that .inf file. It works perfectly now. The below link is for the missing .inf file.
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/NETWORK-CARD/OTHER-NETWORK-CARDS/Linksys-WUSB54GC-Wireless-G-USB-Compact-USB-Network-Adapter-Driver-3010-Vista.shtml
Joshua,
I was having the same problem with the driver netr73.inf file within that specified directory being missing. I went to softpedia and downloaded the driver. When I went to update the driver, my computer said that it was not compatible with Vista 64. Any advice?
Great, my parents bought a new pc for this problem
and now i read this it’s just the damn stick:p well the old system will be a great addition for my win3.11 collection
and btw thx for sorting this out!
Hey, thanks a lot for this. I’ve been using it since I got Vista (when it first came out.)
I found though, that Ralink updated their files, and the one you linked to doesn’t place the netr.inf file in C:\Program Files…etc. anymore. [For me] Instead, I found it at C:\ProgramData\Ralink Driver\RT7x Wireless LAN Card\Driver.
It’s quite weird it does that, but hey, I’m connected again. ¡Muchas gracias, mi amigo!
I cant make it driver.
pleace xp 64 bit driver
Tolga wrote:
Tolga, if you check this link there are all the drivers for XP and Vista, both 32 AND 64 bits.
http://forums.linksys.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=Wireless_Adapters&thread.id=2699&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it with ?we leave it to you to decide?.
Hey wouldn’t it be better to get the 2500 drivers not the 257x drivers, would it not be a closer chipset?
Hi all,
Thanks to this post I was able to get my wusb54gc v1, device ID USB\VID_13B1&PID_0020, working using the Ralink drivers on XP and 2k. So I downloaded a software program called ISCab and was able to extract all the inf files and include the wusb54gc v1 in them. Then I put them back into the Ralink Driver package. Now all you have to do is uninstall the old one, reboot, and just double click on the new one, run setup, and all the installation is automatic. The link to my unofficial wusb54gc v1 driver is
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CRDL87N9
This package contains the current drivers for the following windows operating systems:
98 and ME: rt73u98.sys, version 1.3.2.0, 10/20/2008
2000 and XP: rt73.sys, version 1.3.2.0, 10/21/2008
XP 64: rt73.sys, 1.3.2.0, 10/21/2008
Vista: netr73.sys, 3.1.5.0, 10/21/2008
Vista 64: netr7364.sys, 3.1.5.0, 10/21/2008
You can install just the drivers or the drivers with the Ralink Wireless Utility. I have tested it on Windows XP sp3 and Windows 2000 sp4. I need some brave souls to test it on 64 bit platforms. Could you be the one?
Remember that there are 3 versions of wusb54gc. This driver is only for version 1. It does not work for version 2 or 3! Please note that I am also not responsible for any hardship that you may encounter!
Hi Michael, and everybody else!
To Michael! Good decision to leave a post here with your excellent work!
To everybody else! I´ve tried it and it really works great!
Mark wrote:
Yes you would think it would be a no brainer. Go figure.
I had problem with a linksys wireless card and had a similair experience with their support. I never did find a fix for it so I pulled the card and tossed it.
hey, Michael, how did you manage to compile the drivers for wusb54gc version 1? did you manually change something or could you show me the original link?
Hi John,
I used ISCabVu.exe to extract the inf files. Added the correct vid and pid to the inf files. Then using iscab.exe, which is a command line program, reinjected the updated inf files back into the driver package. I am working on a howto right now. I am also working on the driver package for linksys wusb54gc v3. It will be available soon and I will post back with the link.
Hey guys, I’m going crazy with this piece of … of WLAN adapter.
I’ve removed the old drivers from de “device manager” following the steps to install the Belkin drivers, and now, when get into the “device manager”, my adapter doesn’t appear in the group “Network adapters”, however, it is in the group “other devices”, but it’s imposible to update any tipe of driver.
What should I do? Look for a good book and forget Internet?
Thanks
Hey Valentin,
What is your device ID? What is your adapter a version 1 or a version 3?
version 1 device ID: usb\vid_13b1&pid_0020
version 3 device ID: usb\vid_1737&pid_0077
You need this information to download the correct driver. I seriously doubt that your Device ID is listed in the rt73.inf or rt2870.inf file because your device is not a belkin but a linksys.
Both are the Linksys WUSB54GC.
Version 1 is grey like the picture above on Mark’s blog and it says Model No. WUSB54GC. Version 3 is black and it says Model No. WUSB54GC ver.3
I have finished the Driver package for version 3. You can find it at:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UHYD2FRA
Version 1 at:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CRDL87N9
My unoffical linksys driver website is at:
http://members.cox.net/mvonlehe
where you can find much more info on my little linksys project. I just recently put it together and it is still a work in progress. Not fancy but it gets the job done.
Thanks allot!
I just followed all the steps that you wrote about and now download almost 1GB in less than few minutes!
Michael, it works!
My adapter is WUSBG54CC V1. I’ve downloaded your driver, i’ve run it, and now I’m connected perfectly.
Thank you very much from Spain.
You’re welcome!
And here’s to Thomas for being my first guinea pig and for encouraging me to get my own site up and running!
Thanks for all the help but Michael’s link is broken. the linksys forum link is having a maintenance. I was looking for the WUSB54GC Windows Xp 64 Bit Driver. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks to all!
Hi Joe D.,
My bad. I uploaded an updated version of 3 and megaupload changed the link.
Version 1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CRDL87N9
Version 3: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CIGR0KOK
It should work now.
Mike
Hi guys. I’m broken again. It doesn’t work well. I’ve been connected for two or three days with Michael’s driver, but know the internet drops off very often.
I haven’t changed anything, I swear. Any idea?
To Michael V:
THANK YOU!
I just built a new computer and threw xp 64 on there only to find out the wusb54GC v3 adapter I just bought a month ago wouldn’t work with it!
I saw the linksys forum drivers, but savefile has been down for a long time and keeps pushing their new launch date back, so I was starting to get really frustrated
Then I found this! Thank you to you for your great work (and site! Very simple and very easy to use) and to the blogger who originally posted about getting this working.
Both of you have my utmost gratitude = )
solution
i have the wireless linksys wusb54gc and use belkin driver
in windows vista home premium
work!!!!!
tank´sss!!!!!!!!!
I’ve just download the ralink drivers (http://www.ralinktech.com/download.php?t=U0wyRnpjMlYwY3k4eU1EQTVMekE1THpFeEwyUnZkMjVzYjJGa05EZzVORGszTWpZME9DNWxlR1U5UFQxSlUxOUJVRjlUVkVGZlVsUTNlRjlFTFRFdU15NDFMakJmVmtFdE15NHhMamN1TUY5WE55MDBMakF1TXk0d1gxSlZMVE11TVM0eUxqQmZRVlV0TXk0d0xqTXVNRjh3T0RJME1EbGZNUzQxTGpRdU1GOUdjbVZsQw%3D%3D)
Installed everything (driver and utility) but there doesn’t seem to be any *.inf files in program files/ralink!???
Using Vista Ultimate X64. Thanks for any pointers.
Try this location:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Ralink Driver\RT7x Wireless LAN Card\Driver
It should be there…
Mike
Thanks Mike V. My post was referring to the drivers mentioned in the OP. Found your drivers, got everything up and working. Nice 1!
Hi!
Thank you for your entry it was so well explained, I followed your steps but my adapter it’s not working, I always get a code 10 (The device couldnt start). I use Windows 7 64 bits.
Any help would be appreciated
Hi Sylvia,
Did you uninstall the previous driver and software before installing the new software? Confilicts between older and newer drivers is a common problem with any device driver update. I would first uninstall the driver in device manager and then in the add/remove programs in control panel.
As far as this goes, those are remarkable.
great computer info! Thank you for this!
Installed everything (driver and utility) but there doesn’t seem to be any *.inf files in program files/ralink .
I had looked everywhere for this article – something that I would do exactly what it said, without all the fuss and hassle. I had already wasted hours of time and who knows how much time on other blogs, so I have to thank you for this article. Thanks!
hi!
i have a Compact wireless-g network adapter with speed booster
(WUSB54GSC) and i have just got a new computer running windows7 32bit….can’t get the there drivers installed…. the adapter runs well on the computers with xp installed…!!!!
can any one help me out with this problem i’m just about ready 2 burn this thing!!!!…
Michael V, I want to cry I’m so happy!
After spending 9h straight trying to figure out why that darn adapter works on one laptop but not on the other, I’m so glad I found your post.
Thank you sooo much.