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Author Topic: DWA-160 (A2) Incorrect 'Radio Type' and 'Other Network' Problem in Windows 7  (Read 6619 times)

Ant@10

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After some effort and frustration I have solved the problem and determined the cause of the incorrect wireless ‘Radio Type’, reported in the Windows 7 (SP1) when hovered over in the Network ‘Wireless Connection List’ (RHS of Task Bar).  Also I have been able to remove the 'Other Network' from the Windows Wireless Connection List.

This caused the problem:

After updating the driver (3.5.0.13, dated 4/12/2009) for the DWA-160 (H/W Ver:A2, F/W Ver:1.80) to the current - Driver Version: 3.5.0.21 (Driver Date: 23/6/2010, from D-Link Australia Support Website) the 'N' wireless connection is lost and ‘Other Network’ appears in the ‘Wireless Connection List’, in addition to the active connection.

After the driver update the set wireless connection will not automatically initiate and can be only be manually connected.  The hover over for the ‘Radio Type’ for the set wireless connection is reported incorrectly, as ‘802.11ag’ instead of the correct 'N' wireless.  The connection is slow and rated as ‘Poor’ in the hover over.  The connection also suffers from constant disconnection.  Another wireless connection then appears and is named, ‘Other Connection’, and is reported as ‘N’ ‘Radio Type’.

My Analysis:

I have established that the 'Other Network’ is actually a ‘ghost/duplicate’ of the wireless connection and occurred after the driver update.  It appears that this ‘ghost/duplicate’ connection 'interferes' and/or corrupts the set 'N' wireless connection, degrading it's quality, causing Windows to report the ‘Radio Type’ as ‘802.11ag’, incorrectly.

The other problem that occurs is that the wireless network is not automatically detected, and therefore will not re-connected at each startup.  This occurs even when the, Connect Automatically when Network is in Range, is selected in Windows 7 for the wireless network.

How I fixed this problem:

1. In the registry (regedit) delete all the profiles at:  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles.  Be very careful in the registry since a mistake may cause your computer to malfunction.

2. Highlight and remove the established Wireless Network Connection in ‘Manage Wireless Networks’.   Then completely uninstall the device driver software for the DWA-160 in the Device Manager.  Re-start the computer. The DWA-160 should now be without a driver as confirmed in the Device Manager.

3. Re-instal the driver 3.5.0.13 (dated 4/12/2009), and set wireless type to 'N only' for the 2.4 and 5 Ghz wireless channels, in the advanced tab for the device, in the Windows Device Manager.  

4. Re-setup the wireless network connection using the Windows ‘Network and Sharing Centre’ after the drivers for the DWA-160 have been installed correctly as confirmed in the Device Manager.

After applying the fix the ‘Radio Type’ for the connection is now reported, correctly, as ‘N’ only and the ‘ghost/duplicate’, named by Windows, as 'Other Network' network, does not appear in the ‘Wireless Connection List’.  The connection now operates normally with ‘Excellent’ signal strength and without constant disconnection.  The network will now automatically connect at each startup as required.

This problem has been reported by others and appears to be a ‘Bug’ in Windows 7 and is not specific to the D-Link wireless adaptors.

I hope that this advice is able to help others with this problem or at least highlight the problem!
« Last Edit: November 14, 2011, 04:40:16 PM by Ant@10 »
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