Computer Repair Tip

[BobA]

Lately I have had to restore the operating system to alot of computers with no restore or setup disks.   It can be a real pain to load XP and then find that you have very few of the required drivers.  One of the most fustrating drivers that usually has to be found is the network card or network port on the MB.  If you can just get the ethernet port working you can get 90% of your drivers via windows update and the other 10% from manufacturers web sites.

My solution costs less then $10 and works every time I have needed it.  It is a small USB to ethernet adapter that comes with its own mini CD with its drivers.  You plug it in and load the driver when asks for the CD and away it goes.  You can now use windows update to get the latest drivers for your system or search manufacturers sites for their drivers.

Why do this when you can get the drivers via your regular computer and transfer them via usb stick>

1.  Windows update more accurately identifies the drivers and you do not have to guess what to download.

2.  Downloading on another computer takes alot of searching and transfering of files.

3.  It is faster and easier.

This is the unit I am using from DealExtreme SKU 2797

Link

[SavannahLion]

That's actually a pretty good solution.  Right now, I keep a collection of lowest denominator network cards, eg a couple of ISA with onboard controller, a couple of PCI with onboard controller both 10Mb, token ring and ethernet. I wasn't quite sure what to do with newer PC's that lack both ISA/PCI and fortunately, I haven't encountered a PC as of yet where XP (or at least some Linux distro) couldn't get a reasonable network card somewhat functional.

The only gripe I have is the mini-CD that's required for driver install. I've got a couple of PC's that lack disc drives, so a CD would entail pulling out an external disc drive, plugging it in,  . If you've got a USB stick already, rip the CD to the stick, one less disc to worry about and scratch up. 

[BobA]

I carry all my Must Have utilities on a USB stick and the driver from the mini cd is there.

Good idea to mention that.

 

[gonzo90017]

Great tip!
I'm off to buy it.

[ark_ader]

Better idea is to Ghost your drive right after install and driver setup, then flip it to CD.

You can always install the drivers again if you change your mobo, etc.

Then you can just pop the disc in and off you go.

I have the USB -> Network dongle but it sits in my arcade parts box unused.

I cannot drum the idea into you guys more, to have a master backup of your drive. 

The 640gb Buffalo Drivestation is a really good buy and will save you headache and heartache when that old hard drive stops spinning and dies with all your games on it.   

[BobA]

I think you missed a bit of the point in most cases it is not my computer that I am working on so ghosting the drive is not a possibility.  These are computers I am given because they are no longer used or ones that need repair and of course there are no cds or backups to be seen.

[boykster]

I think it's a great idea to have something like that handy - I always thought it would be an AWESOME tool to have a usb ethernet adapter that had a built-in USB memory card on it (1gig or less would be fine) so you could keep the drivers on the usb memory FOR the usb ethernet adapter. 

I used to keep a 128meg usb stick and a usb ethernet adapter in my bag of tricks....

[Ed_McCarron]

always thought it would be an AWESOME tool to have a usb ethernet adapter that had a built-in USB memory card on it (1gig or less would be fine) so you could keep the drivers on the usb memory FOR the usb ethernet adapter. 

I've always wondered why they didn't just put the drivers on the USB stick like this.  You'd think someone would do it by now.

[Samstag]

always thought it would be an AWESOME tool to have a usb ethernet adapter that had a built-in USB memory card on it (1gig or less would be fine) so you could keep the drivers on the usb memory FOR the usb ethernet adapter. 

I've always wondered why they didn't just put the drivers on the USB stick like this.  You'd think someone would do it by now.

I've got a Skype USB phone that did this.  That was a cheapo $10 model, too.  It shows up as a mic/speaker but also as a small amount of mass storage.

[Dartful Dodger]

Great idea, thanks!

It's at amazon for $2.

Link

[BobA]

Thanks for the info.

Almost the same price when you add shipping.  Deal Extreme is free shipping.

[loess]

Oh, yeah. very nice tip.