Are Your Drivers Current?

An outdated driver can sink your network before you even get started. Sadly, with both new wireless networking hardware and new operating systems always being introduced, there are too often incompatibilities.

Probably the biggest problem users will see with wireless networking and driver problems occur when a new operating system does not support older equipment, or supports only some features of this equipment.

When Windows XP was first introduced, and even today, some wireless network adapter manufacturers have not released drivers that fully support their hardware. Many vendors simply put out their Windows 2000 drivers because the two operating systems are similar (Windows XP is based on Windows 2000 technology and despite being a "consumer" operating system, much more closely resembles this OS than Windows 95/98/Me.)

Some Windows XP users with 802.11b still can't get anything except the Windows 2000 drivers for their hardware. Windows XP does not recognize some of these drivers and does not make use of all the features you should get out of your card.

The bottom line? Make sure the hardware vendor you plan to purchase wireless networking hardware from offers a driver for the OS you use, whether that OS is older or the latest available. Check the vendor's Web site before you buy.