belkin f5d8000 pci adapter f5d8010 pcmcia pre-n drivers for vista and xp professional

495 hits since 16 January 2008 | Author: Tom Chambers

The Belkin PCI Pre-N pci desktop adapter actually comes as two parts:

1. A PCI -> PCMCIA Adapter Card - Belkin F5D8000 and
2. A PCMCIA PRE-N wireless card - Belkin F5D8010.

This means it can be used in a laptop with just the PCMCIA card (F5D8010) or in a desktop computer using the PCI Adapter card (F5D8000)  with the PCMCIA card.

The chipset in the Belkin F5D8010 is AIRGO true MIMO.

Windows Vista
(See below for Windows XP Professional and Home)

Does it work on Microsoft Windows Vista? In summary, yes, although you wont be able to use the belkin wireless utility software. Also remember that the hardware can only support WEP 64, WEP 128 and WPA. The hardware does not support WPA2. We've had a few belkin wireless products working on Windows Vista and in general the products are pretty stable.

The procedure for getting the hardware working is pretty standard.

For the case of the F5D8000 and F5D8010 in a desktop:

1. Power off the PC.
2. Install the PCI adapter card in the computer (F5D8000)
3. Power on the computer.
4. When prompted for the drivers browse to the extracted belkin driver only package. The drivers can be downloaded here, although you should check Belkin's website for any updated drivers.

For the case of the F5D8010 in a laptop:

1. With the laptop up and running, insert the PCMCIA adapter (F5D8010) into the PCMCIA slot.
2. When prompted for the drivers browse to the extracted belkin driver only package. The drivers can be downloaded here, although you should check Belkin's website for any updated drivers.

As stated above the belkin wireless configuration utility does not work under Windows Vista (at the time of writing this article) so you will use the windows wireless configuration.

Note also that the drivers are not certified for use on Vista. This seems to be similar to some of the other Belkin wireless products - essentially the Vista drivers are the xp drivers. When Vista was in RC stage and we were putting it through its paces you could get some Belkin wireless products working by using the xp drivers from the driver CD supplied with the product.

Do these drivers work on Windows Vista x64 (64 bit) installations - no the drivers are for 32 bit installations. We've tried to find some 64 bit drivers for this hardware but drew a blank. If you know where 64 bit drivers for this hardware can be found then please let us know.

Windows XP Professional and Home

We also have used these products under Windows XP Professional. We found the driver and belkin wireless configuration utility supplied on the CD troublesome. Problems experienced included:

1. The computer freezing showing a unusual green speckled screen with the only resolution to hard reboot the computer.
2. The mouse 'freezing' when the PCMCIA card is inserted. The mouse doesn't actually freeze - we found it just moves really really slowly. If the PCMCIA card was removed the mouse instantly became responsive, put the PCMCIA card in and the mouse 'freezes'.
3. The signal strength being reported as 'no signal' in WZC despite a wireless signal being present.
4. Inability to connect to a wireless router with WPA security.

We solved these problems by using the driver only package. The drivers can be downloaded here, although you should check Belkin's website for any updated drivers.

While the Belkin wireless client software does run under Windows XP Professional and Home we found that the software only supports WEP 64, WEP 128 or NO wireless encryption. This was rather unusual as the hardware can support WPA. The solution? Use the driver only package with Windows WZC.

What we found...

We found the Belkin F5D8000 / F5D8010 to work very well. We've a 5 storey building and managed to get a healthy 60% signal strength with the adapter card in a computer on the top floor and a pre-n wireless router ( f5d8230 ) on the ground floor. It was capable of watching news videos from bbc.co.uk.

When the PCMCIA card is installed in the PCI adapter the LED's for LINK and ACTIVITY end up facing down. This means that the status LED's cannot easily be seen. True the adapter would be pointing out of the back of the computer which is usually pushed under a desk but some people love flashing LED's - you decide!

To obtain the full MIMO speed capabilities you will need to use this card with a pre-n MIMO capable router such as the Belkin F5D8230.

 Product Specifications

• 800% greater coverage than standard 802.11g - Belkin Pre-N provides the industry's best wireless coverage, extending your range with improved reliability and fewer drops.
• 600% greater speeds than standard 802.11g - Belkin Pre-N provides the industry's fastest wireless connection for gaming, streaming video, Voice over IP, and moving large files efficiently and quickly between all the devices in your networked home.
• Improved performance of standard 802.11g and 802.11b networking devices - Using a Belkin Pre-N Router or Card with an older 802.11g or 802.11b networking product increases wireless coverage up to 20%.
• Improved resistance to wireless interference - Belkin Pre-N products sense potential interference and dynamically shift to the clearest wireless channel available.
• Belkin Pre-N products do not drop to the lowest networking speed in a mixed-mode environment - If a standard 802.11g or 802.11b device is introduced into a Belkin Pre-N network.
• The Belkin Pre-N product will not drop to the standard 802.11g or 802.11b speeds - Belkin Pre-N products will continue to transmit at a link rate of 108Mbps, a result competing products cannot achieve.
• Advanced Security - Wi-Fi® Protected Access (WPA) support provides enhanced encryption protecting your wireless network.
• Pop-up Blocker - 6 months of free pop-up, adware, and spyware stopper

Wireless Features

• Complies to IEEE Specifications
  - 802.11b 11Mbps
  - 802.11g 54Mbps
• 2.4GHz Frequency Range
• Up to 108Mbps Data Rate  
• Wireless Encryption
  - 128-bit WEP
  - WPA-PSK

System Requirements

• Desktop PC
  - PCI Bus 2.2 or above
• Compatible with Windows 2000 or XP

Manufactures Warranty

• Life Time

Package Contents

• Belkin F5D8000-4 108Mbps Wireless MIMO Pre-N Desktop Adapter
• Quick Installation Guide
• Resource CD
• User Manual