| Linksys WPC54GS Wireless-G Notebook Adapter with SpeedBooster |
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Model: WPC54GS
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 61
Form factor: Plug-in module
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Product Type - Adapter
Advanced security features including WEP, AES, TKIP and 802.1x
Standards: 802.11g, 802.11b |
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| Description: |
| LINKSYS WPC54GS -- The Wireless-G Notebook Adapter with SpeedBooster is the simple way to add or upgrade wireless connectivity in your notebook computer. Just slide it into your notebook's PC Card slot and enjoy high-speed wireless networking with true mobility. You'll connect with Wireless-B ( 802.11b ) hotspots in cafes, airports, hotels and convention centers For Windows notebook computers with PC Card slot |
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| User Reviews (61 total): |
Page 1 2 3 of Total 3 Pages
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Windows ME and Linksys, November 17, 2004
By JOHN P. MCGREGOR
Like some other people, I did have trouble with the WPC54GS adapter and Windows ME. It just would not connect to the wireless access point. Every time I restarted the computer I got an error: CoCreateInstance Fail. And Linksys technical support, although friendly, was not able to help. Yet, they swore that the product worked with Windows ME ... and they are correct.
After poking around the system with a tool from Microsoft (depends), I concluded that the problem was related to some DLLs on my system. At some point in patching Windows ME with updates from Microsoft, a file related to Internet Explorer 6.1 was updated on my system. The file was SHLWAPI.DLL version 6.0.2800.1552 dated 7/7/2004. This DLL is making a call to OLE32.DLL where the CoCreateInstance is located. This file appears to be the cause of the problem.
Because Linksys said that the product works with Windows ME and out of pure frustration, I rebuilt my laptop with the OEM version of Windows ME. After reinstalling the Linksys card and software at this point, the card worked fine. Not wanting to be on the Internet without some security patches, I then used Microsoft Update and updated with all the critical patches except the upgrade to Internet Explorer 6 SP1; thus I avoided updated SHLWAPI.DLL. Again, the card worked fine, but I was running IE 5.5 at that point.
I then used Microsoft Update again and installed the critical patch "Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (Windows 98, Windows ME). SHLWAPI.DLL was changed to version 6.0.3800.1106 dated 8/29/2002 at this point as the update installed IE 6 with service pack 1 along with Outlook Express 6. And just like Linksys said, the whole thing is working just fine.
I get great reception all over the house and can even see one of my neighbor's access points. So don't forget to make use of the encryption capabilities to secure your access points.
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Works Perfectly Out of the Box, November 12, 2004
By Dr_David1 (Colorado USA)
I have no idea why these people had so many issues. I took it out of the box, plugged it all together, my laptop saw the network and connected to it.
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Nothing but a headache--total waste of money, November 3, 2004
By Very disappointed (Pennsylvania)
I generally don't write reviews to flame a product and its manufacturer, but this has to be the worst computer purchase I ever made. Together with my WRT54GS router, I now have a great wireless network--as long as I am standing about 5 feet from the router.
Let me bore you with my story. First, I couldn't get the software to load. I kept getting an ERROR-3--Data missing or disk full error. I then spend about an hour with technical support, about 50 minutes of which was spend on hold. I was then told that the card doesn't work with Windows ME machines, despite the fact that the box says it is compatible. The woman I spoke with then tried to "trap" me into agreeing that the box says its only compatible with Windows 2000 and XP machines by reading the part where it says the speedbooster feature of product is DESIGNED for those machines. Of course, she wanted me to ignore the "minimum system" requires on the box flap that says its compatible with Windows ME. Well, after she couldn't help me, and after being bounced around, she said she'd have someone call me this morning. Guess what? No call. No surprise there.
I ended up screwing around with the monitor software myself until I got it to load. It now works in my Toshiba notebook. But what a grave disappointment. Cable internet is slower than dial-up unless your sitting right on top of the router.
My advice? Linksys just doesn't have the wireless down to a reasonably functionable level. Don't expect too much from this product line. Don't think you'll be able to have a wireless office where you can move your laptop from place to place and work without interruption. Don't expect to sit on the sofa and surf the net while watching TV on a boring Saturday afternoon. Within 15 minutes, you'll be ready to throw your computer through the wall. Don't expect "wired" performance. And most of all, don't expect to get any help whatsoever from the individuals in the Philippines that man the technical service lines.
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Lost confidence in Linksys and especially technical support, October 21, 2004
By Brahm (New York, NY, USA)
I was so impressed with my prior experience with Linksys products expecially with WPC54G network adapter that I decided to go a step further and bought WPC54GS network adapter card with speedbooster. Since then it has been a nightmare to make it work with IBM thinkpad. The customer service is total waste of time - very curteous but with no technical help whatsoever. Now instead of getting enhanced performance with speedbooster, the signal strength has dropped almost 75%.
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Seems to work with my Windows 98 and XP..., September 12, 2004
By herbabuena (United States)
Some of the reviews here claim the card doesn't work with Windows 98 or XP. I am typing this review using the card on a Sony Vaio pcg-z505hs with Win98SE.
That said, I don't *recommend* this card for Win98. The WEP encryption never worked with it on that platform (although it does work with XP). If you have a Win98SE machine, I recommend the WPC11 instead. WEP works on it, and I find the signal range comparable to the WPC54GS, if not better.
In general I find performance to be just fine. I had a bit of trouble with the internet connection dropping until I upgraded to the more recent drivers available from the Linksys website.
The software for installing the card has a few funny glitches when dealing with Win98. If driver/utility installation and operation had been as smooth for the Win98 machine as it was for my Dell Inspiron running XP, and if Win98 could actually do WEP encryption with it, I would have given the product 5 stars.
I have used the card in the XP laptop in cybercafes all over Glasgow and in US and UK airports with no problems. I use Mozilla Firefox; maybe other browsers cause problems, but this one works for me. At home I used it with a SMC Wireless Access Point until my Linksys WRT54GS router arrived.
Contrary to most of the experiences described here, customer service was fine, even if the phone queue was sometimes a bit long. Considering they provide 24-hour free human support, I think it's decent. When problems went beyond what the first level of techs could manage, they bumped me up to the more experienced people. A RMA with the router went fairly smoothly. There's the added bonus of being able to trade balut stories with the people on the other end.
Here's how I got the card to work on the Win98 laptop:
1) Dowload the most recent driver software from Linksys. Make sure that you allow your decompression utility to recreate the subfolders of the driver installation software. I had to select the "use folder names" box on WinZip.
2) Run the setup utility. Let it reboot the computer.
3) Stick in the card. Let Windoze do its driver update thing. I got a popup box that asked me to put in the Win98 CD. I did, but ended up using the file it wanted from C:WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS.
4) At this point, mgsrv32 froze, so I did the standard 3-finger salute (ctrl-alt-del) to get the taskmanager and killed the process, which unfroze everything. This is where Linksys lost a review star.
5) Let the firewall software know it's OK to allow the card access to the internet.
6) Use the configuration utility in the system tray to search for and connect to the access point.
Sometimes when the laptop boots up the config utility doesn't show up in the system tray, but it works just fine when started from the programs menu. This is another reason to drop that last review star.
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Doesn't Work With Texas Instruments CardBus Controllers, September 1, 2004
By J. Caravella (Charlotte, NC USA)
After two weeks of dealing with Linksys Tech Support I was finally told there are no drivers for the WPC54GS and Texas Instruments CardBus Controllers. If you're not sure what controller you have open Device Manager and expand your PCMCIA Adapter.
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Incompatible with IBM ThinkPads - Support Seriously Lacking, August 14, 2004
By Christopher Smith (New York)
Having used Linksys other products at a Fortune 500 company, I expected a routine installation and immediate success.
The WPC54GS is an enhanced version of the popular WPC54G which we have used with success in a variaty of laptops. Linksys claims a 35% "real world" boost in performance, so out I went and picked up a WRT54GS router and a matching WPC54GS cardbus adapter. (Of course, it looks like the end of the non "GS" versions are near, so might as well go with the latest, right?)
Installation of the WPC54GS is simple and straightfoward under Windows 2000. The included configuration utility is clear and intuitive.
The unit worked the first time it was installed. Defining profiles and setting encryption keys was easy.
We had no problems accessing and getting connected with the Linksys access point, as well as a DLink 614+ and a Symbol Spectrum 24 access points. The connection status shown on the main screen is sometimes inaccurate. The utility sometimes said that there was no connection, when other parts of the same program said a connection had been established.
Problems began to surface, however, as soon as we attempted to remove and reinsert the adapter. The WPC54GS found and associated with the access point, but would net get an IP address. The same thing happened when the Thinkpad was suspended and restored or went into and came out of hibernation. In fact, the only reliable way to connect the adapter was after a reboot.
Requests for help to the Linksys web support link and e-mail support went unanswered. The first level technical support folks were polite but not technical (I've been in the computer business for 20plus years.) Much time was wasted performing scripted steps that had nothing to do with identifying or fixing the problem. After quite a while with the first level phone technician, Linksys suggested I replace the unit. I selected the cross-shipping RMA option and received a replacement in 3 days (not too bad for cross-country with no premium shipping charges.)
The new unit didn't work any better. More hours of additional phone support ending up in fourth level technical support yielded a big surprise: the card does not work because of an "IRQ conflict", something that's all but dead for PC users today.
The card had a conflict with the most basic, built-in hardware in the laptop (IBM Thinkpad T40, but could apply to the 41 and other series as well.) IBM later confirmed that there was no way to alter the settings in the laptop.
Sadly, this information which was readily available to senior Linksys support is not posted on their web site, nor is the incompatibilty mentioned in the product's documentation or packaging. Somehow the information didn't get through to the first three levels of technical support either.
Applying all possible software updates did not help, so I'm afraid it's back to the store with this card.
(A final note: I have to return the new card to Linksys to avoid RMA charges and asked Linksys if they'd pick up the return shipping since the entire problem should have been identified with the first phone call. Alas, it seems that such a courtesy is beyond the powers of the customer service supervisors.)
Overall: WPC54GS could be a good product, but make sure you verify compatability. If you are find yourself needing technical or customer support, return the card immediatly and choose a product from a competitor who take technical support and customer service seriously. If want to try anyway, don't bother with the web/chat support or email, call.
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WPC54G & WPC54GS not compatible w/Window XP, August 13, 2004
By Vinh Duong (San Jose, CA USA)
Linksys company has known the problem of these two products. However, they (old and newest ones) have not been fixed. The option 'Disable Window XP Wireless Zero Configuration' of Wireless Network is set ON (without a check mark) as a defaut by the Linksys u-code bug on these products. As a result, the IP address is set ZERO all times when Window XP is ready. For this problem, any of Internet browsers CAN NOT BE RUN due to this ZERO setting while the adapter and its Linksys monitor are up and run with a full speed. The browser can be ONLY run if the Internet users reconfigure their setting every single logon time. This is a bug needs to be fixed! The buyers need to be aware of this problem of these products if they want to buy.
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Avoid WinXP Install Issues and Trouble, August 6, 2004
By M. S WEINER
I purchased this card for a Dell Latitude laptop and my recent network configuration that included removal of a WAP11 due to failure and my BEFSR81 Router, replacing both with the WRT54GS. I wanted to install it correctly, yet I am not the type to read the instructions.
I removed the Linksys Utility and drivers for my old "B" card and rebooted my machine. I placed the "G" card in the machine and it was immediately recognized. I then enabled the device by installing the drivers from the installation CD. DON'T DO IT THIS WAY!!!
Here's what worked for me: Run the autorun feature from the CD ignoring or cancelling the XP Plug and Play routine upon reboot. Let the Linksys Configuration Utility and drivers get set up from CD. After the prompted reboot, it worked great! My router configuration uses both the WEP encryption, but also a MAC Filter function, allowing only the physical MAC address access to the wireless network. It's secure, signal strength is higher and pages "leap" on to the display (it should be noted that your mileage may vary) dependent on ISP provider or platform.
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Wouldn't buy it., August 5, 2004
By rbuoncri (Los Angeles, CA)
I Purchased this card along with the Linksys Access point. The configuration software will not load after installation. The card works only intermittantly. Tech support is useless and responded by telling me to try it in a different computer. So rather than buy an new $1500 laptop to get my $50 card working I dumped it. I was surprised that a company with such a well recognized name could be marketing such a crummy product.
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Not compatible with Win XP, July 19, 2004
By unknown
This card is not worth it. During install, it kept indicating that it was not compatible or tested with XP and crapped my standard 802.11 G connection as well. not worth the trouble.
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Garbage, June 29, 2004
By unknown
This card is garbage. I have used Linksys products in the past with good luck. I don't know if this product is too new or what. Would recognize the router but would not connect to the internet. After hours of talking with the totally useless Tech Support people, and several installs and uninstalls with the newest driver, I boxed it up and returned it.
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Linksys Fails, June 24, 2004
By The Information (United States)
Before buying the Linksys WPC54GS I was a big fan of Linksys networking products. The problems I had with this product have made me look at other brands.A client of mine needed to equip a Dell laptop with wireless capability so it would work using VPN (Virtual Private Networking). I purchased the Linksys WPC54GS and when I installed it I was surprised that the included CD had the same software version as the Linksys website. I proceeded to install the VPN software. Suddenly the wireless connection began to disconnect, then reconnect, then disconnect, over and over. Perplexed I spent over an hour re-installing drivers, re-installing VPN, and searching knowledge bases. My research showed that other people experienced this same issue. I packed up the device and brought it back to the dealer. They gave me a full refund. I picked up the Netgear WGT511T, and low and behold it works perfectly! In the future I will look first to Netgear and Belkin before using Linksys products.
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couldn't get it to work, June 23, 2004
By unknown
i should have read the reviews. not only did the setup program keep crashing, when i tried to uninstall it, it crashed. i think this card is too new... not ready for prime time.i have winXP for home. i bought the router along w/ this card and the router works great (although i had to turn off UPnP to get the xbox to work).
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Decent Wireless Adapter, Limited Platform Support, June 17, 2004
By Scott Kidder (Oakland, CA USA)
I bought this adapter to use on my laptop, which runs both Windows XP and Fedora Core Linux. I was disappointed to discover that the card is only supported under Windows, requiring special drivers that presumably deliver the SpeedBooster functionality. I was really looking for a 802.11G card and figured "Hmm...SpeedBooster, why not?" Now I wish I had gone with Linksys' standard WPC54G card instead.
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Great g card but Customer Services drops the ball, May 15, 2004
By Geoff Oleszkowicz (MI, United States)
Well, I purchased my card (WPC54GS) and the router to match (WRT54GS) last Sunday for my work computer and after a week I finally got it to work no thanks to customer service at Linksys. There only help was to tell me the card was broken and I had to reinstall my operating system after 4 hours on the phone with them trying the same thing over and over again. But I'm sure that if you have windows XP or 2000 you wont have any problems but, my company gave me a great laptop but with windows 98SE which for those of you who have moved on to XP as I did with my home PC remember what a piece it was. If any of you purchase this card with 98SE and get stuck you can e-mail me at GEO1277@comcast.net and I can help you get it up and running. But as far as the product goes it gets great reception and as long as one of the antennas is pointed in the direction you are using the laptop or pc you can go through 3 well built floors and at least 100ft that I know of from my experience. Oh one more down side to this card if you have Windows 98SE you can't use the SpeedBooster unless you are using XP or 2000 just some info that I think was left out on this website but will be on the box when you get the card or router. I would give the Router 5 stars the Card 4 Stars and the customer service negative 5 stars.
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Did not connect to the Internet, April 21, 2004
By unknown
I got this card for a Sony vaio notebook adapter and our corporate network that uses WEP encryption. I do know if this is a problem with the other Linksys network cards, but while this one would connect to the Access point, it would not connect to the network. I contacted Linksys support which was extremely clueless and the person kept asking another tech for help. I returned the card, and got a dlink card. The dlink wireless network card worked fine.
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Great and fast, April 21, 2004
By Carlos Dorcas (Oranjestad - Aruba)
About 2 weeks ago I bought the WMP54GS for my PC and the WPC54GS for my notebook. The reason why I bought them was because I wanted to play some games against my cousin without the hassle of putting long wires throughout the house. I was not sure if I could get the desired speed between these computers to play the games without freezing or hang-ups. My other problem was that as far as networking goes my knowledge was slim to none. However, when I received these products and installed them in my PC and notebook I had some slight connection problems (probably my fault) but after 2 or 3 hours of struggling I got it to work and I am very , very satisfied with these products. The computers give me an almost constant connection speed of 54Mbps and as far as the gaming goes, there are no hang-ups or freezing. I also recently bought the WRT54GS router , but I haven't connected it yet because I am waiting for ADSL at home. As far as I am concerned ALL these products deserve 5 stars. Keep up the good work LINKSYS.
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