Going through the normal update option results in Windows refusing to install the driver ("the best driver software for your device is already installed. Windows has determined the driver software for your devices is up to date."). However, going through the alternative install (have disk, etc.), I was able to install the older driver. That being said, it still crashed the PC but upon forced shutdown/reboot, it installed the older driver and it now indicates 300mbps.
A few issues to note:
(1) D-Link lists 2 drivers when you click Vista64. Version 1.3 which states that it "supports Windows 2000....Vista64" and is dated 8/7/2008 and version 7.3.1.42 that states it is a "driver for Vista 64" and is dated 12/17/2007. Driver Version 1.3 does not work for Windows 7 x64 despite stating it supports "Vista64." It makes little sense to list both drivers unless the listing is incorrect (or D-Link just likes to provide old drivers....er, like all of their drivers). From my testing, 1.3 does NOT support x64, despite the description to the contrary.
(2) The (working) Vista64 driver that D-Link directly provides (7.3.1.42) is long outdated. This would be irrelevant if the older drivers (including 7.3.1.42) weren't so flawed (see #3).
(3) The Vista64 drivers (including 7.3.1.42) are significantly flawed:
(a) Transfer Speeds - The older drivers will indicate a 300mbps connection but the actual transfer speeds are akin to 54mbps. In fact, the 64-bit drivers failed to deliver 300mbps speeds until the 12/08 (or 1/2009) drivers (note: 1.5MB/s transfers w/old drivers vs. 6-8MB/s with new drivers). The difference is everything (& the entire purpose of spending more on the purportedly faster product).
(b) New drivers are still significantly flawed - They fail to inter-operate with PME Wake Up Events resulting in sleep/wake-up/power-down issues. This applies to Vista (which will not properly sleep/wake-up b/c of this card) and Windows 7 (which will not even shut down properly unless you disable PME Wake Up Events in the bios and also suffers the same inability to properly sleep/wake-up).
In short, this card can't be recommended for 64-bit users unless they want to sacrifice other functions of their PCs and experience sub-par driver support. There is no excuse for these problems on a mature product that has been available for (nearly?) 2 years and carries a premium price.
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Topic: Windows7 7000 Build, Low signal (Read 24824 times)