I've worked for the NHS for over 30 years. I have grown up twins (one of each) but I became a widow...
I've worked for the NHS for over 30 years. I have grown up twins (one of each) but I became a widower in March 2008
Member since:20.11.2005
Reviews:43
Members who trust:3
Back in March 2007, I bought my first laptop. This brought the number of computers in our house up to a grand total of three (my own desktop, my daughter's and the new laptop). It struck me that perhaps it was time to get networked. A hard wired network was out of the question, as I didn't want to start drilling holes and running cables everywhere, so a wireless solution seemed to be the way to go. I did a little research, as I'm not too au fait with this side of computing (though I have assisted in installing one before). Eventually in Pissy Werld (sorry, PC World), I found this package from D-Link. It consisted of the wirless router itself and a seperate antennae (destined for my daughter's bedroom PC). Also in the box were installation CDs for each of the two bits of hardware, a power supply and an additional ethernet cable..
So far so good.
Physically setting up the wireless router itself was no problem. The users manuals were average at best, but not that enlightning but the box itself was wired between my desktop PC and my existing Virgin/ntl cable modem using the additional ethernet cable. I plugged in the router's psu, booted up my PC and this where the fun (!) began. I inserted the installation CD, did what it requested of me, though some of the questions it asks were a touch baffling, even for a well-seasoned software installer like myself. And then..........
...nothing. Not able to get on line at all. I took it all apart and did it again, just in case I was doing someting amazingly dense. Again, nothing. I did this four times in total, before I took it the router out of the circuit, browsed the web until I found an obscure corner of someone's blog that advised unplugging the power from the router, the PC and my cable modem and then repowering them in a certain order. Success this time!
To properly set up the router, I now had to go to the D-Link website and guess my way through another set of ambiguous questions. Three times in total. The site was neither intuitive or helpful in any other way. But now at least I had a working wireless access point/router. Woo hoo!
I installed the antennae on my daughter's PC with no probs. Thank heavens for small mercies. I managed to access the net on her PC and also my notebook. Problem is that over the next few months, I had to reconfigure the settings several times (especially the security settings) as it just seemed to lose them, cutting wireless access out altogether. This meant I had to go through the annoying setup routine again each time. Not good at all. And then just two weeks ago it just died. No amount of coaxing or reinstallation did anything. After not quite five months, it was as dead as the Monty Python parrot. I mentioned it to a couple of people who said "oh, we had that brand and it was pants, it only worked for a few months". I've also found online reviewers saying how s***e it is, how it dies after a short time.
So, in a nutshell? When it works, it's ok. But that time is interspersed with periods of vile crapness and angry frustration. I will give it just two stars and that is for the ease of physical installation and the fact that the seperate antennae seems to be very good and still works well.
Can I recommend it? Definitely not. It will anger and annoy even those who consider themselves computer-savvy. Those who aren't even that will have no chance of getting this product of the ground. In short, save your dosh and buy any brand except D-Link...
And I will shortly be sending the D-Link router on a blind date with a large lump hammer I keep in my shed...
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