New drivers for D-Link DWL-G122 Rev B
This article explains how I installed/updated Windows Vista® drivers for a D-Link® DWL-G122 Rev B USB network adapter. This article is informational-only and not intended as advice. Improper driver installation can cause your PC to crash, lockup, or fail to boot. Proceed at your own risk, and no ‘tech support’ is provided.
The article is only relevant to Revision B (known as B1) of this adapter (the DWL-G122 was available in 4 different revisions). The Rev B1 version was very popular because it had native Linux driver support, and also worked well with Windows XP. I have personally used the adapter under Linux (Suse® and Ubuntu®), XP, and Vista®. Unfortunately, D-Link has done a poor job of releasing new drivers for this adapter. To date, D-Link had only released one beta driver package for Vista 32 (Vista X86), and nothing for Vista 64. The Vista 32 beta driver is no longer available for download, either. Luckily, Rev B1 contains a Ralink® RT2500USB chipset, and Ralink has continuously updated the Windows drivers for this adapter. The latest driver package (as of this writing) is dated 11-11-2008, and contains drivers for Vista 32-bit, Vista 64-bit, XP 32/64.
Installing these drivers for D-Link DWL-G122 Rev B1 cannot be done conventionally, but the process is reasonably easy for any seasoned PC technician. To maintain a “clean” PC, I will extract the drivers in a Virtual Machine. This step is optional.
These are the steps that I performed to update the driver for Vista 32 (complete with screenshots):
Visit the Ralink website, download the Windows driver package for RT2500USB. Start a virtual machine (“VM” — note that the VM must be running the same version of Windows that you intend to use the drivers on. For example, if you need Vista 64-bit drivers, then the VM OS must be Vista 64. If you need Vista 32-bit drivers, the VM OS must be Vista 32-bit.) Copy the driver package to the desktop of the VM, and launch the Ralink setup package and let it install.
After the setup package has completed, navigate to the subdirectory (Program Files — Ralink — Rt7x Wireless Lan Card — Driver). Copy this (Driver) folder to the OS desktop of the PC that you will be updating the drivers. Close the VM.
Open the Driver folder and delete all files that do not start with “netr70″.
Open the Device Manager, find Network Adapters. If you were running the early Beta drivers for Vista 32, you will see the D-Link adapter listed. (If you do not have the D-Link listed, then look for device with the Yellow question mark.) Right-click, choose Update Driver Software.
Choose (Browse my Computer for Driver Software)
Choose (Pick from List…)
Choose (Have Disk)
Choose (Browse), then navigate to the Driver folder on your Desktop. Click on the netr70.inf file, and click (Open)
Click on the (Conceptronics 54Mbps USB Adapter) selection, and click( Next)
Since the (inf) install file does not have an entry for the D-Link adapter, Windows will provide a warning that it cannot guarantee that the drivers are compatible. If you want to install these drivers, choose (Yes)
Windows will then configure the new drivers, and installation is complete. The adapter will now be named (Conceptronics) in the Device Manager, but the name is irrelevant. To manage wireless security protocols and connecting to networks, use the excellent wifi management features built into Windows Vista/XP.
