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January 8th, 2004 10:00
Inspiron 8000 + 3Com 3CRPAG175 802.11a/b/g wireless card + XP Pro = System Freeze
I have an Inspiron 8000 running Win XP Pro, freshly rebuilt and fully patched with Windows Updates. I also have an Inspiron 7000 running Windows Me.
For Xmas I got a 3Com 3CRPAG175 802.11a/b/g card to go in my I8000 and a 3Com 3CRSHPW196 802.11b card to go in my I7000.
The 802.11b card works perfectly in both laptops. The 802.11a/b/g card works perfectly in the I7000 running Win Me.
The 802.11a/b/g card will work perfectly for a while in the I8000 but will randomly send CPU through the roof. Sometimes the machine stutters along for a bit and will then recover. Other times the machine can be unlocked by pushing in the wireless xjack antenna (thus chopping the wireless signal and powering sown the card). Sometimes the only recourse id to hit the power switch as Task Manager cannot gain control. The freeze can occur anywhere between 2 minutes to 2 hours after booting but the laptop will ALWAYS freeze eventually with this card.
The problem is unrelated to the amount of traffic - I've just got Outlook and Outlook Express picking up email and newsgroup postings. One other thing - in the three stable combinations the network connection is up and running by the time booting has completed and Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger get logged straight in. On the troublesome combination it can take a minute or two, after booting has completed, until the network link is connected.
I'm using the latest (only) drivers from the 3Com website. I have been in touch with 3Com support and they are sending me a new card but I don't see how that will help as the card works perfectly in the I7000 so I think it is a drivers problem. There are no conflicts reported in Device Manager. There are no entries in the Windows Event Log relating to this either.
I found a review of the 3CRPAG175 card in an Inspiron 8100 here - http://cahtech.beigetower.org/reviews/3crpag175.html - and there is no mention of lockups but sadly no contact details for the author.
Does anyone have any ideas about a fix or how to better diagnose what the problem is?
johnallg
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7.3K Posts
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January 8th, 2004 22:00
Tiny Tim
12 Posts
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January 9th, 2004 06:00
Thanks for the ideas. I have tried running under Windows control, 3Com control and even terminating all control services once the connection was made. Nothing has made a difference.
BUT! In a desperate straw-clutch I set the router to work in 11b mode only rather than mixed 11b/g and the card has been running prefectly for 10 hours and happily downloaded over 700MB in that period.
I know the router is fine in mixed mode because I can run that way with the cards swapped over in my laptops so the problem is now limited to the 3CRPAG175 card running in 11g mode under XP. Even if I turn off the other card and just have the 11g card and the router operating I still get crashes in 11g mode under XP.
I'm still awaiting a replacement card from 3Com but in the meantime does this new twist raise any other ideas?
johnallg
2 Intern
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7.3K Posts
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January 12th, 2004 01:00
Tiny Tim
12 Posts
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January 12th, 2004 06:00
I have downloaded the latest (only) drivers from the 3Com website for the card. The router is also on the latest firmware release. I spent well over half an hour on the phone with 3Com Tech Support on Friday and we tried a few things but nothing has worked.
The card will always lock up at 54Mbps on my XP I-8000 but is fine at 11Mbps. It will work at both speeds in my Windows Me I-7000. At the moment I am using Windows Management and not 3Com but the behaviour has been the same regardless of which management software is used. I have been careful to ensure I do not have both running at once.
3Com suggested it might be something to do with the cardbus controller on the I-8000 but that's hard for me to judge and that's why I am posting here, in the hope that other Dell owners or Techs have some ideas.
I'm still awaiting the new 3Com card so we'll see what happens with that when it arrives.