Wireless Card Problem

M

Mr.E

Active member
Hi all,

I just got my PC today and was very excited until the wireless card decided to stop working. The card is Edimax EW-7727In and there seems to be a few threads about people having issues with this card. The issues I'm having is somewhat similar to some of the problems mentioned in those threads but none of them actually reported back what exactly they did to get the card working.

In any case, the issue I'm having is that I either get an error message saying "Edimax Wireless LAN card not exist" or "Edimax Wireless LAN card disconnected." I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the driver multiple times--with reboot in between of course. For whatever reason, I can't enable the wireless adapter from within network connections and I'm guessing this is part of the problem.

The only thing I have not yet tried that was suggested in another thread is to open the case and move the card to another PCI slot and try to install its drivers all over again. I kind of wanted to avoid doing that though also because I wasn't sure whether that would void my warranty.

Can someone please help? I'd love to actually use my PC this weekend without having to wait until Monday to call PCS... :(

Thanks in advance.
 
M

Mr.E

Active member
Just an update about this: After trying for about 3-4 hours, I didn't get anywhere with re-installing drivers etc.
I was just about to re-format and start over from scratch, I went into device manager, right-clicked on the wireless card (the gigabit lan card, too actually, because it had started having problems at that point) and i did "uninstall" for both of them.
Right after that, I restarted the computer and as soon as Windows booted up, it automatically installed both of the cards and they're both working perfectly now!
I wish I had known this 3 hours ago! Either way, things seem to be good to go now!

p.s. I took photos and will be posting a photo-accompanied review very soon!
 
M

Mr.E

Active member
Thanks, Tom. Random question for you since I imagine you know the answer: Can I purchase a copy of Windows from PCS now even though my PC has been shipped and all? There's a problem with my own copy and I didn't realize it until I installed it on my PCS system.
 
M

Mr.E

Active member
Well I formatted and reinstalled a genuine copy of Windows 7, but it tells me that the key is invalid. I was afraid of this because I had 2 copies of Windows 7 but one of them was installed on one of my laptops. Clearly I installed windows with what I thought was the second disc but I guess not, because apparently the key is not valid... The trouble is, I can't get to my second copy of Windows 7 to try it because it's in a whole different continent and unreachable in the near future...
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
Surprisingly, Microsoft is not strict about making sure you obey the terms of their software license. They are often happy to help you activate a copy of Windows on a new or upgraded computer even if you have an OEM license.
Install Windows on the computer and insert the activation key as normal. When Windows starts and you connect to the Internet you might receive an error message letting you know that your copy of Windows is not genuine. Click on the text link that lets you solve the problem online and try to activate the key again. When it fails once more, you are given the chance to call into Microsoft support.
Explain to them you are no longer using the OS on another computer if that is the case, they may well help you out.Failing that I'm pretty sure though not certain,PCS will sell you one.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
so you have the same copy of windows 7 on systems?

I think vanthus will know the solution for that one.

edit seems he does. :)
 
M

Mr.E

Active member
Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies!
Vanthus: I'll definitely try what you said. I'm guessing activating the same key on a new computer won't mess up the OS on the laptop that already has it installed, right? It would be equally bad if I were to get an error message on my laptop tomorrow that my OS is not genuine :p

I'll post an update here when I sort stuff out just in case someone reads the thread later on and is curious about the result.
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
You misunderstand,microsoft wont let you run the OS on two computers at the same time.
 
M

Mr.E

Active member
Ah, I see. I just interpreted it the way that would save me money I guess :)
Oh and another question: Right now, it says "3 days until automatic activation" for the Windows license. When those days are up, can I not turn on the computer anymore? I assume it still gives me the option of putting another activation key after that (?)
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
when the 30 days runs out you will still be able to access windows but with limited features,
until you activate it with a legitimate product key.
exactly what those features are in windows7 I'm not sure.
 
Last edited:
M

Mr.E

Active member
Hi guys, quick question to which I have not been able to find an answer to. Say I have an OEM license for Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Can I buy a retail *upgrade* version of Windows 7 Home Premium and use the activation key in there?

Also related to this: If I were to use the OEM OS and go to Anytime Upgrade and purchase an OS there, say W7 Pro, will I still have the OEM non-activation problem or does the OS become retail at that point?

And last stupid question: Are the OS discs PCS sells retail? I just want to make sure I don't fall into the OEM trap again.
 
Last edited:
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
Mr.E said:
And last stupid question: Are the OS discs PCS sells retail? I just want to make sure I don't fall into the OEM trap again.
Click to expand...

The versions of Win7 from PCS are OEM versions, not retail.
(Most PC retailers will have the OEM versions on the machines you get from them to be honest, because it makes it cheaper for you)
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
Mr.E said:
Hi guys, quick question to which I have not been able to find an answer to. Say I have an OEM license for Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Can I buy a retail *upgrade* version of Windows 7 Home Premium and use the activation key in there?

Also related to this: If I were to use the OEM OS and go to Anytime Upgrade and purchase an OS there, say W7 Pro, will I still have the OEM non-activation problem or does the OS become retail at that point?

And last stupid question: Are the OS discs PCS sells retail? I just want to make sure I don't fall into the OEM trap again.
Click to expand...
An existing, and activated copy of Windows must exist on the hard drive prior to using
windows anytime upgrade.
You can upgrade an OEM version so long as it includes windows anytime upgrade,
it will tell you on the disk if this is included.
I'm not sure if you can "upgrade" from oem version to the same retail version
but why would you want to,
the only differences really are lack of microsoft support with the OEM version,excepting windows updates & less hassle moving a retail version to another computer,
but you can still only use it on one computer at a time.
Your best bet would be to ask PCS if they can supply you with an OS,
not sure if they will but if they do it will be an OEM version as Rakk said.
 
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