D-Link Wireless N USB Adapter DWA-130

DWA-130 (rev.B)

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Nov 22, 2008

Pros: size

Cons: does not work

After purchasing a new pc with Vista 64-bit pre-installed, the first thing I wanted to do is get an internet connection to download any updates for my other peripherals.I bought the DWA-130 because it said on the box that it was CERTIFIED for Windows... Vista. Although it didn't say which version of Vista, I bought it hoping that it would work. After installation, it seemed to work okay. I immediately checked the D-LINK website for any updates to the firmware or software, and saw that on the D-LINK site, it states that the DWA-130 (rev.B) device that I have is Certified for the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, so I was glad, plus they had an updated version of the driver, so I downloaded it and installed it.Bad move. After installing their "latest" driver for x64, the adapter stopped working. I rolled back to the old driver and left it as is. It regained operability again, and all was good.Until I started noticing that the connection kept dropping, even while I was actively surfing the net! Connection with the device is intermittent. I can be online for 2 to 3 hours, or 2 to 3 minutes before the connection is dropped. I have 5 other access points connected to my router with absolutely no problems: 1 desktop running XP, 2 laptops running XP, a print server, and an IP phone. NONE of them have ever lost their connections.At first I thought it was just Windows Vista, but now after reading other product reviews like the one here, I'm thinking it's more the adapter. The MS website lists certified and compatible devices. They list the DWA-130 as unknown for x64 version. I should have checked their site first, rather than relying on the product manufacturers label. Read more Less