Generic wireless driver?

halfmileduck · May 30, 2008, 11:36 AM

Hi,

In a spontaneous attempt to purge my laptop of the virus that is the most popular home os, I inadvertently wiped my onboard wireless drivers without taking note of what the wireless chip was.

Does anyone know if there is a generic wireless driver available (802.11g equivalent to basic vga graphics driver) OR if there is a utility that can tell you what wireless adapter you have OR is there a way to find a driver if you can figure out what the chipset is?

ideas welcome
thanks.

**temeteus82** · May 30, 2008, 11:47 AM

Hi there and welcome to DriverHeaven!

First I moved this thread to correct part of the forums.

In general there isn't generic WLAN driver for windows. Since the chip's that are used in WLAN cards are from different makers so they don't have common way to control them. If you have laptop then the laptop maker would provide the driver for WLAN. If you have desktop PC then you should look what company has made the WLAN card that is installed.

longo213 · Jun 18, 2008, 02:15 AM

You can also try tool named Unknown Devices (latest version 1.4.20 beta) which is able to look for hardware device's ID in PCI or USB ID database and reveal the concrete device name or at least manufacturer. Which will help you to find the correct drivers.

Here's the difference between plain info from Device Manager and revealing full device name in Unknown Devices utility. After this search for the correct drivers is much more easier.

Btw - the latest beta version from June 2007 has outdated device databases, simply update the pcidevs.txt and usbdevs.txt in the ZIP archive. You can get the most recent versions of those file from the sites mentioned on UD's website.

procupine14 · Jun 18, 2008, 05:22 PM

I would definitely go to the manufacturer's website first and attempt to download the drivers through them. It will save you a headache if you can find them there.

timo.dragonsan@gmail.com · Feb 27, 2011, 09:20 PM

There's also a service in Windows XP at least to set up and control unknown wireless devices - sometimes this works, sometimes not...

Tyrsonswood · Feb 27, 2011, 09:30 PM

Digging through the old threads I see........ the OP hasn't been here since 2008, Man.

**MIG-31** · Feb 27, 2011, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timo.dragonsan@gmail.com

There's also a service in Windows XP at least to set up and control unknown wireless devices - sometimes this works, sometimes not...

As you have not offered anything towards a fix... And apart from making a pointless post in a thread thats is 3 year old...

This thread is now closed.

May 30, 2008, 11:36 AM	#1
halfmileduck DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Generic wireless driver? Hi, In a spontaneous attempt to purge my laptop of the virus that is the most popular home os, I inadvertently wiped my onboard wireless drivers without taking note of what the wireless chip was. Does anyone know if there is a generic wireless driver available (802.11g equivalent to basic vga graphics driver) OR if there is a utility that can tell you what wireless adapter you have OR is there a way to find a driver if you can figure out what the chipset is? ideas welcome thanks.

Jun 18, 2008, 05:22 PM	#4
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 56 System Specs	I would definitely go to the manufacturer's website first and attempt to download the drivers through them. It will save you a headache if you can find them there. __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Feb 27, 2011, 09:20 PM	#5
timo.dragonsan@gmail.com HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Re: Generic wireless driver? There's also a service in Windows XP at least to set up and control unknown wireless devices - sometimes this works, sometimes not...

Jun 18, 2008, 02:15 AM	#3
longo213 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Zilina, Slovakia Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	You can also try tool named Unknown Devices (latest version 1.4.20 beta) which is able to look for hardware device's ID in PCI or USB ID database and reveal the concrete device name or at least manufacturer. Which will help you to find the correct drivers. Here's the difference between plain info from Device Manager and revealing full device name in Unknown Devices utility. After this search for the correct drivers is much more easier. Btw - the latest beta version from June 2007 has outdated device databases, simply update the pcidevs.txt and usbdevs.txt in the ZIP archive. You can get the most recent versions of those file from the sites mentioned on UD's website.